1 Samuel 31 · Verse 2

1 Samuel 31:2

And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchi–shua, Saul’s sons.
1 Samuel 31:2, King James Version

1 Samuel 31:2 in other translations

BSBThe Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons, and they killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua.
WEBThe Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and the Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul.
ASVAnd the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul.
YLTand the Philistines follow Saul and his sons, and the Philistines smite Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, sons of Saul.
DARBYAnd the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines smote Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul's sons.
BBEAnd the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and they put to death Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul.
WebsterAnd the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, Saul's sons.

What does 1 Samuel 31:2 mean?

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 2 Followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons - They, seeing the discomfiture of their troops, were determined to sell their lives as dear as possible, and therefore maintained the battle till the three brothers were slain.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Samuel 31:1-7

Saul's body rescued by the men of Jabesh-gilead. (8-13) Verses 1-7 We cannot judge of the spiritual or eternal state of any by the manner of their death; for in that, there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked. Saul, when sorely wounded, and unable to resist or to flee, expressed no concern about his never-dying soul; but only desired that the Philistines might not insult over him, or put him to pain, and…

Read the full comment on 1 Samuel 31:1-7 →

1 Samuel 31:2 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיַּדְבְּק֣וּvai.yad.be.Kuand they pursued closelyH1692
פְלִשְׁתִּ֔יםfe.lish.Tim[the] PhilistinesH6430
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
שָׁא֖וּלsha.'UlSaulH7586
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
בָּנָ֑יוba.Navsons hisH1121
וַיַּכּ֣וּvai.ya.Kuand they struck downH5221
פְלִשְׁתִּ֗יםfe.lish.Tim[the] PhilistinesH6430
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
יְהוֹנָתָ֧ןye.ho.na.TanJonathanH3083
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
אֲבִינָדָ֛ב'a.vi.na.DavAbinadabH41
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
מַלְכִּי\־mal.ki-Malki-H4444
שׁ֖וּעַShu.a'ShuaH4444
בְּנֵ֥יbe.Nei[the] sons ofH1121
שָׁאֽוּל\׃sha.'UlSaulH7586

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Samuel 31:2

  • 1 Chronicles 8:33

    And Ner begat Kish, and Kish begat Saul, and Saul begat Jonathan, and Malchi–shua, and Abinadab, and Esh–baal.

  • 1 Samuel 14:49

    Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishui, and Melchi–shua: and the names of his two daughters were these; the name of the firstborn Merab, and the name of the younger Michal:

  • 1 Samuel 13:16

    And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people that were present with them, abode in Gibeah of Benjamin: but the Philistines encamped in Michmash.

  • 1 Samuel 23:17

    And he said unto him, Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth.

  • 1 Chronicles 9:39

    And Ner begat Kish; and Kish begat Saul; and Saul begat Jonathan, and Malchi–shua, and Abinadab, and Esh–baal.

  • 2 Samuel 1:6

    And the young man that told him said, As I happened by chance upon mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his spear; and, lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him.

  • 1 Samuel 13:2

    Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount Beth–el, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent.

  • 1 Samuel 18:1-4

    And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father’s house. Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.

  • Exodus 20:5

    Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

  • 1 Samuel 14:1-14

    Now it came to pass upon a day, that Jonathan the son of Saul said unto the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over to the Philistines’ garrison, that is on the other side. But he told not his father. And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron: and the people that were with him were about six hundred men; And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, I–chabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord’s priest in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone. And between the passages, by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines’ garrison, there was a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side: and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. …

  • 1 Samuel 14:22

    Likewise all the men of Israel which had hid themselves in mount Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, even they also followed hard after them in the battle.

  • 2 Kings 25:7

    And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
followed.
14:22; 2Sa 1:6
Jonathan.
13:2,16; 14:1-14,49; 18:1-4; 23:17; 1Ch 8:33; 9:39
Saul's sons.
Ex 20:5; 2Ki 25:7

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 1 Samuel 31:1

    Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa.

  • 1 Samuel 31:2

    And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchi–shua, Saul’s sons.

  • 1 Samuel 31:3

    And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers.

Read all of 1 Samuel 31

1 Samuel 31:2 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y siguiendo los Filisteos á Saúl y á sus hijos, mataron á Jonathán, y á Abinadab, y á Melchîsua, hijos de Saúl.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et les Philistins pressèrent fortement Saül et ses fils; et les Philistins frappèrent Jonathan, et Abinadab, et Malki-Shua, fils de Saül.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und die Philister setzten Saul und seinen Söhnen hart nach; und die Philister erschlugen Jonathan und Abinadab und Malkischua, die Söhne Sauls.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Irrueruntque Philisthiim in Saul et in filios ejus, et percusserunt Jonathan, et Abinadab, et Melchisua filios Saul: