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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>1 Samuel 24 ESV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/1_samuel/24.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/1_samuel/24-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">ESV</a> > 1 Samuel 24</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../1_samuel/23.htm" title="1 Samuel 23">◄</a> 1 Samuel 24 <a href="../1_samuel/25.htm" title="1 Samuel 25">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">English Standard Version</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/esv/nas/1_samuel/24.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></tr></table></div></a><div class="chap"><p class="heading">David Spares Saul’s Life</p><p class="regular"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span><span class="footnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Ch 24:2 in Hebrew">a</a></sup></span> When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>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. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself.<span class="footnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Hebrew cover his feet">b</a></sup></span> Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>And the men of David said to him, “Here is the day of which the <span class="divine-name">Lord</span> 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. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>And afterward David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>He said to his men, “The <span class="divine-name">Lord</span> forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the <span class="divine-name">Lord</span>’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the <span class="divine-name">Lord</span>’s anointed.” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>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.</p> <p class="regular"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>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. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Behold, David seeks your harm’? <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the <span class="divine-name">Lord</span> gave you today into my hand in the cave. And some told me to kill you, but I spared you.<span class="footnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Septuagint, Syriac, Targum; Hebrew it [my eye] spared you">c</a></sup></span> I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the <span class="divine-name">Lord</span>’s anointed.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>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. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>May the <span class="divine-name">Lord</span> judge between me and you, may the <span class="divine-name">Lord</span> avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness.’ But my hand shall not be against you. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog! After a flea! <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>May the <span class="divine-name">Lord</span> therefore be judge and give sentence between me and you, and see to it and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand.”</p> <p class="regular"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>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. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>He said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>And you have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the <span class="divine-name">Lord</span> put me into your hands. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe? So may the <span class="divine-name">Lord</span> reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>And now, behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>Swear to me therefore by the <span class="divine-name">Lord</span> that you will not cut off my offspring after me, and that you will not destroy my name out of my father’s house.” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>And David swore this to Saul. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.</p><A name="footnotes"></a><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="footnotesbot">a</span> <span class="fnverse">1</span> Ch 24:2 in Hebrew<br /><span class="footnotesbot">b</span> <span class="fnverse">3</span> Hebrew <i>cover his feet</i><br /><span class="footnotesbot">c</span> <span class="fnverse">10</span> Septuagint, Syriac, Targum; Hebrew <i>it</i> [my eye] <i>spared you</i><br /></span></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">ESV Text Edition® (2016).<br /><br />The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by <a href="http://www.crossway.org/home/esv/">Crossway Bibles</a>, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. 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