1 Samuel 24:1–7
David has Saul at his mercy and does him no harm
Study it word by word1When Saul returned from following the Philistines, they told him, saying, “Look, David is in the wilderness of En-gedi.”
2Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Rocks of the Wild Goats.
3He came to the sheepfolds by the road, and there was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave.
4David’s men said to him, “Look, the day of which YHWH said to you, ‘Look, I am giving your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as seems good in your eyes.’” David arose and cut off the edge of the robe that belonged to Saul secretly.
5Afterward David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off the edge that belonged to Saul.
6He said to his men, “Far be it from me, by YHWH, that I should do this thing to my lord, to the anointed of YHWH, to stretch out my hand against him, for he is the anointed of YHWH.”
7David restrained his men with these words and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul rose from the cave and went on his way.
In its context
…
8Afterward David arose and went out from the cave and called after Saul, saying, “My lord the king!” Saul looked behind him, and David bowed with his face to the ground and prostrated himself.
9David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of people who say, ‘Look, David seeks your harm’?
Its words in the original
- יְהִיyehi· be, become, happen
Be, exist; also "become" or "happen". It is the verb of "there was", "it was" and "it came to pass".
- שָׁבshav· return, turn back
Turn back, return. Also turn away; in the causative form, bring back, give back, answer. Figuratively, turn back to God (change course). Often adverbial: "again".
- שָׁאוּלshaul· Saul
Saul, the name of several people. The best known is the son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, the first king of Israel. A king of Edom and a son of Simeon also bear it. It means "asked for".
- פְּלִשְׁתִּיםpelishtim· Philistines
Philistines: a people that settled on the south-west coast of Canaan and was Israel's enemy in the days of the judges and of David.
- יַּגִּדוּyagidu· tell, declare
Tell, make known, report, declare; also explain.
- אמֹרmor· say
Say, speak. The most common verb for bringing in what someone says; sometimes "think" (say to oneself) or "command".
- דָוִדdavid· David
David, youngest son of Jesse, of Bethlehem; the second king of Israel. The name means "beloved."
- מִדְבַּרmidbar· wilderness
Wilderness: in the Bible it is not only sand; it is dry, untilled land, where flocks can be led but people cannot live by sowing.
- עֵיןen· En-gedi
En-gedi: an oasis by the Salt Sea, in the wilderness of Judah. The name means "spring of the young goat."
- יִּקַּחyikach· take
Take: seize, take along, receive. Also "take a wife" (marry).
- שְׁלֹשֶׁתsheloshet· three
Three; also "third" or "three times".
- אֲלָפִיםalafim· thousand
Thousand.
- אִישׁish· man, husband, each
Man, male; with a possessive, husband. Also "each one", "anyone". It is "ish", distinct from "adam" (human being); it is used for the man in contrast with the woman ("ishah").
- בָּחוּרbachur· choose
Choose, select.
- יִשְׂרָאֵלyisrael· Israel
Israel, the new name Jacob received from God, explained as "you have striven with God" (Genesis 32:28); then the name of the people that came from him and, after the division, of the northern kingdom.
- יֵּלֶךְyelech· go, walk
Go, walk, depart; in the causative form, lead or bring.
- בַקֵּשׁvakesh· seek
Seek, look for; also require, demand an account.
- פְּנֵיpene· face, presence
Face. From there "surface" (the face of something) and "presence" (being before someone's face); with a preposition it means "before" or "in front of".
- צוּרֵיtsure· rock
Rock, a large crag. It is also an image of God as a firm refuge.
- יְּעֵלִיםyeelim· mountain goat
Mountain goat, ibex: an animal that lives among the crags of the desert.
- יָּבֹאyavo· come, go in, bring
Come, arrive, go in, enter. In the causative form, "bring" or "carry in". "Go in to" a woman is to have marital relations with her.
- גִּדְרוֹתgidrot· sheep pen
Pen: an enclosure for keeping the flock.
- צֹּאןtson· flock
Flock of sheep and goats, small livestock; figuratively, a people led like a flock.
- דֶּרֶךְderech· way
Way, road, journey. Figuratively, the way one lives or acts.
- מְעָרָהmeara· cave
Cave.
- הָסֵךְhasech· cover, shelter
Cover to protect, screen; shelter.
- רַגְלָיraglay· foot
Foot; the foot of an animal; also a step.
- יַרְכְּתֵיyarkte· far end, recess
The farthest or deepest part: the back of a house or a cave, the ends of the earth, the edge of a territory.
- יֹשְׁבִיםyoshvim· sit, dwell
Sit, sit down; from there stay in a place, live, dwell. In the causative form, settle someone, make to dwell. Also sit as judge or as king.
- יּוֹםyom· day
Day: the hours of light, or a whole day from one evening to the next. Also an indefinite time or age ("in the day that...", "in those days").
- יְהוָהyehva· YHWH
The personal name of the God of Israel, written in Hebrew with four letters, Y-H-W-H, without vowels. Out of reverence Jews stopped pronouncing it and read "Adonai" (Lord), so many Bibles put "the LORD" or "Jehovah". This translation keeps the four letters. The name is related to the verb "to be" (Exodus 3:14-15). He is not a god other than Elohim: "YHWH Elohim" is the same Creator God, called by his name.
- נֹתֵןnoten· give, put, set
Give, in a very wide sense: hand over, put, place, grant, allow, make something be.
- אֹיִבְoyiv· enemy
Enemy, foe: one who hates and opposes another.
- יָדֶyade· hand, power
Hand. Figuratively, power or control ("into the hand of" = into the power of); also side, part, or share. Also a projecting piece, such as a tenon.
- עָשִׂיתָasita· do, make
Do, make, in the widest sense: build, produce, carry out, keep (a command), prepare.
- יִטַבyitav· do well, be good
Do well, act well; go well for someone; please. Also set something right, prepare it.
- עֵינֶיene· eye
Eye. "In someone's eyes" means "in his opinion"; "find favor in the eyes of" is to please him. Also a spring of water.
- יָּקָםyakam· rise, stand, establish
Rise, stand up; also stand firm, establish or fulfill something. "Rise against" is to attack.
- יִּכְרֹתyichrot· cut, cut off
Cut, cut down. Said of a living being, cut off, destroy. "Cut a covenant" is the Hebrew expression for making a covenant, because it was sealed by cutting animals in two (Genesis 15).
- כְּנַףkenaf· wing
Wing of a bird. Also the edge or corner of something (of a cloak, of the earth).
- מְּעִילmeil· robe
Robe: a long garment without sleeves worn over the tunic.
- לָּטlat· secret arts; secretly
Secretly, softly (Ruth 3:7); in Exodus, secret arts, spells done in hiding.
- יַּךְyach· strike
Strike, hit, wound; often, kill; also strike down, defeat.
- לֵבlev· heart
Heart. In Hebrew it is not only the place of feelings: it is the center of the person, where one thinks, decides and wills; also the middle of something.
- חָלִילָchalila· far be it!
"Far be it!", "by no means!": an expression that rejects something as unthinkable.
- דָּבָרdavar· word, matter, thing
Word; what is said. Also "matter" or "thing": what is spoken about, an affair, an event.
- אדֹנִdoni· lord, master
Lord: one who has authority over another (an owner, a husband, a superior). It is also a polite form, "my lord". Said of God, "the Lord".
- מְשִׁיחַmeshiach· anointed
Anointed: someone on whom oil has been poured to set him apart for a task from God (priest, king). In Hebrew it is "mashiach", from which "Messiah" comes; in Greek, "Christ".
- שְׁלֹחַsheloach· send, stretch out
Send; stretch out (the hand); let go, send away, set free.
- יְשַׁסַּעyeshasa· split, tear
Split, tear apart without separating completely. Of animals, have a split hoof.