David Spares Saul

24 Now it happened, ^(A)when Saul had returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, “Take note! David is in the Wilderness of En Gedi.” ² Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel, and ^(B)went to seek David and his men on the Rocks of the Wild Goats. ³ So he came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave; and ^(C)Saul went in to ^(D)attend to his needs. (^(E)David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave.) ^4 (F)Then the men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.’ ” And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. ⁵ Now it happened afterward that ^(G)David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe. ⁶ And he said to his men, ^(H)“The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.” ⁷ So David ^(I)restrained his servants with these words, and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went on his way.

⁸ David also arose afterward, went out of the cave, and called out to Saul, saying, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed down. ⁹ And David said to Saul: ^(J)“Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Indeed David seeks your harm’? ¹⁰ Look, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord delivered you today into my hand in the cave, and someone urged me to kill you. But my eye spared you, and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’ ¹¹ Moreover, my father, see! Yes, see the corner of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the corner of your robe, and did not kill you, know and see that there is ^(K)neither evil nor rebellion in my hand, and I have not sinned against you. Yet you ^(L)hunt my life to take it. ^12 (M)Let the Lord judge between you and me, and let the Lord avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you. ¹³ As the proverb of the ancients says, ^(N)‘Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.’ But my hand shall not be against you. ¹⁴ After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? ^(O)A dead dog? ^(P)A flea? ^15 (Q)Therefore let the Lord be judge, and judge between you and me, and ^(R)see and ^(S)plead my case, and deliver me out of your hand.”

¹⁶ So it was, when David had finished speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, ^(T)“Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. ^17 (U)Then he said to David: “You are ^(V)more righteous than I; for ^(W)you have rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded you with evil. ¹⁸ And you have shown this day how you have dealt well with me; for when ^(X)the Lord delivered me into your hand, you did not kill me. ¹⁹ For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him get away safely? Therefore may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. ²⁰ And now ^(Y)I know indeed that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. ^21 (Z)Therefore swear now to me by the Lord ^(AA)that you will not cut off my descendants after me, and that you will not destroy my name from my father’s house.”

²² So David swore to Saul. And Saul went home, but David and his men went up to ^(AB)the stronghold.

David Spares Saul a Second Time

26 Now the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, ^(A)“Is David not hiding in the hill of Hachilah, opposite Jeshimon?” ² Then Saul arose and went down to the Wilderness of Ziph, having ^(B)three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the Wilderness of Ziph. ³ And Saul encamped in the hill of Hachilah, which is opposite Jeshimon, by the road. But David stayed in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness. ⁴ David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul had indeed come.

⁵ So David arose and came to the place where Saul had encamped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, and ^(C)Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Now Saul lay within the camp, with the people encamped all around him. ⁶ Then David answered, and said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai ^(D)the son of Zeruiah, brother of ^(E)Joab, saying, “Who will ^(F)go down with me to Saul in the camp?”

And ^(G)Abishai said, “I will go down with you.”

⁷ So David and Abishai came to the people by night; and there Saul lay sleeping within the camp, with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. And Abner and the people lay all around him. ⁸ Then Abishai said to David, ^(H)“God has delivered your enemy into your hand this day. Now therefore, please, let me strike him ^[a]at once with the spear, right to the earth; and I will not have to strike him a second time!”

⁹ But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him; ^(I)for who can stretch out his hand against the Lord’s anointed, and be guiltless?” ¹⁰ David said furthermore, “As the Lord lives, ^(J)the Lord shall strike him, or ^(K)his day shall come to die, or he shall ^(L)go out to battle and perish. ^11 (M)The Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. But please, take now the spear and the jug of water that are by his head, and let us go.” ¹² So David took the spear and the jug of water by Saul’s head, and they got away; and no man saw or knew it or awoke. For they were all asleep, because ^(N)a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen on them.

¹³ Now David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of a hill afar off, a great distance being between them. ¹⁴ And David called out to the people and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Do you not answer, Abner?”

Then Abner answered and said, “Who are you, calling out to the king?”

¹⁵ So David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy your lord the king. ¹⁶ This thing that you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, you deserve to die, because you have not guarded your master, the Lord’s anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is, and the jug of water that was by his head.”

¹⁷ Then Saul knew David’s voice, and said, ^(O)“Is that your voice, my son David?”

David said, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.” ¹⁸ And he said, ^(P)“Why does my lord thus pursue his servant? For what have I done, or what evil is in my hand? ¹⁹ Now therefore, please, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the Lord has ^(Q)stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering. But if it is the children of men, may they be cursed before the Lord, ^(R)for they have driven me out this day from sharing in the ^(S)inheritance of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ ²⁰ So now, do not let my blood fall to the earth before the face of the Lord. For the king of Israel has come out to seek ^(T)a flea, as when one hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

²¹ Then Saul said, ^(U)“I have sinned. Return, my son David. For I will harm you no more, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Indeed I have played the fool and erred exceedingly.”

²² And David answered and said, “Here is the king’s spear. Let one of the young men come over and get it. ^23 (V)May the Lord ^(W)repay every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the Lord delivered you into my hand today, but I would not stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. ²⁴ And indeed, as your life was valued much this day in my eyes, so let my life be valued much in the eyes of the Lord, and let Him deliver me out of all tribulation.”

²⁵ Then Saul said to David, “May you be blessed, my son David! You shall both do great things and also still ^(X)prevail.”

So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.