1 Samuel 26
26
1And 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?’
2And 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.
3And 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;
4and David sendeth spies, and knoweth that Saul hath come unto Nachon,
5and 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.
6And 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.’
7And 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.
8And 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.’
9And David saith unto Abishai, ‘Destroy him not; for who hath put forth his hand against the anointed of Jehovah, and been acquitted?’
10And 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 —
11far 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.’
12And 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.
13And David passeth over to the other side, and standeth on the top of the hill afar off — great [is] the place between them;
14and 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?’
15And 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.
16Not 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.’
17And Saul discerneth the voice of David, and saith, ‘Is this thy voice, my son David?’ and David saith, ‘My voice, my lord, O king!’
18and he saith, ‘Why [is] this — my lord is pursuing after his servant? for what have I done, and what [is] in my hand evil?
19And, 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.’
21And 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.’
22And David answereth and saith, ‘Lo, the king's spear; and let one of the young men pass over, and receive it;
23and 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,
24and 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.’
25And 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.
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1 Samuel 26: YLT98
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
1 Samuel 26
26
David and Abishai Enter Saul’s Camp
1The people of Ziph went to see Saul at Gibeah and said to him, “David is hiding on Hakilah Hill, across from Jeshimon.”
2Saul gathered 3000 of the best soldiers in Israel and went down to the desert of Ziph to search for David there. 3Saul set up his camp by the road at Hakilah Hill, across from Jeshimon.
David was out in the desert and saw that Saul had come out into the desert after him. 4So David sent out spies to know for certain that Saul had come after him again. 5Then David went to where Saul had set up his camp. David saw where Saul and Abner were sleeping. (Abner son of Ner was the commander of Saul’s army.) Saul was sleeping in the center of a circle of men that surrounded him.
6David talked to Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah. (Abishai was Joab’s brother.) He asked them, “Who would like to go down into the camp with me after Saul?”
Abishai answered, “I’ll go with you.”
7When night came, David and Abishai went into Saul’s camp. Saul was asleep in the middle of the circle of men. His spear was stuck in the ground near his head. Abner and the other soldiers were asleep around Saul. 8Abishai said to David, “Today God has given your enemy to you. Let me pin Saul to the ground with his spear. I’ll only do it once!”
9But David said to Abishai, “Don’t kill Saul! Anyone who hurts the Lord’s chosen king#26:9 chosen king Literally, “anointed one.” Also in verses 16, 23. must be punished. 10As surely as the Lord lives, the Lord himself will punish Saul. Maybe Saul will die naturally or maybe he will be killed in battle. 11But I pray that the Lord never lets me hurt the Lord’s chosen king. Now pick up the spear and water jug by Saul’s head and let’s go.”
12So David took the spear and water jug that were near Saul’s head, and then David and Abishai left Saul’s camp. No one knew what had happened. No one saw it. No one even woke up. Saul and all of his soldiers slept because the Lord had put them into a deep sleep.
David Shames Saul Again
13David crossed over to the other side of the valley. He stood on top of the mountain across the valley from Saul’s camp. David and Saul’s camp were far apart. 14David shouted to the army and to Abner son of Ner, “Answer me, Abner!”
Abner answered, “Who are you? Why are you calling the king?”
15David said, “You are an important man, aren’t you? You are better than any other man in Israel. Is that right? So why didn’t you guard your master, the king? An ordinary man came into your camp to kill your master, the king. 16You made a big mistake. As surely as the Lord is alive, you and your men should die, because you didn’t protect your master, the Lord’s chosen king. Look for the king’s spear and the water jug that was near Saul’s head. Where are they?”
17Saul knew David’s voice and said, “Is that your voice, David my son?”
David answered, “Yes, it is my voice, my lord the king. 18Sir, why are you chasing me? What wrong have I done? What am I guilty of? 19My lord the king, listen to me. If the Lord caused you to be angry with me, let him accept an offering. But if men caused you to be angry with me, I ask the Lord to curse them because they forced me to leave the land that the Lord gave me and told me to go serve other gods. 20Now don’t make me die far away from the Lord’s presence. The king of Israel has come out looking for a flea. You are like a man hunting partridges in the mountains.”#26:20 hunting partridges in the mountains People hunted these birds until the birds became too tired to go on. Then they killed the birds. Saul was chasing David the same way. This is also a wordplay. The Hebrew word for “partridge” is like the word for “calling” in verse 14.
21Then Saul said, “David, my son! I have sinned. Come back. Today you showed me that my life is important to you, so I won’t try to hurt you. I have acted foolishly. I have made a big mistake.”
22David answered, “Here is the king’s spear. Let one of your young men come here and get it. 23The Lord pays every man for what he does—he rewards him if he does right, and he punishes him if he does wrong. The Lord gave you to me today, but I wouldn’t harm the Lord’s chosen king. 24Today I showed you that your life is important to me. In the same way the Lord will show that my life is important to him. He will save me from every trouble.”
25Then Saul said to David, “God bless you, David my son. You will do great things and you will win.”
David went on his way, and Saul went back home.
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