(3) And David said unto him, From whence comest thou? And he said unto him, Out of the camp of Israel am I escaped. (4) And David said unto him, How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me. And he answered, That the people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also. (5) And David said unto the young man that told him, How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son be dead? (6) And the young man that told him said, As I happened by chance upon mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his spear; and, lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. (7) And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called unto me. And I answered, Here am I. (8) And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite. (9) He said unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me: for anguish is come upon me, because my life is yet whole in me. (10) So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen: and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither unto my lord.
This relation is truly interesting. The anxiety, distress, and the various conflicts of natural and gracious feelings on the part of David, and the artfulness of address on the part of the man, are beautifully implied. We may easily conceive, from the well known character of David, what a conflict must have passed in his mind during this relation. And no doubt as the man knew David's history, he knew how to effect David's mind, in working upon his feelings in the relation of the death of Saul and Jonathan. Whether the relation he gave was altogether true is not certain; and there is some reason to question it, as there is no account of it in the relation given of Saul's death in the preceding chapter. See 1 Samuel 31:4-5. And indeed it differs from it. I stay not however to enquire, as it is not very material. One thing is certain, that as this man brought the crown and bracelet of Saul to David, he must have been with Saul at his death. But I pass over these circumstances, which are not of the first importance, to advert to what appears to be more so in the thing itself. Let the Reader then remark with me, that, as the first instance of Saul's rebellion against God began in the affair of sparing Amalek, (See 1 Samuel 15:9-10; 1 Samuel 15:9-10, etc.) so the Lord causeth the spared Amalekites to rise up to the last act of Saul's ruin. Oh! Reader, how certain is it, that the Lord never relaxeth one moment in the distribution of righteous judgment. Rather than one sin shall go unpunished, Jesus, his dear Son, shall die. See that solemn scripture: Zechariah 13:7.