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1 Samuel 24

ARC · Chapter 24/31

1E succedeu que, voltando Saul de perseguir os philisteos, lhe annunciaram, dizendo: Eis que David está no deserto de Engedi.

2Então tomou Saul tres mil homens, escolhidos d'entre todo o Israel, e foi á busca de David e dos seus homens, até sobre os cumes das penhas das cabras montezes.

3E chegou a uns curraes de ovelhas no caminho, onde estava uma caverna; e entrou n'ella Saul, a cobrir seus pés: e David e os seus homens estavam aos lados da caverna.

4Então os homens de David lhe disseram: Eis aqui o dia, do qual o Senhor te diz: Eis que te dou o teu inimigo nas tuas mãos, e far-lhe-has como te parecer bem aos teus olhos. E levantou-se David, e mansamente cortou a orla do manto de Saul.

5Succedeu, porém, que depois o coração picou a David, por ter cortado a orla do manto de Saul.

6E disse aos seus homens: O Senhor me guarde de que eu faça tal coisa ao meu senhor, ao ungido do Senhor, estendendo eu a minha mão contra elle; pois é o ungido do Senhor.

7E com estas palavras David conteve os seus homens, e não lhes permittiu que se levantassem contra Saul: e Saul se levantou da caverna, e proseguiu o seu caminho.

8Depois tambem David se levantou, e saiu da caverna, e gritou por detraz de Saul, dizendo: Rei, meu senhor! E, olhando Saul para traz, David se inclinou com o rosto em terra, e se prostrou.

9E disse David a Saul: Porque dás tu ouvidos ás palavras dos homens que dizem: Eis que David procura o teu mal?

10Eis que este dia os teus olhos viram, que o Senhor hoje te poz em minhas mãos n'esta caverna, e alguns disseram que te matasse; porém a minha mão te poupou: porque disse: Não estenderei a minha mão contra o meu senhor, pois é o ungido do Senhor.

11Olha pois, meu pae, vês aqui a orla do teu manto na minha mão; porque, cortando-te eu a orla do manto, te não matei. Adverte, pois, e vê que não ha na minha mão nem mal nem prevaricação nenhuma, e não pequei contra ti; porém tu andas á caça da minha vida, para m'a tirar.

12Julgue o Senhor entre mim e ti, e vingue-me o Senhor de ti; porém a minha mão não será contra ti.

13Como diz o proverbio dos antigos: Dos impios procede a impiedade; porém a minha mão não será contra ti.

14Após quem saiu o rei de Israel? a quem persegues? a um cão morto? a uma pulga?

15O Senhor porém será juiz, e julgará entre mim e ti, e verá, e advogará a minha causa, e me defenderá da tua mão.

16E succedeu que, acabando David de fallar a Saul todas estas palavras, disse Saul: É esta a tua voz, meu filho David? Então Saul alçou a sua voz e chorou.

17E disse a David: Mais justo és do que eu; pois tu me recompensaste com bem, e eu te recompensei com mal.

18E tu mostraste hoje que usaste comigo bem; pois o Senhor me tinha posto em tuas mãos, e tu me não mataste.

19Porque, quem ha que, encontrando o seu inimigo, o deixaria ir por bom caminho? o Senhor pois te pague com bem, pelo que hoje me fizeste.

20Agora pois eis que bem sei que certamente has de reinar, e que o reino de Israel ha de ser firme na tua mão.

21Portanto agora jura-me pelo Senhor que não desarreigarás a minha semente depois de mim, nem desfarás o meu nome da casa de meu pae.

22Então jurou David a Saul. E foi Saul para a sua casa; porém David e os seus homens subiram ao logar forte.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Saul unknowingly enters a cave where David is hiding. David secretly cuts off the edge of Saul's robe but refuses to kill him, sparing 'the Lord's anointed.' Saul briefly acknowledges David's righteousness and weeps.

Explanation

The perfect opportunity to kill Saul, presented by David's own men as a clear sign of God delivering the enemy into his hands, is refused by David on the basis of a profound theological principle: even a rejected and unjust king remained 'the Lord's anointed,' and taking his life would be usurping a judgment that belonged to God alone. The symbolic act of showing only the cut edge of the robe, without physically harming Saul, proves undeniably and visibly that David had a real chance to kill him but deliberately chose not to, disarming any future accusation of treason. Saul's emotional reaction, weeping and momentarily acknowledging 'thou art more righteous than I,' shows a flash of moral conscience that, unfortunately, would not be enough to permanently change his behavior toward David.

Fun facts

  • The custom of 'covering his feet' mentioned in the text (v.3) is a common Hebrew euphemism for relieving oneself, explaining why Saul entered alone and vulnerable into the very cave where David was hiding.
  • The proverb quoted by David, 'wickedness proceedeth from the wicked' (v.13), is presented as an already old and familiar saying of the time, showing that popular wisdom sayings circulated and were cited as shared moral authority.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 1 Samuel 24:1As soon as the Philistine threat that had interrupted the chase in the previous chapter is dealt with, Saul immediately resumes hunting David — his personal priority is still his former armor-bearer, not the kingdom’s safety.
  2. 1 Samuel 24:2Mobilizing three thousand elite soldiers against a band of hidden fugitives shows, once again, how much of the kingdom’s resources were being poured into this personal vendetta.
  3. 1 Samuel 24:3To “cover his feet” is a polite expression for relieving himself — Saul walks into the cave with no idea that the very man he is hunting is hidden right there, deep in its shadows.
  4. 1 Samuel 24:4David’s men read the coincidence as an obvious divine sign that the time has come to kill Saul — but David chooses a minimal symbolic gesture instead of seizing the lethal opportunity.
  5. 1 Samuel 24:5Cutting off the corner of Saul’s robe, the act of the previous verse, already troubles David’s conscience, because the royal robe functioned as a symbol of the office itself — touching it, even without harming Saul, symbolically tampered with the authority God had given him.
  6. 1 Samuel 24:6Even after years of being unjustly hunted, David treats Saul’s anointing as sacred and untouchable — a principle he will hold to firmly even when he has both motive and opportunity for revenge.
  7. 1 Samuel 24:7Restraining his own men, who were already primed to kill Saul on the spot, demanded from David both real leadership authority and genuine moral conviction.
  8. 1 Samuel 24:8Revealing himself only after Saul was already safe and far from the cave was the safest way to prove good faith without risking immediate retaliation during the encounter.
  9. 1 Samuel 24:9David directly confronts the source of Saul’s distrust: rumors and ill-intentioned advisers, not any real act of betrayal on his part.
  10. 1 Samuel 24:10David reveals that he was explicitly urged to kill Saul and refused — turning the act of cutting only the corner of the robe into an even stronger proof of his deliberate loyalty.
  11. 1 Samuel 24:11David uses the scrap of cloth itself as irrefutable physical evidence — there is no denying that he had the perfect chance and chose not to take it.
  12. 1 Samuel 24:12David hands over judgment, and even any possible vengeance, into God’s hands, refusing to take that responsibility into his own, even after suffering so much injustice.
  13. 1 Samuel 24:13Quoting an already-known proverb reinforces David’s argument: wicked acts only prove who is truly wicked — and he is deliberately refusing that path.
  14. 1 Samuel 24:14Calling himself “a dead dog” and “a flea” in front of Saul is a deliberate rhetorical exaggeration: David lowers himself as far as possible to show that chasing someone this insignificant is a waste of a king’s effort.
  15. 1 Samuel 24:15David closes his speech by repeating the same conviction: he would rather wait for God’s justice than act on his own against the anointed king.
  16. 1 Samuel 24:16Saul’s public weeping, recognizing David’s voice before he has even fully processed what happened, suggests a rare moment of genuine emotion breaking through his usual paranoia.
  17. 1 Samuel 24:17This is one of the rare direct admissions of guilt from Saul in the whole book — a momentary, though not lasting, recognition of the injustice he had been committing.
  18. 1 Samuel 24:18Saul publicly admits, in front of his own soldiers, that his life depended entirely on David’s moral choice not to use the advantage he had.
  19. 1 Samuel 24:19Saul expresses genuine surprise at behavior he himself admits is unusual — few people, in his own words, would show the same generosity with total advantage in hand.
  20. 1 Samuel 24:20This is the first time Saul himself openly and unreservedly admits that David will be the next king — a confession that contradicts the whole chase so far, yet does not change his behavior afterward.
  21. 1 Samuel 24:21Saul asks for the same future protection for his descendants that Jonathan had already requested earlier — in effect admitting that the end of his own dynasty is near.
  22. 1 Samuel 24:22Despite the emotional reconciliation of this scene, David still does not trust it enough to return to court — he goes back to hiding, knowing, rightly, that Saul’s peace might not last.

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