Verse Lens · Concise explanation
2 Samuel 1:21 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 21. 21Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence: “Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “The Bow Lament Honors Saul and Jonathan.”
Read It With
- 2 Samuel 1:17–27
Read 2 Samuel 1:21 with 1:17–27. The wording “Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields…” supplies one step in the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: David teaches Judah a lament that grieves Israel's fallen, honors Saul and Jonathan, and gives special voice to his bond with Jonathan.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “The Bow Lament Honors Saul and Jonathan,” 2 Samuel 1:21 advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence through the wording “Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: 2 Samuel 1:11–16 establishes this prior movement: David and his men mourn before David tests the messenger's identity and orders his death for claiming to strike the LORD's anointed. 2 Samuel 1:17–27 interprets or reframes what the preceding narrative has established; that demonstrated relationship, rather than sequence alone, explains its placement.
What Remains True
Truthful grief may honor real love and loss without denying harm, forcing praise, or converting sorrow into a political claim. In this unit, that truth is tested by the concrete movement: David teaches Judah a lament that grieves Israel's fallen, honors Saul and Jonathan, and gives special voice to his bond with Jonathan. In 2 Samuel 1:21, the concrete line “Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
How It Can Shape Life
- The evidence to keep visible in this verse is “Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields….” Give grieving people room to name love, loss, anger, and unresolved harm in their own words; offer practical care without demanding a timetable, public performance, or idealized account of the deceased. This response follows from the unit's own pattern—David teaches Judah a lament that grieves Israel's fallen, honors Saul and Jonathan, and gives special voice to his bond with Jonathan.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 2 Samuel 1:17–27 — The Bow Lament Honors Saul and JonathanSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: 2 Samuel 1:17-27, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 2 Samuel
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, repeated verbs, names, syntax, and the base text behind translation and textual discussion.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/2Sam.xml, 1:17-27
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: 2 Samuel with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Unit-bounded wording, older-English clarification, textual witnesses, syntax, names, numbers, and major historical or literary notes actually printed for these verses.
Exact location: NET Bible 2 Samuel PDF, printed pp. 544–546, translation and all translator notes attached to 1:17-27
Open source ↗