1 Samuel 24
Reading 1 Samuel chapter 24 in the World English Bible, public-domain text from 2000.
Verses 1–10
1 When Saul had returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of En Gedi.”
2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men on the rocks of the wild goats.
3 He came to the sheep pens by the way, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were staying in the innermost parts of the cave.
4 David’s men said to him, “Behold, the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’” Then David arose and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe secretly.
5 Afterward, David’s heart struck him because he had cut off Saul’s skirt.
6 He said to his men, “The LORD forbid 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 So David checked his men with these words, and didn’t allow them to rise against Saul. 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!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth, and showed respect.
9 David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to men’s words, saying, ‘Behold, David seeks to harm you’?
10 Behold, today your eyes have seen how the LORD had delivered you today into my hand in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD’s anointed.’
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The World English Bible (2000) is one of seven public-domain translations available in the OCC Bible Explorer. Use the full app to compare translations side by side, search across all translations, and explore Strong's Hebrew and Greek concordance entries linked to every word.