1 Samuel 24
24
David Spares Saul at En–gedi
1And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of En–ge´di. 2Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats. 3#Ps 57 Title; Ps 142 Title. And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave. 4And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the Lord said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily. 5And it came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul's skirt. 6And he said unto his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord's anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord. 7So David stayed his servants with these words and suffered them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way.
8David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself. 9And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou men's words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt? 10Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the Lord hath delivered thee today into mine hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee: but mine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my lord; for he is the Lord's anointed. 11Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand: for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it. 12The Lord judge between me and thee, and the Lord avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. 13As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. 14After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea. 15The Lord therefore be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of thine hand.
16And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept. 17And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil. 18And thou hast showed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me: forasmuch as when the Lord had delivered me into thine hand, thou killedst me not. 19For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the Lord reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day. 20And now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand. 21Swear now therefore unto me by the Lord, that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father's house. 22And David sware unto Saul. And Saul went home; but David and his men gat them up unto the hold.
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1 Samuel 24: KJVAAE
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
1 Samuel 24
24
David Lets Saul Live
1When Saul got back from fighting off the Philistines, he heard that David was in the desert around En-Gedi. 2Saul led 3,000 of Israel's best soldiers out to look for David and his men near Wild Goat Rocks at En-Gedi. 3#Ps 57 Title; Ps 142 Title. There were some sheep pens along the side of the road, and one of them was built around the entrance to a cave. Saul went into the cave to relieve himself.
David and his men were hiding at the back of the cave. 4They whispered to David, “The Lord told you he was going to let you defeat your enemies and do whatever you want with them. This must be the day the Lord was talking about.”
David sneaked over and cut off a small piece#24.4 small piece: Hebrew “corner” or “lower hem.” of Saul's robe, but Saul didn't notice a thing. 5Afterwards, David was sorry that he had even done that, 6-7#1 S 26.11. and he told his men, “Stop talking foolishly. We're not going to attack Saul. He's my king, and I pray that the Lord will keep me from doing anything to harm his chosen king.”
Saul left the cave and started down the road. 8Soon, David also got up and left the cave. “Your Majesty!” he shouted from a distance.
Saul turned around to look. David bowed down very low 9and said:
Your Majesty, why do you listen to people who say that I'm trying to harm you? 10You can see for yourself that the Lord gave me the chance to catch you in the cave today. Some of my men wanted to kill you, but I wouldn't let them do it. I told them, “I will not harm the Lord's chosen king!” 11Your Majesty, look at what I'm holding. You can see that it's a piece of your robe. If I could cut off a piece of your robe, I could have killed you. But I let you live, and that should prove I'm not trying to harm you or to rebel. I haven't done anything to you, and yet you keep trying to ambush and kill me.
12I'll let the Lord decide which one of us has done right. I pray that the Lord will punish you for what you're doing to me, but I won't do anything to you. 13An old proverb says, “Only evil people do evil things,” and so I won't harm you.
14 #
1 S 26.20. Why should the king of Israel be out chasing me, anyway? I'm as worthless as a dead dog or a flea. 15I pray that the Lord will help me escape and show that I am in the right.
16“David, my son—is that you?” Saul asked. Then he started crying 17and said:
David, you're a better person than I am. You treated me with kindness, even though I've been cruel to you. 18You've told me how you were kind enough not to kill me when the Lord gave you the chance. 19If you really were my enemy, you wouldn't have let me leave here alive. I pray that the Lord will give you a big reward for what you did today.
20I realize now that you will be the next king, and a powerful king at that. 21Promise me with the Lord as your witness, that you won't wipe out my descendants. Let them live to keep my family name alive.
22So David promised, and Saul went home. David and his men returned to their hideout.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.