1 And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon?
2 Then Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph.
3 And Saul pitched in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon, by the way. But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness.
4 David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come in very deed.
5 And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched: and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay in the trench, and the people pitched round about him.
6 Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee.
7 So David and Abishai came to the people by night: and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the trench, and his spear stuck in the ground at his bolster: but Abner and the people lay round about him.
8 Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time.
9 And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the LORD's anointed, and be guiltless?
10 David said furthermore, As the LORD liveth, the LORD shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish.
11 The LORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the LORD's anointed: but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go.
12 So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul's bolster; and they gat them away, and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither awaked: for they were all asleep; because a deep sleep from the LORD was fallen upon them.
13 Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of an hill afar off; a great space being between them:
14 And David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Answerest thou not, Abner? Then Abner answered and said, Who art thou that criest to the king?
15 And David said to Abner, Art not thou a valiant man? and who is like to thee in Israel? wherefore then hast thou not kept thy lord the king? for there came one of the people in to destroy the king thy lord.
16 This thing is not good that thou hast done. As the LORD liveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye have not kept your master, the LORD's anointed. And now see where the king's spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his bolster.
17 And Saul knew David's voice, and said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king.
18 And he said, Wherefore doth my lord thus pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in mine hand?
19 Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the LORD have stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering: but if they be the children of men, cursed be they before the LORD; for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, Go, serve other gods.
20 Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth before the face of the LORD: for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains.
21 Then said Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David: for I will no more do thee harm, because my soul was precious in thine eyes this day: behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly.
22 And David answered and said, Behold the king's spear! and let one of the young men come over and fetch it.
23 The LORD render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the LORD delivered thee into my hand to day, but I would not stretch forth mine hand against the LORD's anointed.
24 And, behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the LORD, and let him deliver me out of all tribulation.
25 Then Saul said to David, Blessed be thou, my son David: thou shalt both do great things, and also shalt still prevail. So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.
1 And the Ziphites H2130 came H935 unto Saul H7586 to Gibeah, H1390 saying, H559 Doth not David H1732 hide H5641 himself in the hill H1389 of Hachilah, H2444 which is before H6440 Jeshimon? H3452
2 Then Saul H7586 arose, H6965 and went down H3381 to the wilderness H4057 of Ziph, H2128 having three H7969 thousand H505 chosen H977 men H376 of Israel H3478 with him, to seek H1245 David H1732 in the wilderness H4057 of Ziph. H2128
3 And Saul H7586 pitched H2583 in the hill H1389 of Hachilah, H2444 which is before H6440 Jeshimon, H3452 by the way. H1870 But David H1732 abode H3427 in the wilderness, H4057 and he saw H7200 that Saul H7586 came H935 after H310 him into the wilderness. H4057
4 David H1732 therefore sent out H7971 spies, H7270 and understood H3045 that Saul H7586 was come H935 in very deed. H3559
5 And David H1732 arose, H6965 and came H935 to the place H4725 where Saul H7586 had pitched: H2583 and David H1732 beheld H7200 the place H4725 where Saul H7586 lay, H7901 and Abner H74 the son H1121 of Ner, H5369 the captain H8269 of his host: H6635 and Saul H7586 lay H7901 in the trench, H4570 and the people H5971 pitched H2583 round about H5439 him.
6 Then answered H6030 David H1732 and said H559 to Ahimelech H288 the Hittite, H2850 and to Abishai H52 the son H1121 of Zeruiah, H6870 brother H251 to Joab, H3097 saying, H559 Who will go down H3381 with me to Saul H7586 to the camp? H4264 And Abishai H52 said, H559 I will go down H3381 with thee.
7 So David H1732 and Abishai H52 came H935 to the people H5971 by night: H3915 and, behold, Saul H7586 lay H7901 sleeping H3463 within the trench, H4570 and his spear H2595 stuck H4600 in the ground H776 at his bolster: H4763 but Abner H74 and the people H5971 lay H7901 round about H5439 him.
8 Then said H559 Abishai H52 to David, H1732 God H430 hath delivered H5462 thine enemy H341 into thine hand H3027 this day: H3117 now therefore let me smite H5221 him, I pray thee, with the spear H2595 even to the earth H776 at once, H6471 H259 and I will not smite him the second time. H8138
9 And David H1732 said H559 to Abishai, H52 Destroy H7843 him not: for who can stretch forth H7971 his hand H3027 against the LORD'S H3068 anointed, H4899 and be guiltless? H5352
10 David H1732 said H559 furthermore, As the LORD H3068 liveth, H2416 the LORD H3068 shall smite H5062 him; or his day H3117 shall come H935 to die; H4191 or he shall descend H3381 into battle, H4421 and perish. H5595
11 The LORD H3068 forbid H2486 that I should stretch forth H7971 mine hand H3027 against the LORD'S H3068 anointed: H4899 but, I pray thee, take H3947 thou now the spear H2595 that is at his bolster, H4763 and the cruse H6835 of water, H4325 and let us go. H3212
12 So David H1732 took H3947 the spear H2595 and the cruse H6835 of water H4325 from Saul's H7586 bolster; H7226 and they gat them away, H3212 and no man saw H7200 it, nor knew H3045 it, neither awaked: H6974 for they were all asleep; H3463 because a deep sleep H8639 from the LORD H3068 was fallen H5307 upon them.
13 Then David H1732 went over H5674 to the other side, H5676 and stood H5975 on the top H7218 of an hill H2022 afar off; H7350 a great H7227 space H4725 being between them:
14 And David H1732 cried H7121 to the people, H5971 and to Abner H74 the son H1121 of Ner, H5369 saying, H559 Answerest H6030 thou not, Abner? H74 Then Abner H74 answered H6030 and said, H559 Who art thou that criest H7121 to the king? H4428
15 And David H1732 said H559 to Abner, H74 Art not thou a valiant man? H376 and who is like to thee in Israel? H3478 wherefore then hast thou not kept H8104 thy lord H113 the king? H4428 for there came H935 one H259 of the people H5971 in to destroy H7843 the king H4428 thy lord. H113
16 This thing H1697 is not good H2896 that thou hast done. H6213 As the LORD H3068 liveth, H2416 ye are worthy H1121 to die, H4194 because ye have not kept H8104 your master, H113 the LORD'S H3068 anointed. H4899 And now see H7200 where the king's H4428 spear H2595 is, and the cruse H6835 of water H4325 that was at his bolster. H4763
17 And Saul H7586 knew H5234 David's H1732 voice, H6963 and said, H559 Is this thy voice, H6963 my son H1121 David? H1732 And David H1732 said, H559 It is my voice, H6963 my lord, H113 O king. H4428
18 And he said, H559 Wherefore doth my lord H113 thus pursue H7291 after H310 his servant? H5650 for what have I done? H6213 or what evil H7451 is in mine hand? H3027
19 Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord H113 the king H4428 hear H8085 the words H1697 of his servant. H5650 If the LORD H3068 have stirred thee up H5496 against me, let him accept H7306 an offering: H4503 but if they be the children H1121 of men, H120 cursed H779 be they before H6440 the LORD; H3068 for they have driven H1644 me out this day H3117 from abiding H5596 in the inheritance H5159 of the LORD, H3068 saying, H559 Go, H3212 serve H5647 other H312 gods. H430
20 Now therefore, let not my blood H1818 fall H5307 to the earth H776 before the face H6440 of the LORD: H3068 for the king H4428 of Israel H3478 is come out H3318 to seek H1245 a H259 flea, H6550 as when one doth hunt H7291 a partridge H7124 in the mountains. H2022
21 Then said H559 Saul, H7586 I have sinned: H2398 return, H7725 my son H1121 David: H1732 for I will no more do thee harm, H7489 because my soul H5315 was precious H3365 in thine eyes H5869 this day: H3117 behold, I have played the fool, H5528 and have erred H7686 exceedingly. H7235 H3966
22 And David H1732 answered H6030 and said, H559 Behold the king's H4428 spear! H2595 and let one H259 of the young men H5288 come over H5674 and fetch H3947 it.
23 The LORD H3068 render H7725 to every man H376 his righteousness H6666 and his faithfulness: H530 for the LORD H3068 delivered H5414 thee into my hand H3027 to day, H3117 but I would H14 not stretch forth H7971 mine hand H3027 against the LORD'S H3068 anointed. H4899
24 And, behold, as thy life H5315 was much set by H1431 this day H3117 in mine eyes, H5869 so let my life H5315 be much set by H1431 in the eyes H5869 of the LORD, H3068 and let him deliver H5337 me out of all tribulation. H6869
25 Then Saul H7586 said H559 to David, H1732 Blessed H1288 be thou, my son H1121 David: H1732 thou shalt both do H6213 great H6213 things, and also shalt still H3201 prevail. H3201 So David H1732 went H3212 on his way, H1870 and Saul H7586 returned H7725 to his place. H4725
1 And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is before the desert?
2 Then Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph.
3 And Saul encamped in the hill of Hachilah, which is before the desert, by the way. But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness.
4 David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come of a certainty.
5 And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had encamped; and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay within the place of the wagons, and the people were encamped round about him.
6 Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee.
7 So David and Abishai came to the people by night: and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the place of the wagons, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the people lay round about him.
8 Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered up thine enemy into thy hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear to the earth at one stroke, and I will not smite him the second time.
9 And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not; for who can put forth his hand against Jehovah's anointed, and be guiltless?
10 And David said, As Jehovah liveth, Jehovah will smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall go down into battle and perish.
11 Jehovah forbid that I should put forth my hand against Jehovah's anointed: but now take, I pray thee, the spear that is at his head, and the cruse of water, and let us go.
12 So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul's head; and they gat them away: and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither did any awake; for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from Jehovah was fallen upon them.
13 Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of the mountain afar off; a great space being between them;
14 and David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Answerest thou not, Abner? Then Abner answered and said, Who art thou that criest to the king?
15 And David said to Abner, Art not thou a `valiant' man? and who is like to thee in Israel? wherefore then hast thou not kept watch over thy lord the king? for there came one of the people in to destroy the king thy lord.
16 This thing is not good that thou hast done. As Jehovah liveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye have not kept watch over your lord, Jehovah's anointed. And now see where the king's spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his head.
17 And Saul knew David's voice, and said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king.
18 And he said, Wherefore doth my lord pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in my hand?
19 Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it be Jehovah that hath stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering: but if it be the children of men, cursed be they before Jehovah: for they have driven me out this day that I should not cleave unto the inheritance of Jehovah, saying, Go, serve other gods.
20 Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of Jehovah: for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains.
21 Then said Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David; for I will no more do thee harm, because my life was precious in thine eyes this day: behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly.
22 And David answered and said, Behold the spear, O king! let then one of the young men come over and fetch it.
23 And Jehovah will render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness; forasmuch as Jehovah delivered thee into my hand to-day, and I would not put forth my hand against Jehovah's anointed.
24 And, behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of Jehovah, and let him deliver me out of all tribulation.
25 Then Saul said to David, Blessed be thou, my son David: thou shalt both do mightily, and shalt surely prevail. So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place.
1 And the Ziphites come in unto Saul, at Gibeah, saying, `Is not David hiding himself in the height of Hachilah, on the front of the desert?'
2 And Saul riseth, and goeth down unto the wilderness of Ziph, and with him three thousand men, chosen ones of Israel, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph.
3 And Saul encampeth in the height of Hachilah, which `is' on the front of the desert, by the way, and David is abiding in the wilderness, and he seeth that Saul hath come after him in to the wilderness;
4 and David sendeth spies, and knoweth that Saul hath come unto Nachon,
5 and David riseth, and cometh in unto the place where Saul hath encamped, and David seeth the place where Saul hath lain, and Abner son of Ner, head of his host, and Saul is lying in the path, and the people are encamping round about him.
6 And David answereth and saith unto Ahimelech the Hittite, and unto Abishai son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, saying, `Who doth go down with me unto Saul, unto the camp?' and Abishai saith, `I -- I go down with thee.'
7 And David cometh -- and Abishai -- unto the people by night, and lo, Saul is lying sleeping in the path, and his spear struck into the earth at his pillow, and abner and the people are lying round about him.
8 And Abishai saith unto David, `God hath shut up to-day thine enemy into thy hand; and, now, let me smite him, I pray thee, with a spear, even into the earth at once -- and I do repeat `it' to him.'
9 And David saith unto Abishai, `Destroy him not; for who hath put forth his hand against the anointed of Jehovah, and been acquitted?'
10 And David saith, `Jehovah liveth; except Jehovah doth smite him, or his day come that he hath died, or into battle he go down, and hath been consumed --
11 far be it from me, by Jehovah, from putting forth my hand against the anointed of Jehovah; and, now, take, I pray thee, the spear which `is' at his pillow, and the cruse of water, and we go away.'
12 And David taketh the spear, and the cruse of water at the pillow of Saul, and they go away, and there is none seeing, and there is none knowing, and there is none awaking, for all of them are sleeping, for a deep sleep `from' Jehovah hath fallen upon them.
13 And David passeth over to the other side, and standeth on the top of the hill afar off -- great `is' the place between them;
14 and David calleth unto the people, and unto Abner son of Ner, saying, `Dost thou not answer, Abner?' and Abner answereth and saith, `Who `art' thou `who' hast called unto the king?'
15 And David saith unto Abner, `Art not thou a man? and who `is' like thee in Israel? but why hast thou not watched over thy lord the king? for one of the people had come in to destroy the king, thy lord.
16 Not good is this thing which thou hast done; Jehovah liveth, but ye `are' sons of death, in that ye have not watched over your lord, over the anointed of Jehovah; and now, see where the king's spear `is', and the cruse of water which `is' at his bolster.'
17 And Saul discerneth the voice of David, and saith, `Is this thy voice, my son David?' and David saith, `My voice, my lord, O king!'
18 and he saith, `Why `is' this -- my lord is pursuing after his servant? for what have I done, and what `is' in my hand evil?
19 And, now, let, I pray thee, my lord the king hear the words of his servant: if Jehovah hath moved thee against me, let Him accept a present; and if the sons of men -- cursed `are' they before Jehovah, for they have cast me out to-day from being admitted into the inheritance of Jehovah, saying, Go, serve other gods.
20 `And now, let not my blood fall to the earth over-against the face of Jehovah, for the king of Israel hath come out to seek one flea, as `one' pursueth the partridge in mountains.'
21 And Saul saith, `I have sinned; turn back, my son David, for I do evil to thee no more, because that my soul hath been precious in thine eyes this day; lo, I have acted foolishly, and do err very greatly.'
22 And David answereth and saith, `Lo, the king's spear; and let one of the young men pass over, and receive it;
23 and Jehovah doth turn back to each his righteousness and his faithfulness, in that Jehovah hath given thee to-day into `my' hand, and I have not been willing to put forth my hand against the anointed of Jehovah,
24 and lo, as thy soul hath been great this day in mine eyes, so is my soul great in the eyes of Jehovah, and He doth deliver me out of all distress.'
25 And Saul saith unto David, `Blessed `art' thou, my son David, also working thou dost work, and also prevailing thou dost prevail.' And David goeth on his way, and Saul hath turned back to his place.
1 And the Ziphites came to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Does not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, facing the waste?
2 And Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph.
3 And Saul encamped in the hill of Hachilah, which faces the waste, by the way side. And David abode in the wilderness; and when he saw that Saul had come after him into the wilderness,
4 David sent out spies, and learned that Saul was certainly come.
5 And David arose and came to the place where Saul had encamped; and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host; and Saul lay within the wagon-defence, and the people were encamped round about him.
6 And David spake and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee.
7 And David and Abishai came to the people by night, and behold, Saul lay sleeping within the wagon-defence, and his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the people lay round about him.
8 And Abishai said to David, God has delivered thine enemy into thy hand this day; and now let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear, even to the ground once, and I will not do it the second time.
9 And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not; for who can stretch forth his hand against Jehovah's anointed, and be guiltless?
10 And David said, [As] Jehovah liveth, Jehovah will surely smite him; either his day shall come to die, or he shall descend into battle and perish.
11 Jehovah forbid that I should stretch forth my hand against Jehovah's anointed! But now take, I pray thee, the spear that is at his head, and the cruse of water, and let us go.
12 And David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul's head; and they went away, and no man saw [it], and none knew [it], and none awaked, for they were all asleep; for a deep sleep from Jehovah had fallen upon them.
13 And David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of a hill afar off; a great space [being] between them.
14 And David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Answerest thou not, Abner? Then Abner answered and said, Who art thou that criest to the king?
15 And David said to Abner, Art not thou a man? and who is like to thee in Israel? and why hast thou not guarded thy lord the king? for one of the people came in to destroy the king thy lord.
16 This thing is not good which thou hast done. As Jehovah liveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye have not guarded your master, Jehovah's anointed. And now see where the king's spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his head.
17 And Saul knew David's voice, and said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king.
18 And he said, Why does my lord thus pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in my hand?
19 And now, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If Jehovah have moved thee against me, let him accept an oblation; but if the sons of men, cursed be they before Jehovah; for they have driven me out this day from adhering to the inheritance of Jehovah, saying, Go, serve other gods.
20 And now, let not my blood fall to the earth far from the face of Jehovah; for the king of Israel is come out to seek a single flea, as when they hunt a partridge on the mountains.
21 And Saul said, I have sinned: return, my son David; for I will no more do thee harm, because my life was precious in thine eyes this day: behold, I have acted foolishly, and have erred exceedingly.
22 And David answered and said, Behold the king's spear, and let one of the young men come over and fetch it.
23 And Jehovah will render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness; for Jehovah gave thee into [my] hand this day, and I would not stretch forth my hand against Jehovah's anointed.
24 And behold, as thy life was highly esteemed this day in mine eyes, so let my life be highly esteemed in the eyes of Jehovah, that he may deliver me out of all distress.
25 And Saul said to David, Blessed be thou, my son David: thou shalt certainly do [great things], and shalt certainly prevail. And David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.
1 The Ziphites came to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doesn't David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is before the desert?
2 Then Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph.
3 Saul encamped in the hill of Hachilah, which is before the desert, by the way. But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness.
4 David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come of a certainty.
5 David arose, and came to the place where Saul had encamped; and David saw the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay within the place of the wagons, and the people were encamped round about him.
6 Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? Abishai said, I will go down with you.
7 So David and Abishai came to the people by night: and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the place of the wagons, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the people lay round about him.
8 Then said Abishai to David, God has delivered up your enemy into your hand this day: now therefore please let me strike him with the spear to the earth at one stroke, and I will not strike him the second time.
9 David said to Abishai, Don't destroy him; for who can put forth his hand against Yahweh's anointed, and be guiltless?
10 David said, As Yahweh lives, Yahweh will strike him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall go down into battle and perish.
11 Yahweh forbid that I should put forth my hand against Yahweh's anointed: but now please take the spear that is at his head, and the jar of water, and let us go.
12 So David took the spear and the jar of water from Saul's head; and they got them away: and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither did any awake; for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from Yahweh was fallen on them.
13 Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of the mountain afar off; a great space being between them;
14 and David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Don't you answer, Abner? Then Abner answered, Who are you who cries to the king?
15 David said to Abner, Aren't you a [valiant] man? and who is like you in Israel? why then have you not kept watch over your lord, the king? for there came one of the people in to destroy the king your lord.
16 This thing isn't good that you have done. As Yahweh lives, you are worthy to die, because you have not kept watch over your lord, Yahweh's anointed. Now see where the king's spear is, and the jar of water that was at his head.
17 Saul knew David's voice, and said, Is this your voice, my son David? David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king.
18 He said, Why does my lord pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in my hand?
19 Now therefore, please let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it be Yahweh that has stirred you up against me, let him accept an offering: but if it be the children of men, cursed be they before Yahweh: for they have driven me out this day that I shouldn't cling to Yahweh's inheritance, saying, Go, serve other gods.
20 Now therefore, don't let my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of Yahweh: for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as when one does hunt a partridge in the mountains.
21 Then said Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David; for I will no more do you harm, because my life was precious in your eyes this day: behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly.
22 David answered, Behold the spear, O king! let then one of the young men come over and get it.
23 Yahweh will render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness; because Yahweh delivered you into my hand today, and I wouldn't put forth my hand against Yahweh's anointed.
24 Behold, as your life was much set by this day in my eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of Yahweh, and let him deliver me out of all oppression.
25 Then Saul said to David, Blessed be you, my son David: you shall both do mightily, and shall surely prevail. So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place.
1 And the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, and said, Is not David waiting secretly near us in the hill of Hachilah, before the waste land?
2 Then Saul went down to the waste land of Ziph, taking with him three thousand of the best men of Israel, to make search for David in the waste land of Ziph.
3 And Saul put up his tents on the hill of Hachilah, which is in front of the waste land on the road. But David was in the waste land, and he saw that Saul was coming after him.
4 And so David sent out watchers, and got word from them that Saul was certainly coming.
5 And David got up and came to the place where Saul's tents were: and David had a view of the place where Saul was sleeping with Abner, the son of Ner, the captain of his army: and Saul was sleeping inside the ring of carts, and the tents of the people were all round him.
6 Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, Who will go down with me to the tents of Saul? And Abishai said, I will go down with you.
7 So David and Abishai came down to the army by night: and Saul was sleeping inside the ring of carts with his spear planted in the earth by his head: and Abner and the people were sleeping round him.
8 Then Abishai said to David, God has given up your hater into your hands today; now let me give him one blow through to the earth with his spear, and there will be no need to give him a second.
9 And David said to Abishai Do not put him to death; for who, without sin, may put out his hand against the man on whom the Lord has put the holy oil?
10 And David said, By the living Lord, the Lord will send destruction on him; the natural day of his death will come, or he will go into the fight and come to his end.
11 Never will my hand be stretched out against the man marked with the holy oil; but take the spear which is by his head and the vessel of water, and let us go.
12 So David took the spear and the vessel of water from Saul's head; and they got away without any man seeing them, or being conscious of their coming, or awaking; for they were all sleeping because a deep sleep from the Lord had come on them.
13 Then David went over to the other side, and took his place on the top of a mountain some distance away, with a great space between them;
14 And crying out to the people and to Abner, the son of Ner, David said, Have you no answer to give, Abner? Then Abner said, Who is that crying out to the king?
15 And David said to Abner, Are you not a man of war? is there any other like you in Israel? why then have you not kept watch over your lord the king? for one of the people came in to put the king your lord to death.
16 What you have done is not good. By the living Lord, death is the right fate for you, because you have not kept watch over your lord, the man on whom the Lord has put the holy oil. Now see, where is the king's spear, and the vessel of water which was by his head?
17 And Saul, conscious that the voice was David's, said, Is that your voice, David, my son? And David said, It is my voice, O my lord king.
18 And he said, Why does my lord go armed against his servant? what have I done? or what evil is there in me?
19 Let my lord the king give ear now to the words of his servant. If it is the Lord who is moving you against me, let him take an offering: but if it is the children of men, may they be cursed before the Lord, for driving me out today and keeping me from my place in the heritage of the Lord, saying, Go, be the servant of other gods.
20 Then do not let my blood be drained out on the earth away from the face of the Lord: for the king of Israel has come out to take my life, like one going after birds in the mountains.
21 Then Saul said, I have done wrong: come back to me, David my son: I will do you no more wrong, because my life was dear to you today truly, I have been foolish and my error is very great.
22 Then David said, Here is the king's spear! let one of the young men come over and get it.
23 And the Lord will give to every man the reward of his righteousness and his faith: because the Lord gave you into my hands today, and I would not put out my hand against the man who has been marked with the holy oil.
24 And so, as your life was dear to me today, may my life be dear to the Lord, and may he make me free from all my troubles.
25 Then Saul said to David, May a blessing be on you, David, my son; you will do great things and without doubt you will overcome. Then David went on his way, and Saul went back to his place.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on 1 Samuel 26
Commentary on 1 Samuel 26 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
The repetition not only of the treachery of the Ziphites, but also of the sparing of Saul by David, furnishes no proof in itself that the account contained in this chapter is only another legend of the occurrences already related in 1 Samuel 23:19-24:22. As the pursuit of David by Saul lasted for several years, in so small a district as the desert of Judah, there is nothing strange in the repetition of the same scenes. And the assertion made by Thenius, that “Saul would have been a moral monster, which he evidently was not, if he had pursued David with quiet deliberation, and through the medium of the same persons, and had sought his life again, after his own life had been so magnanimously spared by him,” not only betrays a superficial acquaintance with the human heart, but is also founded upon the mere assertion, for which there is no proof, that Saul was evidently no so; and it is proved to be worthless by the fact, that after the first occasion on which his life was so magnanimously spared by David, he did not leave off seeking him up and down in the land, and that David was obliged to seek refuge with the Philistines in consequence, as may be seen from 1 Samuel 27:1-12, which Thenius himself assigns to the same source as 1 Samuel 24. The agreement between the two accounts reduces it entirely to outward and unessential things. It consists chiefly in the fact that the Ziphites came twice to Saul at Gibeah, and informed him that David was stopping in their neighbourhood, in the hill Hachilah , and also that Saul went out twice in pursuit of David with 3000 men. But the three thousand were the standing body of men that Saul had raised from the very beginning of his reign out of the whole number of those who were capable of bearing arms, for the purpose of carrying on his smaller wars (1 Samuel 13:2); and the hill of Hachilah appears to have been a place in the desert of Judah peculiarly well adapted for the site of an encampment. On the other hand, all the details, as well as the final results of the two occurrences, differ entirely from one another. When David was betrayed the first time, he drew back into the desert of Maon before the advance of Saul; and being completely surrounded by Saul upon one of the mountains there, was only saved from being taken prisoner by the circumstance that Saul was compelled suddenly to relinquish the pursuit of David on account of the report that the Philistines had invaded the land (1 Samuel 23:25-28). But on the second occasion Saul encamped upon the hill of Hachilah, whilst David had drawn back into the adjoining desert, from which he crept secretly into Saul's encampment, and might, if he had chosen, have put his enemy to death (1 Samuel 26:3.). There is quite as much difference in the minuter details connected with the sparing of Saul. On the first occasion, Saul entered a cave in the desert of Engedi, whilst David and his men were concealed in the interior of the cave, without having the smallest suspicion that they were anywhere near (1 Samuel 24:2-4). The second time David went with Abishai into the encampment of Saul upon the hill of Hachilah, while the king and all his men were sleeping (1 Samuel 26:3, 1 Samuel 26:5). It is true that on both occasions David's men told him that God had given his enemy into his hand; but the first time they added, Do to him what seemeth good in thy sight; and David cut off the lappet of Saul's coat, whereupon his conscience smote him, and he said, “Far be it from me to lay my hand upon the Lord's anointed” (1 Samuel 24:5-8). In the second instance, on the contrary, when David saw Saul in the distance lying by the carriage rampart and the army sleeping round him, he called to two of his heroes, Ahimelech and Abishai, to go with him into the camp of the sleeping foe, and then went thither with Abishai, who thereupon said to him, “God hath delivered thine enemy into thy hand: let me alone, that I may pierce him with the spear.” But David rejected this proposal, and merely took away the spear and water-bowl that were at Saul's head (1 Samuel 26:6-12). And lastly, notwithstanding the fact that the words of David and replies of Saul agree in certain general thoughts, yet they differ entirely in the main. On the first occasion David showed the king that his life had been in his power, and yet he had spared him, to dispel the delusion that he was seeking his life (1 Samuel 24:10-16). On the second occasion he asked the king why he was pursuing him, and called to him to desist from his pursuit (1 Samuel 26:18.). But Saul was so affected the first time that he wept aloud, and openly declared that David would obtain the kingdom; and asked him to promise on oath, that when he did, he would not destroy his family (1 Samuel 24:17-22). The second time, on the contrary, he only declared that he had sinned and acted foolishly, and would to David no more harm, and that David would undertake and prevail; but he neither shed tears, nor brought himself to speak of David's ascending the throne, so that he was evidently much more hardened than before (1 Samuel 26:21-25). These decided differences prove clearly enough that the incident described in this chapter is not the same as the similar one mentioned in 1 Samuel 23 and 24, but belongs to a later date, when Saul's enmity and hardness had increased.
1 Samuel 26:1-2
The second betrayal of David by the Ziphites occurred after David had married Abigail at Carmel, and when he had already returned to the desert of Judah. On 1 Samuel 26:1 and 1 Samuel 26:2 compare the explanations of 1 Samuel 23:19 and 1 Samuel 24:3. Instead of “ before (in the face of) Jeshimon ” (i.e., the wilderness), we find the situation defined more precisely in 1 Samuel 23:19, as “ to the right (i.e., on the south) of the wilderness ” (Jeshimon).
1 Samuel 26:3-4
When David saw (i.e., perceived) in the desert that Saul was coming behind him, he sent out spies, and learned from them that he certainly had come ( אל־נכון , for a certainty, as in 1 Samuel 23:23).
1 Samuel 26:5-7
Upon the receipt of this information, David rose up with two attendants (mentioned in 1 Samuel 26:6) to reconnoitre the camp of Saul. When he saw the place where Saul and his general Abner were lying - Saul was lying by the waggon rampart , and the fighting men were encamped round about him - he said to Ahimelech and Abishai, “ Who will go down with me into the camp to Saul? ” Whereupon Abishai declared himself ready to do so; and they both went by night, and found Saul sleeping with all the people. Ahimelech the Hittite is never mentioned again; but Abishai the son of Zeruiah, David's sister (1 Chronicles 2:16), and a brother of Joab, was afterwards a celebrated general of David, as was also his brother Joab ( 2 Samuel 16:9; 2 Samuel 18:2; 2 Samuel 21:17). Saul's spear was pressed (stuck) into the ground at his head , as a sign that the king was sleeping there, for the spear served Saul as a sceptre (cf. 1 Samuel 18:10).
1 Samuel 26:8-11
When Abishai exclaimed, “ God hath delivered thine enemy into thy hand: now will I pierce him with the spear into the ground with a stroke, and will give no second ” (sc., stroke: the Vulgate rendering gives the sense exactly: et secundo non opus erit, there will be no necessity for a second), David replied, “Destroy him not; for who hath stretched out his hand against the anointed of the Lord, and remained unhurt?” נקּה , as in Exodus 21:19; Numbers 5:31. He then continued (in 1 Samuel 26:10, 1 Samuel 26:11): “As truly as Jehovah liveth, unless Jehovah smite him (i.e., carry him off with a stroke; cf. 1 Samuel 25:38), or his day cometh that he dies (i.e., or he dies a natural death; 'his day' denoting the day of death, as in Job 14:6; Job 15:32), or he goes into battle and is carried off, far be it from me with Jehovah ( מיהוה , as in 1 Samuel 24:7) to stretch forth my hand against Jehovah's anointed.” The apodosis to 1 Samuel 26:10 commences with חלילה , “far be it,” or “the Lord forbid,” in 1 Samuel 26:11. “Take now the spear which is at his head, and the pitcher, and let us go.”
1 Samuel 26:12
They departed with these trophies, without any one waking up and seeing them, because they were all asleep, as a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them. שׁאוּל מראשׁתי stands for שׁ ממראשׁתי , “from the head of Saul,” with מ dropped. The expression “ a deep sleep of Jehovah ,” i.e., a deep sleep sent or inflicted by Jehovah, points to the fact that the Lord favoured David's enterprise.
“ And David went over to the other side, and placed himself upon the top of the mountain afar off (the space between them was great), and cried to the people ,” etc. Saul had probably encamped with his fighting men on the slope of the ill Hachilah, so that a valley separated him from the opposite hill, from which David had no doubt reconnoitred the camp and then gone down to it (1 Samuel 26:6), and to which he returned after the deed was accomplished. The statement that this mountain was far off, so that there was a great space between David and Saul, not only favours the accuracy of the historical tradition, but shows that David reckoned far less now upon any change in the state of Saul's mind than he had done before, when he followed Saul without hesitation from the cave and called after him ( 1 Samuel 24:9), and that in fact he rather feared lest Saul should endeavour to get him into his power as soon as he woke from his sleep.
1 Samuel 26:14
David called out to Abner, whose duty it was as general to defend the life of his king. And Abner replied, “ Who art thou, who criest out to the king? ” i.e., offendest the king by thy shouting, and disturbest his rest.
1 Samuel 26:15-16
David in return taunted Abner with having watched the king carelessly, and made himself chargeable with his death. “ For one of the people came to destroy thy lord the king .” As a proof of this, he then showed him the spear and pitcher that he had taken away with him. ראה is to be repeated in thought before את־צפּחת : “ look where the king's spear is; and (look) at the pitcher at his head ,” sc., where it is. These reproaches that were cast at Abner were intended to show to Saul, who might at any rate possibly hear, and in fact did hear, that David was the most faithful defender of his life, more faithful than his closest and most zealous servants.
1 Samuel 26:17-19
When Saul heard David's voice (for he could hardly have seen David, as the occurrence took place before daybreak, at the latest when the day began to dawn), and David had made himself known to the king in reply to his inquiry, David said, “ Why doth my lord pursue his servant? for what have I done, and what evil is in my hand? ” He then gave him the well-meant advice, to seek reconciliation for his wrath against him, and not to bring upon himself the guilt of allowing David to find his death in a foreign land. The words, “ and now let my lord the king hear the saying of his servant ,” serve to indicate that what follows is important, and worthy of laying to heart. In his words, David supposes two cases as conceivable causes of Saul's hostility: (1) if Jehovah hath stirred thee up against me; (2) if men have done so. In the first case, he proposes as the best means of overcoming this instigation, that He (Jehovah) should smell an offering. The Hiphil ירח only means to smell, not to cause to smell. The subject is Jehovah. Smelling a sacrifice is an anthropomorphic term, used to denote the divine satisfaction (cf. Genesis 8:21). The meaning of the words, “ let Jehovah smell sacrifice ,” is therefore, “let Saul appease the wrath of God by the presentation of acceptable sacrifices.” What sacrifices they are which please God, is shown in Psalms 51:18-19; and it is certainly not by accident merely that David uses the word minchah , the technical expression in the law for the bloodless sacrifice, which sets forth the sanctification of life in good works. The thought to which David gives utterance here, namely, that God instigates a man to evil actions, is met with in other passages of the Old Testament. It not only lies at the foundation of the words of David in Psalms 51:6 (cf. Hengstenberg on Psalms ), but is also clearly expressed in 2 Samuel 24:1, where Jehovah instigates David to number the people, and where this instigation is described as a manifestation of the anger of God against Israel; and in 2 Samuel 16:10., where David says, with regard to Shimei, that God had bade him curse him. These passages also show that God only instigates those who have sinned against Him to evil deeds; and therefore that the instigation consists in the fact that God impels sinners to manifest the wickedness of their hearts in deeds, or furnishes the opportunity and occasion for the unfolding and practical manifestation of the evil desire of the heart, that the sinner may either be brought to the knowledge of his more evil ways and also to repentance, through the evil deed and its consequences, or, if the heart should be hardened still more by the evil deed, that it may become ripe for the judgment of death. The instigation of a sinner to evil is simply one peculiar way in which God, as a general rule, punishes sins through sinners; for God only instigates to evil actions such as have drawn down the wrath of God upon themselves in consequence of their sin. When David supposes the fact that Jehovah has instigated Saul against him, he acknowledges, implicitly at least, that he himself is a sinner, whom the Lord may be intending to punish, though without lessening Saul's wrong by this indirect confession.
The second supposition is: “ if, however, children of men ” (sc., have instigated thee against me); in which case “ let them be cursed before the Lord; for they drive me now (this day) that I dare not attach myself to the inheritance of Jehovah (i.e., the people of God), saying, Go, serve other gods .” The meaning is this: They have carried it so far now, that I am obliged to separate from the people of God, to fly from the land of the Lord, and, because far away from His sanctuary, to serve other gods. The idea implied in the closing words was, that Jehovah could only be worshipped in Canaan, at the sanctuary consecrated to Him, because it was only there that He manifested himself to His people, and revealed His face or gracious presence (vid., Psalms 42:2-3; Psalms 84:11; Psalms 143:6.). “We are not to understand that the enemies of David were actually accustomed to use these very words, but David was thinking of deeds rather than words” (Calvin).
1 Samuel 26:20
“ And now let not my blood fall to the earth far away from the face of the Lord ,” i.e., do not carry it so far as to compel me to perish in a foreign land. “ For the king of Israel has gone out to seek a single flea (vid., 1 Samuel 24:15), as one hunts a partridge upon the mountains .” This last comparison does not of course refer to the first, so that “the object of comparison is compared again with something else,” as Thenius supposes, but it refers rather to the whole of the previous clause. The king of Israel is pursuing something very trivial, and altogether unworthy of his pursuit, just as if one were hunting a partridge upon the mountains. “No one would think it worth his while to hunt a single partridge that had flown to the mountains, when they may be found in coveys in the fields” (Winer, Bibl. R. W. ii. p. 307). This comparison, therefore, does not presuppose that קרא must be a bird living upon the mountains, as Thenius maintains, so as to justify his altering the text according to the Septuagint. These words of David were perfectly well adapted to sharpen Saul's conscience, and induce him to desist from his enmity, if he still had an ear for the voice of truth.
Moreover, Saul could not help confessing, “ I have sinned: return, my son David; I will do thee harm no more, because my life was precious in thine eyes that day .” A good intention, which he never carried out. “He declared that he would never do any more what he had already so often promised not to do again; and yet he did not fail to do it again and again. He ought rather to have taken refuge with God, and appealed to Him for grace, that he might not fall into such sins again; yea, he should have entreated David himself to pray for him” ( Berleb. Bible ). He adds still further, “ Behold, I have acted foolishly, and have gone sore astray ;” but yet he persists in this folly. “There is no sinner so hardened, but that God gives him now and then some rays of light, which show him all his error. But, alas! when they are awakened by such divine movings, it is only for a few moments; and such impulses are no sooner past, than they fall back again immediately into their former life, and forget all that they have promised.”
1 Samuel 26:22-23
David then bade the king send a servant to fetch back the spear and pitcher, and reminded him again of the recompense of God: “ Jehovah will recompense His righteousness and His faithfulness to the man into whose hand Jehovah hath given thee to-day; and (for) I would not stretch out my hand against the anointed of the Lord .”
1 Samuel 26:24-25
“ Behold, as thy soul has been greatly esteemed in my eyes to-day, so will my soul be greatly esteemed in the eyes of Jehovah, that He will save me out of all tribulation .” These words do not contain any “sounding of his own praises” (Thenius), but are merely the testimony of a good conscience before God in the presence of an enemy, who is indeed obliged to confess his wrong-doing, but who no longer feels or acknowledges his need of forgiveness. For even Saul's reply to these words in 1 Samuel 26:25 (“Blessed art thou, my son David: thou wilt undertake, and also prevail:” תּוּכל יכל , lit. to vanquish, i.e., to carry out what one undertakes) does not express any genuine goodwill towards David, but only an acknowledgment, forced upon him by this fresh experience of David's magnanimity, that God was blessing all his undertakings, so that he would prevail. Saul had no more thoughts of any real reconciliation with David. “David went his way, and Saul turned to his place” (cf. Numbers 24:25). Thus they parted, and never saw each other again. There is nothing said about Saul returning to his house, as there was when his life was first spared (1 Samuel 24:22). On the contrary, he does not seem to have given up pursuing David; for, according to 1 Samuel 27:1-12, David was obliged to take refuge in a foreign land, and carry out what he had described in 1 Samuel 26:19 as his greatest calamity.