1 Samuel 24
24
1And it cometh to pass when Saul hath turned back from after the Philistines, that they declare to him, saying, ‘Lo, David [is] in the wilderness of En-gedi.’
2And Saul taketh three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and goeth to seek David and his men, on the front of the rocks of the wild goats,
3and he cometh in unto folds of the flock, on the way, and there [is] a cave, and Saul goeth in to cover his feet; and David and his men in the sides of the cave are abiding.
4And the men of David say unto him, ‘Lo, the day of which Jehovah said unto thee, Lo, I am giving thine enemy into thy hand, and thou hast done to him as it is good in thine eyes;’ and David riseth and cutteth off the skirt of the upper robe which [is] on Saul — gently.
5And it cometh to pass afterwards that the heart of David smiteth him, because that he hath cut off the skirt which [is] on Saul,
6and he saith to his men, ‘Far be it from me, by Jehovah; I do not do this thing to my lord — to the anointed of Jehovah — to put forth my hand against him, for the anointed of Jehovah he [is].’
7And David subdueth his men by words, and hath not permitted them to rise against Saul; and Saul hath risen from the cave, and goeth on the way;
8and David riseth afterwards, and goeth out from the cave, and calleth after Saul, saying, ‘My lord, O king!’ And Saul looketh attentively behind him, and David boweth — face to the earth — and doth obeisance.
9And David saith to Saul, ‘Why dost thou hear the words of man, saying, Lo, David is seeking thine evil?
10Lo, this day have thine eyes seen how that Jehovah hath given thee to-day into my hand in the cave; and [one] said to slay thee, and [mine eye] hath pity on thee, and I say, I do not put forth my hand against my lord, for the anointed of Jehovah he [is].
11‘And, my father, see, yea see the skirt of thine upper robe in my hand; for by cutting off the skirt of thy upper robe, and I have not slain thee, know and see that there is not in my hand evil and transgression, and I have not sinned against thee, and thou art hunting my soul to take it!
12‘Jehovah doth judge between me and thee, and Jehovah hath avenged me of thee, and my hand is not on thee;
13as saith the simile of the ancients, From the wicked goeth out wickedness, and my hand is not on thee.
14‘After whom hath the king of Israel come out? after whom art thou pursuing? — after a dead dog! after one flea!
15And Jehovah hath been for judge, and hath judged between me and thee, yea, he seeth and pleadeth my cause, and doth deliver me out of thy hand.’
16And it cometh to pass, when David completeth to speak these words unto Saul, that Saul saith, ‘Is this thy voice, my son David?’ and Saul lifteth up his voice, and weepeth.
17And he saith unto David, ‘More righteous thou [art] than I; for thou hast done me good, and I have done thee evil;
18and thou hast declared to-day how that thou hast done good with me, how that Jehovah shut me up into thy hand, and thou didst not slay me,
19and that a man doth find his enemy, and hath sent him away in a good manner; and Jehovah doth repay thee good for that which thou didst to me this day.
20‘And, now, lo, I have known that thou dost certainly reign, and the kingdom of Israel hath stood in thy hand;
21and, now, swear to me by Jehovah — thou dost not cut off my seed after me, nor dost thou destroy my name from the house of my father.’
22And David sweareth to Saul, and Saul goeth unto his house, and David and his men have gone up unto the fortress.
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1 Samuel 24: YLT98
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1 Samuel 24
24
David Shames Saul
1After Saul had chased the Philistines away, people told him, “David is in the desert area near En Gedi.”
2So Saul chose 3000 men from all over Israel and began searching for David and his men. They looked near Wild Goat Rocks. 3Saul came to some sheep pens beside the road. There was a cave near there, so Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were deep inside that same cave. 4David’s men told him, “This is the day the Lord told you about when he said, ‘I will give your enemy to you, and you can do whatever you want to him.’”
So David crawled closer and closer to Saul and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. Saul didn’t notice what happened. 5Later, David felt bad about what he did. 6He said to his men, “I pray the Lord never lets me do anything like that to my master again. I must not do anything against Saul, because he is the Lord’s chosen king.#24:6 chosen king Literally, “anointed one.” Also in verse 10.” 7David said these things to stop his men. He would not let his men hurt Saul.
Saul left the cave and went on his way. 8Later, David came out of the cave and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!”
Saul looked back. David bowed with his face to the ground to show his respect. 9David said to Saul, “Why do you listen when people say, ‘David plans to hurt you’? 10You can see that with your own eyes that is not true. The Lord put you within my grasp today in the cave, but I refused to kill you. I was merciful to you. I said, ‘I won’t hurt my master. Saul is the Lord’s chosen king.’ 11Look at this piece of cloth in my hand. I cut off the corner of your robe. I could have killed you, but I didn’t. Now, I want you to understand this. I want you to know that I am not planning anything against you. I did nothing wrong to you, but you are hunting me and trying to kill me. 12Let the Lord be the judge. I hope the Lord will punish you for the wrong you did to me, but I won’t fight you myself. 13There is an old saying:
‘Bad things come from bad people.’
“I haven’t done anything bad, and I won’t hurt you. 14Who are you chasing? Did the king of Israel bring an army to chase a single flea or a dying dog? 15Let the Lord be the judge. Let him decide between you and me. He will support me and show that I am right. He will save me from you.”
16When David finished speaking, Saul asked, “Is that your voice, David my son?” Then Saul lifted his voice and began to cry. 17He said, “You are right, and I am wrong. You were good to me, even though I have been bad to you. 18You yourself said it when you told me about the good things you did. The Lord put my life in your hands, but you did not kill me. 19This shows that you are not my enemy. A man doesn’t catch his enemy, and then just let him go. He doesn’t do good things for his enemy. May the Lord reward you for being good to me today. 20Now, I know that you will become the new king. You will rule the kingdom of Israel. 21Now make a promise to me with an oath using the Lord’s name. Promise that you will not kill my descendants, even after I die. Promise me that you will not erase my name from my father’s family.”
22So David made a promise to Saul. He promised that he would not kill Saul’s family. Then Saul went back home. David and his men went back up to the fort.
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