11 Then David gave way to bitter grief, and so did all the men who were with him: 12 And till evening they gave themselves to sorrow and weeping, and took no food, weeping for Saul and for Jonathan, his son, and for the people of the Lord and for the men of Israel; because they had come to their end by the sword. 13 And David said to the young man who had given him the news, Where do you come from? And he said, I am the son of a man from a strange land; I am an Amalekite. 14 And David said to him, Had you no fear of stretching out your hand to put to death the one marked with the holy oil? 15 And David sent for one of his young men and said, Go near and put an end to him. And he put him to death. 16 And David said to him, May your blood be on your head; for your mouth has given witness against you, saying, I have put to death the man marked with the holy oil.
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.