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1 Samuel 26:17–20

17 Saul recognized David’s voice and said, m“Is this your voice, my son David?” And David said, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.” 18 And he said, n“Why does my lord pursue after his servant? For what have I done? What evil is on my hands? 19 Now therefore let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it is the Lord who has stirred you up against me, may he accept an offering, but if it is men, may they be cursed before the Lord, ofor they have driven me out this day that I should have no share in pthe heritage of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ 20 Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of the Lord, for the king of Israel has come out to seek qa single flea like one who hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

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1 Samuel 26:17–20 — The New International Version (NIV)

17 Saul recognized David’s voice and said, “Is that your voice, David my son?”

David replied, “Yes it is, my lord the king.” 18 And he added, “Why is my lord pursuing his servant? What have I done, and what wrong am I guilty of? 19 Now let my lord the king listen to his servant’s words. If the Lord has incited you against me, then may he accept an offering. If, however, people have done it, may they be cursed before the Lord! They have driven me today from my share in the Lord’s inheritance and have said, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ 20 Now do not let my blood fall to the ground far from the presence of the Lord. The king of Israel has come out to look for a flea—as one hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

1 Samuel 26:17–20 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

17 And Saul knew David’s voice, and said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king. 18 And he said, Wherefore doth my lord thus pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in mine hand? 19 Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the Lord have stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering: but if they be the children of men, cursed be they before the Lord; for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, Go, serve other gods. 20 Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth before the face of the Lord: for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains.

1 Samuel 26:17–20 — New Living Translation (NLT)

17 Saul recognized David’s voice and called out, “Is that you, my son David?”

And David replied, “Yes, my lord the king. 18 Why are you chasing me? What have I done? What is my crime? 19 But now let my lord the king listen to his servant. If the Lord has stirred you up against me, then let him accept my offering. But if this is simply a human scheme, then may those involved be cursed by the Lord. For they have driven me from my home, so I can no longer live among the Lord’s people, and they have said, ‘Go, worship pagan gods.’ 20 Must I die on foreign soil, far from the presence of the Lord? Why has the king of Israel come out to search for a single flea? Why does he hunt me down like a partridge on the mountains?”

1 Samuel 26:17–20 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

17 Then Saul knew David’s voice, and said, “Is that your voice, my son David?”

David said, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.” 18 And he said, “Why does my lord thus pursue his servant? For what have I done, or what evil is in my hand? 19 Now therefore, please, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the Lord has stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering. But if it is the children of men, may they be cursed before the Lord, for they have driven me out this day from sharing in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ 20 So now, do not let my blood fall to the earth before the face of the Lord. For the king of Israel has come out to seek a flea, as when one hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

1 Samuel 26:17–20 — New Century Version (NCV)

17 Saul knew David’s voice. He said, “Is that your voice, David my son?”

David answered, “Yes, it is, my master and king.” 18 David also said, “Why are you chasing me, my master? What wrong have I done? What evil am I guilty of? 19 My master and king, listen to me. If the Lord made you angry with me, let him accept an offering. But if people did it, may the Lord curse them! They have made me leave the land the Lord gave me. They have told me, ‘Go and serve other gods.’ 20 Now don’t let me die far away from the Lord’s presence. The king of Israel has come out looking for a flea! You’re just hunting a bird in the mountains!”

1 Samuel 26:17–20 — American Standard Version (ASV)

17 And Saul knew David’s voice, and said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king. 18 And he said, Wherefore doth my lord pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in my hand? 19 Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it be Jehovah that hath stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering: but if it be the children of men, cursed be they before Jehovah: for they have driven me out this day that I should not cleave unto the inheritance of Jehovah, saying, Go, serve other gods. 20 Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of Jehovah: for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains.

1 Samuel 26:17–20 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

17 And Saul knew David’s voice, and said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king. 18 And he said, Why does my lord thus pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in my hand? 19 And now, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If Jehovah have moved thee against me, let him accept an oblation; but if the sons of men, cursed be they before Jehovah; for they have driven me out this day from adhering to the inheritance of Jehovah, saying, Go, serve other gods. 20 And now, let not my blood fall to the earth far from the face of Jehovah; for the king of Israel is come out to seek a single flea, as when they hunt a partridge on the mountains.

1 Samuel 26:17–20 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

17 Saul recognized David’s voice. “Is that your voice, my servant David?” he asked. 

“It is my voice, Your Royal Majesty,” David answered. 18 “Why are you pursuing me?” he added. “What have I done? What crime have I committed? 19 Your Majesty, please listen to my words. If the Lord has turned you against me, let him be satisfied with an offering. But if mere mortals ⸤have turned you against me⸥, let them be cursed by the Lord. They have prevented me from having a share of the Lord’s inheritance. ‘Go and serve other gods,’ they tell me. 20 Don’t let my blood fall to the ground, away from the Lord’s presence. The king of Israel has come to search for one flea like someone hunting a partridge in the hills.” 

1 Samuel 26:17–20 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

17 Saul recognized David’s voice and asked, “Is that your voice, my son David?”

“It is my voice, my lord and king,” David said. 18 Then he continued, “Why is my lord pursuing his servant? What have I done? What evil is in my hand? 19 Now, may my lord the king please hear the words of his servant: If it is the Lord who has incited you against me, then may He accept an offering. But if it is people, may they be cursed in the presence of the Lord, for today they have driven me away from sharing in the inheritance of the Lord saying, ‘Go and worship other gods.’ 20 So don’t let my blood fall to the ground far from the Lord’s presence, for the king of Israel has come out to search for a flea, like one who pursues a partridge in the mountains.”

1 Samuel 26:17–20 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

17 Saul recognized David’s voice, and said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” David said, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.” 18 And he added, “Why does my lord pursue his servant? For what have I done? What guilt is on my hands? 19 Now therefore let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it is the Lord who has stirred you up against me, may he accept an offering; but if it is mortals, may they be cursed before the Lord, for they have driven me out today from my share in the heritage of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ 20 Now therefore, do not let my blood fall to the ground, away from the presence of the Lord; for the king of Israel has come out to seek a single flea, like one who hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

1 Samuel 26:17–20 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

17 Then Saul recognized David’s voice and said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And David said, “It is my voice, my lord the king.” 18 Then he said, “Why is my lord pursuing after his servant? For what have I done? And what evil is in my hand? 19 And so then, please let my lord the king listen to the words of his servant: If Yahweh has incited you against me, may he delight in an offering; but if it is mortals, may they be accursed before Yahweh, for they have driven me away today from sharing in the inheritance of Yahweh, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods!’ 20 And so then, do not let my blood fall to the ground away from the presence of Yahweh, for the king of Israel has gone out to seek a single flea, as one hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

1 Samuel 26:17–20 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

17 Saul recognized David’s voice. He said, “My son David, is that your voice?”

David replied, “Yes it is, King Saul, my master.” 18 He continued, “Why are you chasing me? What evil thing have I done? What am I guilty of?

19 “King Saul, please listen to what I’m saying. Was it the Lord who made you angry with me? If it was, may he accept my offering. Was it people who made you angry at me? If it was, may the Lord send down a curse on them. They have now driven me from my share of the Lord’s land. By doing that, they might as well have said, ‘Go and serve other gods.’

20 “Don’t spill my blood on the ground far away from where the Lord lives. King Saul, you have come out to look for nothing but a flea. It’s as if you were hunting a partridge in the mountains.”

1 Samuel 26:17–20 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

17 Then Saul recognized David’s voice and said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And David said, “It is my voice, my lord the king.”

18 He also said, “Why then is my lord pursuing his servant? For what have I done? Or what evil is in my hand?

19 Now therefore, please let my lord the king listen to the words of his servant. If the Lord has stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering; but if it is men, cursed are they before the Lord, for they have driven me out today so that I would have no attachment with the inheritance of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’

20 Now then, do not let my blood fall to the ground away from the presence of the Lord; for the king of Israel has come out to search for a single flea, just as one hunts a partridge in the mountains.”


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