David Spares Saul’s Life

1 Samuel 24:1-22, 26:1-25

Bible Stories

 

1 Samuel 24:1 Then David ascended from there, and he lived in very secure places in Engedi.

1 Samuel 24:2 And when Saul had returned after pursuing the Philistines, they reported to him, saying, “Behold, David is in the desert of Engedi.”

1 Samuel 24:3 Therefore, Saul, taking three thousand elect men from all of Israel, traveled in order to search for David and his men, even upon the most broken rocks, which are passable only to mountain goats.

1 Samuel 24:4 And he arrived at the sheepfolds, which presented themselves along the way. And a cave was in that place, which Saul entered, so that he might ease his bowels. But David and his men were hiding in the interior part of the cave.

1 Samuel 24:5 And the servants of David said to him: “Behold the day, about which the Lord said to you, ‘I will deliver your enemy to you, so that you may do to him as it will be pleasing in your eyes.’ ” Then David rose up, and he quietly cut off the edge of Saul’s cloak.

1 Samuel 24:6 After this, his own heart struck David, because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s cloak.

1 Samuel 24:7 And he said to his men: “May the Lord be gracious to me, lest I do this thing to my lord, the Christ of the Lord, so that I lay my hand upon him. For he is the Christ of the Lord.”

1 Samuel 24:8 And David restrained his men with his words, and he would not permit them to rise up against Saul. And so Saul, going out of the cave, continued to undertake his journey.

1 Samuel 24:9 Then David also rose up after him. And departing from the cave, he cried out behind the back of Saul, saying: “My lord, the king!” And Saul looked behind him. And David, bowing himself face down to the ground, reverenced.

1 Samuel 24:10 And he said to Saul: “Why do you listen to the words of men who say: ‘David seeks evil against you?’

1 Samuel 24:11 Behold, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord has delivered you into my hand, in the cave. And I thought that I might kill you. But my eye has spared you. For I said: I will not extend my hand against my lord, for he is the Christ of the Lord.

1 Samuel 24:12 Moreover, see and know, O my father, the edge of your cloak in my hand. For though I cut off the top of your cloak, I was not willing to extend my hand against you. Turn your soul and see that there is no evil in my hand, nor any iniquity or sin against you. Yet you lie in wait for my life, so that you may take it away.

1 Samuel 24:13 May the Lord judge between me and you. And may the Lord vindicate me from you. But my hand will not be against you.

1 Samuel 24:14 So too, it is said in the ancient proverb, ‘From the impious, impiety will go forth.’ Therefore, my hand will not be upon you.

1 Samuel 24:15 Whom are you pursuing, O king of Israel? Whom are you pursuing? You are pursuing a dead dog, a single flea.

1 Samuel 24:16 May the Lord be the judge, and may he judge between me and you. And may he see and judge my case, and rescue me from your hand.”

1 Samuel 24:17 And when David had completed speaking words in this way to Saul, Saul said, “Could this be your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice, and he wept.

1 Samuel 24:18 And he said to David: “You are more just than I am. For you have distributed good to me, but I have repaid evil to you.

1 Samuel 24:19 And you have revealed this day the good that you have done for me: how the Lord delivered me into your hand, but you did not kill me.

1 Samuel 24:20 For who, when he will have found his enemy, will release him along a good path? So may the Lord repay you for this good turn, because you have acted on my behalf this day.

1 Samuel 24:21 And now I know certainly that you shall be king, and you shall have the kingdom of Israel in your hand.

1 Samuel 24:22 Swear to me in the Lord that you will not take away my offspring after me, nor take away my name from the house of my father.”

1 Samuel 26:1 And the Ziphites went to Saul at Gibeah, saying: “Behold, David is hidden on the hill of Hachilah, which is opposite the wilderness.”

1 Samuel 26:2 And Saul rose up, and he descended into the desert of Ziph, and with him three thousand elect men of Israel, so that he might seek David in the desert of Ziph.

1 Samuel 26:3 And Saul encamped at Gibeah on Hachilah, which was opposite the wilderness on the way. But David was living in the desert. Then, seeing that Saul had arrived after him in the wilderness,

1 Samuel 26:4 he sent explorers, and he learned that he certainly had arrived in that place.

1 Samuel 26:5 And David rose up secretly, and he went to the place where Saul was. And when he had seen the place where Saul was sleeping, and Abner, the son of Ner, the leader of his military, and Saul sleeping in a tent, and the remainder of the common people all around him,

1 Samuel 26:6 David spoke to Ahimelech, the Hittite, and to Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, saying, “Who will descend with me to Saul in the camp?” And Abishai said, “I will descend with you.”

1 Samuel 26:7 Therefore, David and Abishai went to the people by night, and they found Saul lying down and sleeping in the tent, with his spear fixed in the ground at his head. And Abner and the people were sleeping all around him.

1 Samuel 26:8 And Abishai said to David: “God has enclosed your enemy this day in your hands. Now therefore, I will pierce him with my lance, through to the ground, once, and there will not need to be a second.”

1 Samuel 26:9 And David said to Abishai: “You shall not kill him. For who may extend his hand against the Christ of the Lord, and yet be innocent?”

1 Samuel 26:10 And David said: “As the Lord lives, unless the Lord himself will strike him, or unless his day to die will have arrived, or unless, descending into battle, he will perish,

1 Samuel 26:11 may the Lord be gracious to me, so that I may not extend my hand against the Christ of the Lord. Now therefore, take the spear that is at his head, and the cup of water, and let us go.”

1 Samuel 26:12 And so, David took the spear, and the cup of water that was at Saul’s head, and they went away. And there was no one who saw it, or realized it, or awakened, but they were all sleeping. For a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen over them.

1 Samuel 26:13 And when David had crossed over to the opposite side, and had stood upon the top of the hill far away, so that there was a great interval between them,

1 Samuel 26:14 David cried out to the people, and to Abner, the son of Ner, saying, “Will you not respond, Abner?” And responding, Abner said, “Who are you, that you would cry out and disquiet the king?”

1 Samuel 26:15 And David said to Abner: “Are you not a man? And who else is like you in Israel? Then why have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people entered, so that he might kill the king, your lord.

1 Samuel 26:16 This is not good, what you have done. As the Lord lives, you are sons of death, because you have not guarded 169 your lord, the Christ of the Lord. Now therefore, where is the king’s spear, and where is the cup of water that was at his head?”

1 Samuel 26:17 Then Saul recognized the voice of David, and he said, “Is this not your voice, my son David?” And David said, “It is my voice, my lord the king.”

1 Samuel 26:18 And he said: “For what reason has my lord pursued his servant? What have I done? Or what evil is there in my hand?

1 Samuel 26:19 Now therefore, listen, I beg you, my lord the king, to the words of your servant. If the Lord has stirred you up against me, let him make the sacrifice fragrant. But if the sons of men have done so, they are accursed in the sight of the Lord, who has cast me out this day, so that I would not live within the inheritance of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve strange gods.’

1 Samuel 26:20 And now, let not my blood be poured out upon the earth before the Lord. For the king of Israel has gone out, so that he might seek a flea, just as the partridge is pursued amid the mountains.”

1 Samuel 26:21 And Saul said: “I have sinned. Return, my son David. For I will never again do evil to you, because my life has been precious in your eyes this day. For it is apparent that I have acted senselessly, and have been ignorant of very many things.”

1 Samuel 26:22 And responding, David said: “Behold, the king’s spear. Let one of the servants of the king cross over and take it.

1 Samuel 26:23 And the Lord will repay each one according to his justice and faith. For the Lord has delivered you this day into my hand, but I was not willing to extend my hand against the Christ of the Lord.

1 Samuel 26:24 And just as your soul has been magnified this day in my eyes, so let my soul be magnified in the eyes of the Lord, and may he free me from all distress.”

1 Samuel 26:25 Then Saul said to David: “You are blessed, my son David. And whatever you may do, it shall certainly succeed.” And David departed on his way. And Saul returned to his place.