1Sa 19, 1Sa 24 | ESV | STEP | And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants , that they should kill David . But Jonathan , Saul’s son , delighted much in David .

1 And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David. ^aBut Jonathan, Saul’s son, delighted much in David. 2 And Jonathan told David, “Saul my father seeks to kill you. Therefore be on your guard in the morning. Stay in a secret place and hide yourself. 3 And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you. And if I learn anything I will tell you.” 4 And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king ^bsin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have brought good to you. 5 For ^che took his life in his hand ^dand he struck down the Philistine, ^eand the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against ^finnocent blood by killing David without cause?” 6 And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan. Saul swore, ^g“As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death.” 7 And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan reported to him all these things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence ^has before.

8 And there was war again. And David went out and fought with the Philistines and struck them with a great blow, so that they fled before him. 9 ⁱThen a harmful spirit from the Lord came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. ^jAnd David was playing the lyre. 10 ^kAnd Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.

11 ^lSaul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, “If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” 12 ^mSo Michal let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped. 13 Michal took ⁿan image ^{▼▼Or a household god} and laid it on the bed and put a pillow of goats’ hair at its head and covered it with the clothes. 14 And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.” 15 Then Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” 16 And when the messengers came in, behold, ^pthe image was in the bed, with the pillow of goats’ hair at its head. 17 Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me thus and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go. ^qWhy should I kill you?’”

18 Now David fled and escaped, and he came to Samuel at ^rRamah and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and lived at Naioth. 19 And it was told Saul, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.” 20 Then Saul sent messengers to take David, and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, ^sthe Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, ^tand they also prophesied. 21 When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, ^uand they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, ^vand they also prophesied. 22 Then he himself went to Ramah and came to the great well that is in Secu. And he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” And one said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in ^wRamah.” 23 And he went there to Naioth in Ramah. ^xAnd the Spirit of God came upon him also, and as he went he prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 24 ^yAnd he too stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay naked all that day and all that night. Thus it is said, ^z“Is Saul also among the prophets?”

1 Samuel 24

David Spares Saul’s Life

1 ^{▼▼Ch 24:2 in Hebrew} ^abWhen Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” 2 Then Saul took ^acthree thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Wildgoats’ Rocks. 3 And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in ^adto relieve himself. ^{▼▼Hebrew cover his feet} Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts ^afof the cave. 4 And the men of David said to him, ^ag“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. 5 And afterward ^ahDavid’s heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 6 He said to his men, ^ai“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 ^ajthe Lord’s anointed.” 7 So David persuaded his men with these words ^akand did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way.

8 Afterward David also arose and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and paid homage. 9 And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Behold, David seeks your harm’? 10 Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you today into my hand in the cave. ^alAnd some told me to kill you, but I spared you. ^{▼▼Septuagint, Syriac, Targum; Hebrew it [my eye] spared you} I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, ^anfor he is the Lord’s anointed.’ 11 See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that ^aothere is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though ^apyou hunt my life to take it. 12 ^aqMay the Lord judge between me and you, may the Lord avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you. 13 As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness.’ But my hand shall not be against you. 14 After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? ^arAfter a dead dog! ^asAfter a flea! 15 ^atMay the Lord therefore be judge and give sentence between me and you, and see to it and ^auplead my cause and deliver me from your hand.”

16 As soon as David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, ^av“Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. 17 He said to David, “You are more righteous than I, ^awfor you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil. 18 And you have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the Lord put me into your hands. 19 For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe? So may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. 20 And now, behold, ^axI know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. 21 ^aySwear to me therefore by the Lord that you will not cut off my offspring after me, and ^azthat you will not destroy my name out of my father’s house.” 22 And David swore this to Saul. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went up ^bato the stronghold.