5 Then David got up and came to the place where Saul had encamped, and David saw the place where Saul was lying down, ⌊as well as⌋b Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. (Now Saul was lying in the encampment, and the army was encamping around him.)

6 David answered and said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah the brother of Joab, saying, “Who will go down with me to Saul, in the camp?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.” 7 So David and Abishai came to the army by night, and ⌊there was⌋c Saul lying asleep in the encampment withd his spear thrust into the ground near his head, and Abner and the army were lying all around him. 8 Then Abishai said to David, “God has handed over your enemy into your hand today! So then, ⌊please let me pin him to the ground with the spear⌋e ⌊one time⌋,f and ⌊I will not strike him twice⌋.”g 9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroyh him! For who has stretched out his hand against Yahweh’s anointed one and remained blameless?” 10 And David said, “⌊As Yahweh lives⌋,i ⌊certainly⌋j Yahweh will strike him, or his day will come and he will die, or he will go down in the battle and ⌊perish⌋.k 11 ⌊Yahweh forbid me⌋l from stretching out my hand against Yahweh’s anointed one! So then, please take the spear that is near his head and the jar of water, and let us go.” 12 So David took the spear and the jar of water from near Saul’s head, and they went away. ⌊No one saw, no one knew, and no one awakened⌋,m for all of them were sleeping because a deep sleep of Yahweh had fallen upon them.

13 Then David went to the other side and stood on the top of the hill at a distance; the distance was great between them. 14 David called out to the army and to Abner the son of Ner, “Will you not answer, Abner?” And Abner answered and said, “Who are you that you call to the king?” 15 So David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? Why did you not keep watch over your lord the king? For one of the people came to destroyn your lord the king.