1 Samuel 24:1–7

David Spares Saul’s Life

24^{1 y}When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” ²Then Saul took ^zthree thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Wildgoats’ Rocks. ³And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in ^ato relieve himself.² Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts ^bof the cave. ⁴And the men of David said to him, ^c“Here is the day of which the Lord 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. ⁵And afterward ^dDavid’s heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. ⁶He said to his men, ^e“The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is ^fthe Lord’s anointed.” ⁷So David persuaded his men with these words ^gand did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way.