11 Then David took hold of his garments and rent them; and all the men that were with him [did] likewise. 12 And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of Jehovah, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword. 13 And David said to the young man that told him, Whence art thou? And he said, I am the son of an Amalekite stranger. 14 And David said to him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thy hand to destroy Jehovah's anointed? 15 Then David called one of the young men and said, Draw near, [and] fall on him. And he smote him that he died. 16 And David said to him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth has testified against thee, saying, I have slain Jehovah's anointed.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 2 Samuel 1:11-16
Commentary on 2 Samuel 1:11-16
(Read 2 Samuel 1:11-16)
David was sincere in his mourning for Saul; and all with him humbled themselves under the hand of God, laid so heavily upon Israel by this defeat. The man who brought the tidings, David put to death, as a murderer of his prince. David herein did not do unjustly; the Amalekite confessed the crime. If he did as he said, he deserved to die for treason; and his lying to David, if indeed it were a lie, proved, as sooner or later that sin will prove, lying against himself. Hereby David showed himself zealous for public justice, without regard to his own private interest.