1 Samuel 24:6–10

6 He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.” 7 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.

8 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. 9 He said to Saul, “Why do you listen when men say, ‘David is bent on harming you’? 10 This day you have seen with your own eyes how the Lord 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 Lord’s anointed.’

6 And he said unto his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord. 7 So David stayed his servants with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way. 8 David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself.

9 And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou men’s words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt? 10 Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the Lord had delivered thee to day into mine hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee: but mine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my lord; for he is the Lord’s anointed.

6 He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this to my lord the king. I shouldn’t attack the Lord’s anointed one, for the Lord himself has chosen him.” 7 So David restrained his men and did not let them kill Saul.

After Saul had left the cave and gone on his way, 8 David came out and shouted after him, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked around, David bowed low before him.

9 Then he shouted to Saul, “Why do you listen to the people who say I am trying to harm you? 10 This very day you can see with your own eyes it isn’t true. For the Lord placed you at my mercy back there in the cave. Some of my men told me to kill you, but I spared you. For I said, ‘I will never harm the king—he is the Lord’s anointed one.’

6 And he said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.” 7 So David restrained his servants with these words, and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went on his way.

8 David also arose afterward, went out of the cave, and called out to Saul, saying, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed down. 9 And David said to Saul: “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Indeed David seeks your harm’? 10 Look, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord delivered you today into my hand in the cave, and someone urged me to kill you. But my eye spared you, and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’

6 He said to his men, “May the Lord keep me from doing such a thing to my master! Saul is the Lord’s appointed king. I should not do anything against him, because he is the Lord’s appointed king!” 7 David used these words to stop his men; he did not let them attack Saul. Then Saul left the cave and went his way.

8 When David came out of the cave, he shouted to Saul, “My master and king!” Saul looked back, and David bowed facedown on the ground. 9 He said to Saul, “Why do you listen when people say, ‘David wants to harm you’? 10 You have seen something with your own eyes today. The Lord put you in my power in the cave. They said I should kill you, but I was merciful. I said, ‘I won’t harm my master, because he is the Lord’s appointed king.’

6 And he said unto his men, Jehovah forbid that I should do this thing unto my lord, Jehovah’s anointed, to put forth my hand against him, seeing he is Jehovah’s anointed. 7 So David checked his men with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. And Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way.

8 David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth, and did obeisance. 9 And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearkenest thou to men’s words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt? 10 Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that Jehovah had delivered thee to-day into my hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee; but mine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth my hand against my lord; for he is Jehovah’s anointed.

6 And he said to his men, Jehovah forbid that I should do this thing to my master, Jehovah’s anointed, to stretch forth my hand against him, for he is the anointed of Jehovah. 7 And David checked his men with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. And Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way. 8 David also arose afterwards, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king! And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth, and did obeisance.

9 And David said to Saul, Why dost thou listen to words of men, saying, Behold, David seeks thy hurt? 10 Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that Jehovah had given thee this day into my hand in the cave; and they bade me kill thee; but mine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth my hand against my lord, for he is the anointed of Jehovah.

6 He said to his men, “It would be unthinkable for me to raise my hand against His Majesty, the Lord’s anointed king, since he is the Lord’s anointed.” 7 So David stoppedhis men by saying this to them and didn’t let them attack Saul. 

Saul left the cave and went out onto the road. 8 Later, David got up, left the cave, and called to Saul, “Your Majesty!” When Saul looked back, David knelt down with his face touching the ground. 9 David asked Saul, “Why do you listen to rumors that I am trying to harm you? 10 Today you saw how the Lord handed you over to me in the cave. Although I was told to kill you, I spared you, saying, ‘I will not raise my hand against Your Majesty because you are the Lord’s anointed.’

6 He said to his men, “I swear before the Lord: I would never do such a thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed. I will never lift my hand against him, since he is the Lord’s anointed.” 7 With these words David persuaded his men, and he did not let them rise up against Saul.

Then Saul left the cave and went on his way. 8 After that, David got up, went out of the cave, and called to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed to the ground in homage. 9 David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of people who say, ‘Look, David intends to harm you’? 10 You can see with your own eyes that the Lord handed you over to me today in the cave. Someone advised me to kill you, but I took pity on you and said: I won’t lift my hand against my lord, since he is the Lord’s anointed.

6 He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to raise my hand against him, for he is the Lord’s anointed.” 7 So David rebuked his men severely and did not permit them to attack Saul. Then Saul got up and left the cave and went on his way.

8 Afterward David also rose up and went out of the cave and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the ground and did obeisance. 9 David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of those who say, ‘David seeks to do you harm’? 10 This very day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you into my hand in the cave, and some urged me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, ‘I will not raise my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’

6 He said to his men, “Far be it from me in Yahweh, that I do this thing to my lord, to Yahweh’s anointed one, by stretching out my hand against him! For he is the anointed one of Yahweh.” 7 So David rebuked his men with the words and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave, and he went on his way.

8 Then David got up afterward and went out of the cave and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked after him, David knelt down with his face to the ground and bowed down. 9 Then David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of people who say: ‘Look, David is seeking to do you harm’? 10 Look, this day your eyes have seen that Yahweh gave you today into my hand in the cave, and some said to kill you. But I took pity on you and said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, because he is Yahweh’s anointed one.’

6 He said to his men, “May the Lord keep me from doing a thing like that to my master again. He is the Lord’s anointed king. So I promise that I will never lift my hand to strike him down. The Lord has anointed him.”

7 David said that to warn his men. He didn’t allow them to attack Saul. So Saul left the cave and went on his way.

8 Then David went out of the cave. He called out to Saul, “King Saul! My master!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down. He lay down flat with his face toward the ground.

9 He said to Saul, “Why do you listen when men say, ‘David is trying to harm you’? 10 This very day you have seen with your own eyes how the Lord handed you over to me in the cave. Some of my men begged me to kill you. But I spared you. I said, ‘I will never lift my hand to strike my master down. He is the Lord’s anointed king.’

6 So he said to his men, “Far be it from me because of the Lord that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the Lord’s anointed.”

7 David persuaded his men with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. And Saul arose, left the cave, and went on his way.

8 Now afterward David arose and went out of the cave and called after Saul, saying, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the ground and prostrated himself.

9 David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men, saying, ‘Behold, David seeks to harm you’?

10 “Behold, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord had given you today into my hand in the cave, and some said to kill you, but my eye had pity on you; and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’