And David inquired of the young man who had brought him the report, “Where are you from?” “I am the son of a foreigner,” he answered. “I am an Amalekite.”
Parallel translations
- WEB David said to the young man who told him, “Where are you from?” He answered, “I am the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite.”
- KJV And David said unto the young man that told him, Whence art thou? And he answered, I am the son of a stranger, an Amalekite.
- NKJV Then David said to the young man who told him, “Where are you from?” And he answered, “I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite.”
- NASB Then David said to the young man who informed him, “Where are you from?” And he answered, “I am the son of a stranger, an Amalekite.”
- NLT Then David said to the young man who had brought the news, “Where are you from?” And he replied, “I am a foreigner, an Amalekite, who lives in your land.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
David again asks the messenger his origin, drawing out that he is a resident foreigner and Amalekite. This confirms the grounds for judgment.
Overview
David returns to the question of the man's identity, fixing attention on his being an Amalekite and a sojourner who should have known Israel's reverence for the king. The repetition makes the man's guilt explicit before the verdict. It also highlights that even a foreigner living in Israel was accountable to honor the Lord's anointed.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- 2 Sam 1:8‘Who are you?’ he asked. So I told him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
God's covenant with David — a son whose throne and kingdom would last forever (7:12–16) — finds its yes in Jesus, the Son of David who reigns without end.
How 2 Samuel 1:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.