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1 Samuel 26

KJV · Chapter 26/31

1And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon?

2Then Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph.

3And Saul pitched in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon, by the way. But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness.

4David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come in very deed.

5And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched: and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay in the trench, and the people pitched round about him.

6Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee.

7So David and Abishai came to the people by night: and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the trench, and his spear stuck in the ground at his bolster: but Abner and the people lay round about him.

8Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time.

9And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord’s anointed, and be guiltless?

10David said furthermore, As the Lord liveth, the Lord shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish.

11The Lord forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the Lord’s anointed: but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go.

12So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul’s bolster; and they gat them away, and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither awaked: for they were all asleep; because a deep sleep from the Lord was fallen upon them.

13Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of an hill afar off; a great space being between them:

14And David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Answerest thou not, Abner? Then Abner answered and said, Who art thou that criest to the king?

15And David said to Abner, Art not thou a valiant man? and who is like to thee in Israel? wherefore then hast thou not kept thy lord the king? for there came one of the people in to destroy the king thy lord.

16This thing is not good that thou hast done. As the Lord liveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye have not kept your master, the Lord’s anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his bolster.

17And Saul knew David’s voice, and said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king.

18And he said, Wherefore doth my lord thus pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in mine hand?

19Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the Lord have stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering: but if they be the children of men, cursed be they before the Lord; for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, Go, serve other gods.

20Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth before the face of the Lord: for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains.

21Then said Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David: for I will no more do thee harm, because my soul was precious in thine eyes this day: behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly.

22And David answered and said, Behold the king’s spear! and let one of the young men come over and fetch it.

23The Lord render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness: for the Lord delivered thee into my hand to day, but I would not stretch forth mine hand against the Lord’s anointed.

24And, behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the Lord, and let him deliver me out of all tribulation.

25Then Saul said to David, Blessed be thou, my son David: thou shalt both do great things, and also shalt still prevail. So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Once again with the chance to kill Saul as he sleeps unprotected in the camp, David again refuses, taking only the spear and water jug as proof. Saul publicly acknowledges his wrongdoing, but David no longer trusts his words.

Explanation

This second, almost identical opportunity to kill Saul — this time in the military camp itself rather than a cave — reinforces through deliberate repetition David's central principle: refusing to take personal vengeance against the Lord's anointed, even when it would be easily justifiable and advantageous. The supernatural deep sleep that falls over Saul's entire camp, allowing David to come and go undetected, is explicitly attributed to the Lord himself (v.12), showing direct divine intervention protecting both David (by giving him the opportunity) and Saul (by keeping him from being killed). Despite Saul's verbal acknowledgment that he had acted foolishly, the repetition of this pattern — Saul pursuing, David sparing, Saul temporarily repenting — already shows David that words of repentance without real change in behavior offer no lasting security.

Fun facts

  • David's comparison of himself to 'a flea' and 'a partridge in the mountains' (v.20), whom Saul was pursuing, rhetorically emphasizes the disproportion between the real power of a king with an army and the truly small threat David actually posed.
  • This episode is so similar to the one in chapter 24 that some biblical scholars debate whether they are two distinct events or two narrative traditions of the same event, although the text clearly presents them as separate occasions.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 1 Samuel 26:1The same Ziphites who had already betrayed David in chapter 23 repeat the same tip-off — showing their loyalty to Saul, or their fear of him, remained firm even after all this time.
  2. 1 Samuel 26:2The exact figure of three thousand soldiers repeats the same scale of military mobilization already used in chapter 24 — Saul had not scaled back this personal manhunt at all.
  3. 1 Samuel 26:3David is able to watch Saul’s approach from a safe distance, buying enough time to plan instead of reacting in haste.
  4. 1 Samuel 26:4Maintaining his own spy network shows how much David’s military organization had matured during his years on the run — he no longer relied on luck alone to stay ahead of Saul.
  5. 1 Samuel 26:5David risks approaching the enemy camp himself for a firsthand look — a calculated risk that sets up the bold raid the following night.
  6. 1 Samuel 26:6Ahimelech the Hittite is one of several foreigners who appear serving loyally under David — a pattern repeated throughout his military career, which drew warriors from many backgrounds.
  7. 1 Samuel 26:7The spear stuck in the ground by Saul’s head was probably a symbol of royal authority, always kept close at hand — a detail David will later use as irrefutable proof of how near he came.
  8. 1 Samuel 26:8Abishai proposes killing Saul with one sure strike, so confident in the opportunity that he promises he will not even need a second blow — the same temptation David’s men had already raised in the cave of chapter 24.
  9. 1 Samuel 26:9David repeats the same absolute principle from the cave episode: Saul’s anointing makes him untouchable, regardless of any practical justification for killing him.
  10. 1 Samuel 26:10David trusts that Saul’s death will come by natural means or by God’s own hand at the right time — refusing to speed up that process himself.
  11. 1 Samuel 26:11Instead of killing Saul, David decides to take only two symbolic objects — undeniable physical proof that he had full access to the sleeping king without causing him any harm.
  12. 1 Samuel 26:12The text says that “a deep sleep from the Lord” fell on Saul’s camp at the exact moment David needed to slip in and out unseen — crediting God, not luck or the soldiers’ fatigue, with the fact that no one woke up.
  13. 1 Samuel 26:13Putting a safe distance between himself and the camp before revealing his presence was essential: David needed to be out of reach of any immediate armed response.
  14. 1 Samuel 26:14David’s shout is aimed directly at Abner, the military commander responsible for Saul’s security — a calculated jab meant to expose his failure to keep watch.
  15. 1 Samuel 26:15David publicly accuses Abner of serious negligence — Israel’s most respected commander left his own king vulnerable to an assassination that only failed to happen because David chose not to act.
  16. 1 Samuel 26:16David turns the physical evidence, the missing spear and water jug, into the most damning possible proof of the security failure, exposing Abner before the whole camp.
  17. 1 Samuel 26:17Saul’s instant recognition of David’s voice nearly repeats the scene from chapter 24 — the cycle of chasing and temporary reconciliation had by now become almost ritual between the two men.
  18. 1 Samuel 26:18David repeats the same rhetorical question from the earlier cave encounter — underlining that, despite all the time that had passed, nothing had changed about the basic injustice of the chase.
  19. 1 Samuel 26:19Being driven out of the land of Israel was understood, at the time, as almost being driven out of the Lord’s own reach — hence David saying that if men, not God, pushed him out, it would be as if they sent him to “serve other gods,” since every land, in the ancient mindset, had a god tied to it.
  20. 1 Samuel 26:20The same images of insignificance, a flea, a partridge hunted in the mountains, already used in chapter 24 reappear here, underscoring how disproportionate David considered the manhunt against him.
  21. 1 Samuel 26:21Saul’s confession here is even more direct than in chapter 24 — but the story has already taught the reader, and David, that this verbal repentance did not mean any lasting change in behavior.
  22. 1 Samuel 26:22Formally returning the spear through an intermediary keeps the safe distance David had established, avoiding any risky approach even after the verbal reconciliation.
  23. 1 Samuel 26:23David closes by appealing once more to God’s justice as the final arbiter, refusing to claim any credit for himself beyond having honored the principle of the sacred anointing.
  24. 1 Samuel 26:24David trades the assurance he gave Saul for a personal request: that God treat his own life with the same care he showed in sparing the king’s life.
  25. 1 Samuel 26:25This is the last direct interaction recorded between Saul and David in the whole book — after this meeting, the two never see each other in person again before Saul’s death.

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