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2 Samuel 1:1-2:11

How Are the Mighty Fallen

Lyrics · 2 Samuel

How Are the Mighty Fallen

2 Samuel 1:1-2:11

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About this song

About this song

This song belongs to the 2 Samuel collection. One recording is available to play here, with the complete lyrics below.

Bible book
2 Samuel
Collection
2 Samuel
Musical styles
Uncategorized
[Verse 1] David returns to Ziklag after defeating Amalek and remains there two days. The messenger reports Israel's defeat and the deaths of Saul and Jonathan. The Amalekite claims he found Saul wounded on Mount Gilboa. The messenger presents Saul's crown and bracelet to David. [Pre-Chorus] No answer came to quiet every fear, Only the weight of all that had drawn near. [Chorus] How Are the Mighty Fallen, carry this grief through night, Tears have weight beneath the fading light. Truth still speaks when comfort has grown thin, And faith keeps breathing where the wounds begin. [Verse 2] David composes a lament and orders Judah to learn the song of the bow. The lament cries that Israel's beauty lies slain upon the high places. David calls for no dew or rain upon the mountains of Gilboa. David asks God which city of Judah should receive him and is sent to Hebron. [Bridge] The men of Judah anoint David king over their tribe. David blesses Jabesh-gilead for burying Saul and promises kindness. Abner makes Ishbosheth king over Gilead and the tribes beyond Judah. David reigns in Hebron over Judah while Ishbosheth rules the divided kingdom. [Final Chorus] How Are the Mighty Fallen, carry this grief through night, Tears have weight beneath the fading light. Truth still speaks when comfort has grown thin, And faith keeps breathing when the night grows thin. [Outro] The night remained, but truth remained as well. Not every wound was given words to tell.

Named in this songDavidMount GilboaHebron

About the passage

2 Samuel 1: A crown arrives, and David mourns

A messenger reaches Ziklag carrying Saul's crown, bracelet, and a claim that he personally ended the wounded king's life. The royal objects establish that Saul is dead, but they do not settle every detail of the man's account, which differs from the closing report of 1 Samuel. David does not seize on the news as the moment his long struggle has finally paid. He and his men tear their clothes, mourn, weep, and fast for Saul, Jonathan, and Israel. Only after grief comes judgment, and the messenger is condemned by the testimony of his own mouth that he killed the LORD's anointed. The chapter then refuses to end on punishment or accession. David composes a lament to be taught in Judah, praises Saul's strength and gifts, names Jonathan as "my brother," and closes with the repeated cry, "How are the mighty fallen!" A crown has arrived, but David's last possession in the chapter is a song of grief.

Study 2 Samuel 1 in depth

2 Samuel 2: Two kings, one people, and a widening wound

David asks the LORD not only whether he should enter Judah but where, and the answer takes him to Hebron rather than straight to a claim over every tribe. Judah anoints him king, while Abner moves Ishbosheth to Mahanaim and establishes Saul's son over Israel. The divided succession soon takes visible form at the pool of Gibeon. Abner proposes that selected young men "play," Joab agrees, and the equal groups kill one another before the contest spreads into a sore battle. Asahel's remarkable speed then becomes the means by which he refuses to break off pursuit of Abner. Twice warned, he continues and is killed, creating a personal blood claim that will survive the day's fighting. At sunset Abner appeals to the fact that the pursuers and pursued are brethren. Joab sounds the trumpet, yet the unequal casualty count and Asahel's burial make clear that stopping the sword has not healed the division.

Study 2 Samuel 2 in depth