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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 NIV</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="../">NIV</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">New International Version</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/niv/esv/1_samuel/24.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="sectionhead">David Spares Saul’s Life</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>So Saul took three thousand able young men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>The men said, “This is the day the <span class="name">Lord</span> spoke of when he said <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Or ''Today the LORD is saying">a</a></sup></span> to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’ ” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his 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="name">Lord</span> forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the <span class="name">Lord</span>’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the <span class="name">Lord</span>.” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>He said to Saul, “Why do you listen when men say, ‘David is bent on harming you’? <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>This day you have seen with your own eyes how the <span class="name">Lord</span> delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, ‘I will not lay my hand on my lord, because he is the <span class="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, look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut off the corner of your robe but did not kill you. See that there is nothing in my hand to indicate that I am guilty of wrongdoing or rebellion. I have not wronged you, but you are hunting me down to take my life. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>May the <span class="name">Lord</span> judge between you and me. And may the <span class="name">Lord</span> avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>As the old saying goes, ‘From evildoers come evil deeds,’ so my hand will not touch you.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>“Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Who are you pursuing? A dead dog? A flea? <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>May the <span class="name">Lord</span> be our judge and decide between us. May he consider my cause and uphold it; may he vindicate me by delivering me from your hand.”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>When David finished saying this, Saul asked, “Is that your voice, David my son?” And he wept aloud. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>“You are more righteous than I,” he said. “You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>You have just now told me about the good you did to me; the <span class="name">Lord</span> delivered me into your hands, but you did not kill me. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>When a man finds his enemy, does he let him get away unharmed? May the <span class="name">Lord</span> reward you well for the way you treated me today. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>Now swear to me by the <span class="name">Lord</span> that you will not kill off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father’s family.”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/24-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>So David gave his oath to Saul. Then Saul returned home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.</p><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><A name="footnotes"></a><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">a</span> <span class="fnverse">4</span> <span class="footnotebot">Or <i>“Today the <span class="name">Lord</span> is saying</i></span><br><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><p class="ntext"><a href="http://niv.scripturetext.com/version.htm">New International Version</a> (NIV)</p><p class="ntext2">Holy Bible, New International Version&reg, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by <a href="http://biblica.com">Biblica, Inc.</a>® Used by permission. 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