1 Samuel 26
King James Version
26 And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon?
2 Then Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph.
3 And Saul pitched in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon, by the way. But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness.
4 David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come in very deed.
5 And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched: and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay in the trench, and the people pitched round about him.
6 Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee.
7 So David and Abishai came to the people by night: and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the trench, and his spear stuck in the ground at his bolster: but Abner and the people lay round about him.
8 Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time.
9 And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord's anointed, and be guiltless?
10 David said furthermore, As the Lord liveth, the Lord shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish.
11 The Lord forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the Lord's anointed: but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go.
12 So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul's bolster; and they gat them away, and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither awaked: for they were all asleep; because a deep sleep from the Lord was fallen upon them.
13 Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of an hill afar off; a great space being between them:
14 And David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Answerest thou not, Abner? Then Abner answered and said, Who art thou that criest to the king?
15 And David said to Abner, Art not thou a valiant man? and who is like to thee in Israel? wherefore then hast thou not kept thy lord the king? for there came one of the people in to destroy the king thy lord.
16 This thing is not good that thou hast done. As the Lord liveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye have not kept your master, the Lord's anointed. And now see where the king's spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his bolster.
17 And Saul knew David's voice, and said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king.
18 And he said, Wherefore doth my lord thus pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in mine hand?
19 Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the Lord have stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering: but if they be the children of men, cursed be they before the Lord; for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, Go, serve other gods.
20 Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth before the face of the Lord: for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains.
21 Then said Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David: for I will no more do thee harm, because my soul was precious in thine eyes this day: behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly.
22 And David answered and said, Behold the king's spear! and let one of the young men come over and fetch it.
23 The Lord render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the Lord delivered thee into my hand to day, but I would not stretch forth mine hand against the Lord's anointed.
24 And, behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the Lord, and let him deliver me out of all tribulation.
25 Then Saul said to David, Blessed be thou, my son David: thou shalt both do great things, and also shalt still prevail. So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.
1 Samuel 26
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 26
David Spares Saul Again.[a] 1 Now the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Is not David hiding himself on the hill of Hachilah, opposite Jeshimon?” 2 Saul rose up and went down into the Desert of Ziph. He had three thousand of the chosen men of Israel with him, and he sought David in the Desert of Ziph.
3 Saul camped by the road on the hill of Hachilah, which is opposite Jeshimon. David was staying in the desert, and he saw Saul pursuing him in the desert. 4 David had sent out spies and discovered that Saul had indeed come.
5 David arose and went to the place where Saul was camped. David detected the place where Saul was lying, alongside of Abner, the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Now Saul was lying within the fortifications, and the people were encamped all around him. 6 David said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai, Joab’s brother, the son of Zeruiah, “Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?” Abishai said, “I will go with you.”
7 So David and Abishai went among the people by night, and they found Saul asleep within the fortifications, his spear stuck in the ground near his head. Abner and the people were lying all around him. 8 Abishai said to David, “God has delivered your enemy into your hands today. Let me strike him once, pinning him to the ground. I will not have to strike him twice.” 9 But David said to Abishai, “Do no violence to him. Who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless?” 10 David continued, “As the Lord lives, the Lord himself will strike him down. Either his time will come, or he will simply die, or he will go into battle and be killed. 11 The Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. Now take the spear that is by his head and the water jar, and let us leave.”
12 David took the spear that was by Saul’s head and the water jar and they left. No one had seen them, and no one knew about it, nor did anyone wake up. They all kept sleeping, for the Lord had caused them to fall into a deep sleep.
13 David then crossed over to the other side, and he stood on the top of a distant hill, so that there was quite a space between them. 14 David cried out to the people and to Abner, the son of Ner, “Will you not answer me Abner?” Abner said, “Who are you that you call out to the king?” 15 [b]David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? Who is like you in Israel? Why have you not kept guard over your lord, the king? Someone came in to kill the king, your lord. 16 You have not done well. As the Lord lives, you deserve to die, for you have not protected your master, the Lord’s anointed. Look around now for the king’s spear and the water jar that were at his head.”
17 Saul recognized David’s voice, and he said, “Is this the voice of my son David?” David answered, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.” 18 He continued, “Why is my lord chasing after his servant? What have I done? What wrongdoing have I committed? 19 Now may my lord, the king, listen to the words of his servant. If the Lord has incited you against me, may he now accept an offering.[c] If it was done by humans, may they be cursed by the Lord. They have driven me out of the Lord’s inheritance, saying, ‘Go serve other gods.’ 20 Do not let my blood fall to the earth in the presence of the Lord. My king has come out to search for a flea, like one who goes out to hunt a partridge in the mountains.”
21 Saul responded, “I have sinned. Come back, David, my son, for I will not try to harm you again because you considered my life to be precious. I have played the fool and made a terrible mistake.” 22 David said, “Here is the king’s spear. Let one of your young men come over and fetch it. 23 The Lord rewards each man for his righteousness and his faithfulness. The Lord delivered you into my hands today, but I would not stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. 24 May the Lord value my life as much as I have valued your life today. May he deliver me from all of my difficulties.” 25 Saul said to David, “May you be blessed David, my son, for you will accomplish many things and you will triumph.” David went his way, and Saul returned to his home.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 26:1 These are not the same events as were related in chapter 24, but they are told for the same purpose: to highlight David’s generosity and magnanimity.
- 1 Samuel 26:15 Again David does not take advantage of the circumstances to kill Saul. By removing his water jar and sword and sparing Saul and Abner, David makes the point that he respects his undeserving earthly king and most of all his true King, God.
- 1 Samuel 26:19 An offering: that is, may he be placated by a sacrifice.
1 Samuel 26
New King James Version
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.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 26:8 Or one time
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
