1 Samuel 26
New English Translation
David Spares Saul’s Life Again
26 The Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Isn’t David hiding on the hill of Hakilah near[a] Jeshimon?” 2 So Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, accompanied by 3,000 select men of Israel, to look for David in the wilderness of Ziph. 3 Saul camped by the road on the hill of Hakilah near Jeshimon, but David was staying in the wilderness. When he realized that Saul had come to the wilderness to find[b] him, 4 David sent scouts and verified that Saul had indeed arrived.[c]
5 So David set out and went to the place where Saul was camped. David saw the place where Saul and Abner son of Ner, the general in command of his army, were sleeping. Now Saul was lying in the entrenchment, and the army was camped all around him. 6 David said to Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, “Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?” Abishai replied, “I will go down with you.”
7 So David and Abishai approached the army at night and found Saul lying asleep in the entrenchment with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. Abner and the army were lying all around him. 8 Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me drive the spear[d] right through him into the ground with one swift jab![e] A second jab won’t be necessary!”
9 But David said to Abishai, “Don’t kill him! Who can extend his hand against the Lord’s chosen one[f] and remain guiltless?” 10 David went on to say, “As the Lord lives, the Lord himself will strike him down. Either his day will come and he will die, or he will go down into battle and be swept away. 11 But may the Lord prevent me from extending my hand against the Lord’s chosen one! Now take the spear by Saul’s head and the jug of water, and let’s get out of here!” 12 So David took the spear and the jug of water by Saul’s head, and they got out of there. No one saw them or was aware of their presence or woke up. All of them were asleep, for the Lord had caused a deep sleep to fall on them.
13 Then David crossed to the other side and stood on the top of the hill some distance away; there was a considerable distance between them. 14 David called to the army and to Abner son of Ner, “Won’t you answer, Abner?” Abner replied, “Who are you, that you have called to the king?” 15 David said to Abner, “Aren’t you a man? After all, who is like you in Israel? Why then haven’t you protected your lord the king? One of the soldiers came to kill your lord the king. 16 This failure on your part isn’t good![g] As surely as the Lord lives, you people who have not protected your lord, the Lord’s chosen one, are as good as dead![h] Now look where the king’s spear and the jug of water that was by his head are!”
17 When Saul recognized David’s voice, he said, “Is that your voice, my son David?” David replied, “Yes, it’s my voice, my lord the king.” 18 He went on to say, “Why is my lord chasing his servant? What have I done? What wrong have I done?[i] 19 So let my lord the king now listen to the words of his servant. If the Lord has incited you against me, may he take delight in[j] an offering. But if men have instigated this,[k] may they be cursed before the Lord! For they have driven me away this day from being united with the Lord’s inheritance, saying, ‘Go on, serve other gods!’ 20 Now don’t let my blood fall to the ground away from the Lord’s presence, for the king of Israel has gone out to look for a flea the way one looks for a partridge[l] in the hill country.”
21 Saul replied, “I have sinned. Come back, my son David. I won’t harm you anymore, for you treated my life with value[m] this day. I have behaved foolishly and have made a very terrible mistake!”[n] 22 David replied, “Here is the king’s spear! Let one of your servants cross over and get it. 23 The Lord rewards each man for his integrity and loyalty.[o] Even though today the Lord delivered you into my hand, I was not willing to extend my hand against the Lord’s chosen one. 24 In the same way that I valued your life this day,[p] may the Lord value my life[q] and deliver me from all danger.” 25 Saul replied to David, “May you be rewarded,[r] my son David! You will without question be successful!”[s] So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Samuel 26:1 tn Heb “upon the face of.”
- 1 Samuel 26:3 tn Heb “after.”
- 1 Samuel 26:4 tn Heb “and David sent scouts and he knew that Saul had certainly come.”
- 1 Samuel 26:8 tn Here “the spear” almost certainly refers to Saul’s own spear, which according to the previous verse was stuck into the ground beside him as he slept. This is reflected in a number of English versions: TEV, CEV “his own spear”; NLT “that spear.” Cf. NIV, NCV “my spear,” in which case Abishai refers to his own spear rather than Saul’s, but this is unlikely since (1) Abishai would probably not have carried a spear along since such a weapon would be unwieldy when sneaking into the enemy camp; and (2) this would not explain the mention of Saul’s own spear stuck in the ground beside him in the previous verse.
- 1 Samuel 26:8 tn Heb “let me strike him with the spear and into the ground one time.”
- 1 Samuel 26:9 tn Heb “anointed” (also in vv. 11, 16, 23).
- 1 Samuel 26:16 tn Heb “Not good [is] this thing which you have done.”
- 1 Samuel 26:16 tn Heb “you are sons of death.”
- 1 Samuel 26:18 tn Heb “What in my hand [is] evil?”
- 1 Samuel 26:19 tn Heb “may he smell.” The implication is that Saul should seek to appease God, for such divine instigation to evil would be a sign of God’s disfavor. For a fuller discussion of this passage see R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “Does God Deceive?” BSac 155 (1998): 19-21.
- 1 Samuel 26:19 tn Heb “but if the sons of men.”
- 1 Samuel 26:20 tn Heb “the calling [one],” which apparently refers to a partridge.
- 1 Samuel 26:21 tn Heb “my life was valuable in your eyes.”
- 1 Samuel 26:21 tn Heb “and I have erred very greatly.”
- 1 Samuel 26:23 tn Heb “and the Lord returns to the man his righteousness and his faithfulness.”
- 1 Samuel 26:24 tn Heb “your life was great this day in my eyes.”
- 1 Samuel 26:24 tn Heb “may my life be great in the eyes of the Lord.”
- 1 Samuel 26:25 tn Heb “blessed.”
- 1 Samuel 26:25 tn Heb “you will certainly do and also you will certainly be able.” The infinitive absolutes placed before the finite verbal forms lend emphasis to the statement.
1 Samuel 26
New Living Translation
David Spares Saul Again
26 Now some men from Ziph came to Saul at Gibeah to tell him, “David is hiding on the hill of Hakilah, which overlooks Jeshimon.”
2 So Saul took 3,000 of Israel’s elite troops and went to hunt him down in the wilderness of Ziph. 3 Saul camped along the road beside the hill of Hakilah, near Jeshimon, where David was hiding. When David learned that Saul had come after him into the wilderness, 4 he sent out spies to verify the report of Saul’s arrival.
5 David slipped over to Saul’s camp one night to look around. Saul and Abner son of Ner, the commander of his army, were sleeping inside a ring formed by the slumbering warriors. 6 “Who will volunteer to go in there with me?” David asked Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother.
“I’ll go with you,” Abishai replied. 7 So David and Abishai went right into Saul’s camp and found him asleep, with his spear stuck in the ground beside his head. Abner and the soldiers were lying asleep around him.
8 “God has surely handed your enemy over to you this time!” Abishai whispered to David. “Let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of the spear; I won’t need to strike twice!”
9 “No!” David said. “Don’t kill him. For who can remain innocent after attacking the Lord’s anointed one? 10 Surely the Lord will strike Saul down someday, or he will die of old age or in battle. 11 The Lord forbid that I should kill the one he has anointed! But take his spear and that jug of water beside his head, and then let’s get out of here!”
12 So David took the spear and jug of water that were near Saul’s head. Then he and Abishai got away without anyone seeing them or even waking up, because the Lord had put Saul’s men into a deep sleep.
13 David climbed the hill opposite the camp until he was at a safe distance. 14 Then he shouted down to the soldiers and to Abner son of Ner, “Wake up, Abner!”
“Who is it?” Abner demanded.
15 “Well, Abner, you’re a great man, aren’t you?” David taunted. “Where in all Israel is there anyone as mighty? So why haven’t you guarded your master the king when someone came to kill him? 16 This isn’t good at all! I swear by the Lord that you and your men deserve to die, because you failed to protect your master, the Lord’s anointed! Look around! Where are the king’s spear and the jug of water that were beside his head?”
17 Saul recognized David’s voice and called out, “Is that you, my son David?”
And David replied, “Yes, my lord the king. 18 Why are you chasing me? What have I done? What is my crime? 19 But now let my lord the king listen to his servant. If the Lord has stirred you up against me, then let him accept my offering. But if this is simply a human scheme, then may those involved be cursed by the Lord. For they have driven me from my home, so I can no longer live among the Lord’s people, and they have said, ‘Go, worship pagan gods.’ 20 Must I die on foreign soil, far from the presence of the Lord? Why has the king of Israel come out to search for a single flea? Why does he hunt me down like a partridge on the mountains?”
21 Then Saul confessed, “I have sinned. Come back home, my son, and I will no longer try to harm you, for you valued my life today. I have been a fool and very, very wrong.”
22 “Here is your spear, O king,” David replied. “Let one of your young men come over and get it. 23 The Lord gives his own reward for doing good and for being loyal, and I refused to kill you even when the Lord placed you in my power, for you are the Lord’s anointed one. 24 Now may the Lord value my life, even as I have valued yours today. May he rescue me from all my troubles.”
25 And Saul said to David, “Blessings on you, my son David. You will do many heroic deeds, and you will surely succeed.” Then David went away, and Saul returned home.
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