¹⁰I solemnly swear, as the Lord lives,” David added, “the Lord will strike him. Either his time will come when he’ll die ⸤naturally⸥, or he’ll go into battle and be swept away. ¹¹It would be unthinkable for me to attack the Lord’s anointed king. But please take that spear near his head and that jar of water, and let’s go.”

¹²David took the spear and the jar of water near Saul’s head, and they left. All of them were asleep. No one saw them, knew about it, or woke up. The Lord had made them fall into a deep sleep.

¹³David went over to the other side and stood on top of the hill some distance away. (There was a wide space between them.) ¹⁴Then David called to the troops and to Ner’s son Abner. “Won’t you answer, Abner?” he asked.

“Who is calling the king?” Abner asked.

¹⁵David asked Abner, “Aren’t you a man? Is there anyone like you in Israel? Then why didn’t you guard your master, the king? Someone came to kill His Royal Majesty. ¹⁶What you’ve done isn’t good. I solemnly swear, as the Lord lives, you are dead men. You didn’t guard your master, the Lord’s anointed king. Look at the king’s spear and the jar of water that were near his head.”

¹⁷Saul 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? ¹⁹Your 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. ²⁰Don’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.”

²¹“My servant David,” Saul said, “I have sinned. Come back. I will not harm you again, because you valued my life today. I’ve acted like a fool and made a terrible mistake.”

²²David responded, “Here’s the king’s spear. One of the young men should come over and get it. ²³The Lord will reward any person who is righteous and faithful. The Lord handed you over to me today, but I refused to attack the Lord’s anointed king.

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