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1 Samuel 24

When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.”

Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Wildgoats’ Rocks.

And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave.

And the men of David said to him, “Here is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’” Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.

And afterward David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.

He said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the LORD’s anointed.”

So David persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way.

Afterward David also arose and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and paid homage.

And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Behold, David seeks your harm’?

Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the LORD gave you today into my hand in the cave. And some told me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD’s anointed.’

See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you hunt my life to take it.

May the LORD judge between me and you, may the LORD avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you.

As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness.’ But my hand shall not be against you.

After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog! After a flea!

May the LORD therefore be judge and give sentence between me and you, and see to it and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand.”

As soon as David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept.

He said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil.

And you have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the LORD put me into your hands.

For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe? So may the LORD reward you with good for what you have done to me this day.

And now, behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand.

Swear to me therefore by the LORD that you will not cut off my offspring after me, and that you will not destroy my name out of my father’s house.”

And David swore this to Saul. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.

Scripture quotations marked “ESV” are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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1 Samuel 24

While pursuing David in the wilderness, Saul enters a cave where David is hiding, and David's men urge him to kill Saul, seeing it as the LORD's opportunity ('The LORD said to you, I will give your enemy into your hands,' 24:4); instead, David cuts off the corner of Saul's robe and afterward grieves his action ('The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD's anointed,' 24:6). David calls out to Saul and shows him the piece of robe, proving his restraint and loyalty despite Saul's murderous intent, and Saul weeps: 'You are more righteous than I...You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly' (24:17-18). Saul releases David and blesses him, acknowledging that 'the LORD will surely establish your kingdom' (24:20), yet the reconciliation is fragile: the chapter closes with the understanding that Saul will eventually return to pursuing David. The episode crystallizes David's covenantal character: despite the opportunity and the encouragement of his followers to kill the man pursuing him, David honors Saul's position as 'the LORD's anointed,' demonstrating that true kingship rests on covenant obedience and respect for divine order, not on seizing power through violence.

1 Samuel 24:5

Now David and his men were sitting in the uttermost parts of the cave — David's *v'David v'anshe yoshvim b'tachlit ha'me'ara*, sitting in the uttermost parts, suggests he was hidden deep within, sheltered by darkness and stone. The verb *yoshvim*, sitting, indicates patient concealment, the guerrilla's waiting.

1 Samuel 24:6

And the men of David said to him, This is the day of which the LORD said to you, Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do with him as it seems good to you — David's followers' *va'yomru anshey David*, said to him, invoke divine promise, suggesting that this moment fulfills the LORD's word, that destiny has placed Saul in David's power. The *ta'aseh lo k'tov b'einecha*, do with him as it seems good, offers David the ultimate prerogative: the death of his enemy.

1 Samuel 24:7

Then David arose and quietly cut off the skirt of Saul's robe — David's *va'yaqum David va'yikrat et k'naf me'il Shaul bachtarut*, arose and cut the skirt of Saul's robe, performs an act of symbolic significance. The *k'naf me'il*, skirt of the robe, is the hem, the edge, and its cutting is an act of desecration, a violation of the royal garment. Yet David's action stops short of killing; he takes a piece of fabric, leaving Saul alive.

1 Samuel 24:8

And afterward David's heart struck him, for he had cut off the skirt of his master's robe — David's *va'yaka et lev David oto acharei ken*, his heart struck him afterward, shows immediate conscience, moral recoil. The verb *nakah*, struck, suggests physical pain, as if David's own heart rejects what his hand has done. The very cutting of a thread of the king's robe becomes a transgression, a violation of the *anointed*, the one sanctified by God's choice.

1 Samuel 24:9

And he said to his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the LORD's anointed, to put forth my hand against him — David's *chililah li me'et YHWH asher asah et yadeh b'YHWH meshicho* (far be it from me that I should do this to the LORD's anointed) asserts a theological principle: the anointed king cannot be harmed, even in self-defense. The *meshicho*, his anointed, invokes the sanctity conferred by Samuel's anointing, a sanctity that transcends political enmity.

1 Samuel 24:10

For as the LORD lives, the LORD will smite him, or his day will come and he will die, or he shall go down into battle and be swept away — David's confidence (*chi YHWH yikhehuu o yom bo vamut o b'milchama yishaph*) asserts that judgment belongs to the LORD, not to David. The enumeration of possibilities—Saul will be smitten, his day will come, he will fall in battle—suggests that David relies on divine judgment rather than human action to resolve their conflict. David's refusal to kill Saul, despite the opportunity, is an act of faith, a submission to God's timetable and methods.

1 Samuel 24:11

See now, this day the LORD has delivered your enemy into your hand — David's *v'hineh hayom hazeh yadeta ki natan elohim otcha b'yadi v'lo ahatzta*, see now, this day, proves that David has had Saul completely in his power but has chosen not to strike. The *v'lo ahatzta*, and I did not kill you, becomes David's testament, his evidence of virtue and piety.

1 Samuel 24:12

And see the skirt of your robe in my hand; for in that I cut off the skirt of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there is no evil or transgression in my hand, and I have not transgressed against you — David's *v're'eh et k'naf me'ilcha b'yadi* (see the skirt of your robe in my hand) shows physical proof of his restraint. The *ki lo hashevti et yad'cha* (I did not stretch forth my hand) asserts his innocence of the charges Saul has made.

1 Samuel 24:13

Let the LORD judge between me and you, and may the LORD avenge me on you — David's *YHWH yishpot beinenu uvincha v'YHWH yinqom oti mimecha* (let the LORD judge between us) invokes divine judgment, the court of heaven as arbiter of their dispute. The *v'yinqom oti mimecha*, may the LORD avenge me, calls upon God to vindicate David against Saul's persecution.

1 Samuel 24:14

As the proverb of the ancients says, Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness — David's *ki kamar meishal ha'qedom min harsh'im yetzei r'sha* invokes traditional wisdom, a saying that evil produces evil, suggesting that Saul's wickedness will eventually bring forth its own consequences, its self-destruction.

1 Samuel 24:15

But my hand shall not be upon you — David's *v'yad'i lo tihyeh bach* (my hand shall not be upon you) is his final assertion of innocence, the refusal to be the instrument of Saul's destruction. This restraint, more than any military victory, becomes David's defining characteristic.

1 Samuel 24:19

And he wept with a loud voice — Saul's *va'yisa Shaul et qolo va'yivkeh*, lifted his voice and wept, represents genuine emotional catharsis, the king dissolved into tears. The *qol gadol*, loud voice, suggests unrestrained emotion, the breaking of the control that had held Saul's actions.

1 Samuel 24:20

And he said, You are more righteous than I; for you have dealt well with me, while I have dealt wickedly with you — Saul's confession (*attah tzaddik mimeni ki atah gemalt oti tovot v'ani gamalticha ra'ot*) is complete reversal, Saul acknowledging David's superiority in moral character. The *tzaddik mimeni*, more righteous than I, is Saul's admission of spiritual failure. His *gamalticha ra'ot*, I have dealt wickedly with you, names his own actions as evil, a public confession of guilt.

1 Samuel 24:21

And you have shown me today that you have dealt with me in kindness — Saul's *v'attah higadta li et hayom asher asa YHWH oti tovah*, you have shown me today that the LORD has done me good, credits David with making clear that divine favor has rested on David throughout. The *tovah*, goodness, that Saul attributes to the LORD's action is vindicated by David's restraint.

1 Samuel 24:22

Now I know that you will surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand — Saul's prophecy (*ki yada'ati ki melek tihyeh v'nikon b'yadcha mamlachat Yisrael*) is a public recognition of David's destined kingship. The *tihyeh melek*, will be king, shifts from prophetic uncertainty to firm assertion. Saul's acknowledgment, extracted by David's virtue, becomes a blessing, a public affirmation of the succession that God has decreed.

1 Samuel 24:16

After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog or a flea — David's rhetorical questions (*acharei mi yatzata melekh Yisrael acharei mi attah rodayph acharey kelev met o after par'osh echad*) express bewilderment at Saul's vendetta. The *kelev met*, dead dog, and *par'osh*, flea, are images of insignificance and contempt; David claims to be beneath notice, not worth Saul's effort. Yet the very imagery of lowliness establishes David's humility, his perception of himself as marginal even as his destiny becomes central.

1 Samuel 24:17

Therefore let the LORD be judge and decide between me and you, and may he see and plead my cause and vindicate me from your hand — David's *v'YHWH yihiye shofet v'yadin beinenu*, let the LORD be judge, returns to his invocation of divine arbitration. The *v'yere et rivee uyadin rishe'i*, see my cause and judge my right, appeals to the cosmic court, the tribunal before which all earthly power is relativized.

1 Samuel 24:18

And when David finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, Is this your voice, David my son? — Saul's *va'yomer Shaul ha'colcha zot b'ni David*, is this your voice, my son, represents a moment of recognition and emotional breakthrough. The *b'ni*, my son, is language of kinship, tenderness, the re-establishment of the parental relationship that had been shattered by vendetta. Saul's emotion breaks through his armor of hatred.

1 Samuel 24:1

And David went up from there and dwelt in the strongholds of En-gedi — David's movement (*va'ya'al David m'sham va'yeshev b'mtzudot En-gedi*) removes him to En-gedi, the harsh fortress region on the Dead Sea shore. The *mtzudot*, strongholds, are natural caves and rocky places where a fugitive can hide. En-gedi becomes the site of the final and most significant encounter between David and Saul.

1 Samuel 24:2

Now when Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, Behold, David is in the wilderness of En-gedi — the intelligence (*va'yishma ki David ba'midbar En-gedi*) is delivered to Saul upon his return from the Philistine campaign, renewing the pursuit. The *vayikach alef ish*, he took three thousand men, an enormous force, suggests that Saul intends to crush David decisively.

1 Samuel 24:3

And Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men over the face of the wild goats' rocks — Saul's *va'yatzet lekahesh David v'anshe... al pnei sela'im yaalim*, sought David over the wild goat rocks, represents a coordinated campaign, an army searching the terrain methodically. The topography of En-gedi is maze-like, ideal for ambush or hiding, yet Saul intends to flush out his prey.

1 Samuel 24:4

And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself — Saul's *va'yavo el ha'derech be'tokh sela'im*, came to cave, and his entry *litzot et raglav*, to relieve himself, represents his vulnerability, his reduction to basic bodily necessity. The cave becomes the scene of fateful encounter.