How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!
Parallel translations
- WEB How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war have perished!”
- BSB How the mighty have fallen and the weapons of war have perished!”
- NKJV “Howthe mighty have fallen, And the weapons of war perished!”
- NASB “How the mighty have fallen, And the weapons of war have perished!”
- NLT Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen! Stripped of their weapons, they lie dead.
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 lament closes with the refrain of the mighty fallen and weapons perished. It ends the elegy on a note of solemn loss.
Overview
The final repetition brings the song to a dignified close, marking the end of an era with Saul's death. The perished weapons of war symbolize the collapse of the old order. The lament leaves Israel grieving but also waiting, for God has already anointed David to lead the nation forward under His covenant promises.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- 2 Sam 1:25How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places.
- 2 Sam 1:19The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen!
- Ezek 39:9–10And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:
- Ps 46:9He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.
- 2 Kgs 2:12And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.
- 2 Kgs 13:14Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.
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 1:27 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.