2Sa 1:2 | NETfull | STEP | On the third day a man arrived from the camp of Saul with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. When he approached David, the man threw himself to the ground.

2 Samuel 1:2

2 On the third day a man arrived from the camp of Saul with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. ^{▼▼ Tearing one’s clothing and throwing dirt on one’s head were outward expressions of grief in the ancient Near East, where such demonstrable reactions were a common response to tragic news.} When he approached David, the man ^{▼▼ Heb “he”; the referent (the man mentioned at the beginning of v. 2) has been specified in the translation to avoid confusion as to who fell to the ground.} threw himself to the ground. ^{▼▼ Heb “he fell to the ground and did obeisance.”}