“How the mighty have fallen, And the weapons of war have perished!”
Parallel translations
- WEB How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war have perished!”
- KJV How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war 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!”
- 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 the mighty have fallen in the middle of the battle! Jonathan was slain on your high places.
- 2 Sam 1:19“Your glory, Israel, was slain on your high places! How the mighty have fallen!
- Ezek 39:9–10Those who dwell in the cities of Israel shall go out, and shall make fires of the weapons and burn them, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the war clubs, and the spears, and they shall make fires of them seven years;
- Ps 46:9He makes wars cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow, and shatters the spear. He burns the chariots in the fire.
- 2 Kgs 2:12Elisha saw it, and he cried, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” He saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes, and tore them in two pieces.
- 2 Kgs 13:14Now Elisha became sick with the illness of which he died; and Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over him, and said, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!”
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.