How the mighty have fallen in the thick of battle! Jonathan lies slain on your heights.
Parallel translations
- WEB How the mighty have fallen in the middle of the battle! Jonathan was slain on your high places.
- KJV How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places.
- NKJV “How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan was slain in your high places.
- NASB “How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan is slaughtered on your high places.
- NLT Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen in battle! Jonathan lies dead on the hills.
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
The refrain returns, lamenting the mighty fallen and Jonathan slain. The repeated cry centers grief on Jonathan.
Overview
The recurring line How the mighty have fallen structures the elegy and now turns to Jonathan specifically. David's sorrow for his friend rises to the surface. The poem moves from national loss toward the deeply personal grief that follows, showing the intertwining of public and private mourning.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- 2 Sam 1:19“Your glory, O Israel, lies slain on your heights. How the mighty have fallen!
- 2 Sam 1:27How the mighty have fallen and the weapons of war have perished!”
- 1 Sam 14:13–15So Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, with his armor-bearer behind him. And the Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer followed and finished them off.
- Judg 5:18Zebulun was a people who risked their lives; Naphtali, too, on the heights of the battlefield.
- Lam 5:16The crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned!
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 1:25 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.