John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 1:12
And they mourned and wept ,.... Inwardly mourned, and outwardly wept, no doubt sincerely: and fasted until even ; ate no food all that day until it was evening, the manner in which fasts used to be kept: for Saul, and for Jonathan his son ; it is no wonder that David and his men should mourn for Jonathan, a good man, and a valiant one, and a dear and faithful friend of David's; but it may seem not so clear a thing that they should, mourn for Saul, a wicked man, and a persecutor of... read more
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Samuel 1:11-16
Here is, I. David's reception of these tidings. So far was he from falling into a transport of joy, as the Amalekite expected, that he fell into a passion of weeping, rent his clothes (2 Sam. 1:11), mourned and fasted (2 Sam. 1:12), not only for his people Israel and Jonathan his friend but for Saul his enemy. This he did, not only as a man of honour, in observance of that decorum which forbids us to insult over those that are fallen, and requires us to attend our relations to the grave with... read more