He said to me again, ‘Please stand over me and kill me, for anguish has come upon me, but my life still remains in me.’
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to me, ‘Please stand beside me, and kill me; for anguish has taken hold of me, because my life lingers in me.’
- KJV 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.
- BSB Then he begged me, ‘Stand over me and kill me, for agony has seized me, but my life still lingers.’
- NASB And he said to me, ‘Please stand next to me and finish me off, for agony has seized me because my life still lingers in me.’
- NLT “Then he begged me, ‘Come over here and put me out of my misery, for I am in terrible pain and want to die.’
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
In the story, Saul begs the man to kill him to end his suffering. This sets up the messenger's claim to have slain the king.
Overview
The plea attributed to Saul portrays him in agony and near death, asking for a mercy stroke. Whether or not this conversation occurred, the messenger reports it to justify his deed. The scene frames the central moral question: who would dare lay hands on the Lord's anointed, even at his own request?
Cross-references & the web
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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 1:9 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
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