1 Samuel 24:4

1 Samuel 24:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the Lord said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe privily.
• New International Version (NIV)The men said, “This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’ ” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the men of David said to him, "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.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then the men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.’ ” And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.

Context of 1 Samuel 24:4

2Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to search for David and his men in front of the Rocks of the Wild Goats. 3On the way he came to the sheepfolds where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the cave’s innermost recesses. David’s men said to him, “Behold, this is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will hand over your enemy to you, and you shall do to him as seems good to you.’ ” Then David arose [in the darkness] and stealthily cut off the hem (edge) of Saul’s robe. 5Afterward, David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the hem of Saul’s robe. 6He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, since he is the anointed of the Lord.”

1 Samuel 24:4 word by word

וַיֹּאמְרוּ֩ אַנְשֵׁ֨י דָוִ֜ד אֵלָ֗יו הִנֵּ֨ה הַיּ֜וֹם אֲֽשֶׁר־אָמַ֧ר יְהוָ֣ה אֵלֶ֗יךָ הִנֵּ֨ה אָנֹכִ֜י נֹתֵ֤ן אֶת־אֹֽיִבְךָ֙ בְּיָדֶ֔ךָ וְעָשִׂ֣יתָ לּ֔וֹ כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר יִטַ֣ב בְּעֵינֶ֑יךָ וַיָּ֣קָם דָּוִ֗ד וַיִּכְרֹ֛ת אֶת־כְּנַֽף־הַמְּעִ֥יל אֲשֶׁר־לְשָׁא֖וּל בַּלָּֽט׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
• of Davidדָּוִדdâvid dâvîyd · DavidH1732
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto him, Behold the dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• of which the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• unto thee, Behold, I will deliverנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• thine enemyאֹיֵב'ôyêb 'ôyêb · enemyH341
• into thine handיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
• that thou mayest doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• to him as it shall seem goodיָטַבyâţab · be goodH3190
• unto theeעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eye: appearanceH5869
• aroseקוּםqûm · to arise: riseH6965
• and cut offכָּרַתkârath · to cut: eliminateH3772
• the skirtכָּנָףkânâph · wingH3671
• of Saul’sשָׁאוּלshâ'ûl · SaulH7586
• robeמְעִילme‛îyl · robeH4598
• privilyלָטlâţ · secrecyH3909

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 24:4

• 1 Samuel 26:8Then Abishai said to David, “God has given your enemy into your hand this day; now then, please let me strike him with the spear driving it to the ground with one stroke, and I will not strike him the second time.”
• 2 Samuel 4:8They brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron, and said to the king, “Look, the head of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life; thus the Lord has granted my lord the king vengeance this day on Saul and on his descendants.”
• Job 31:31I assure you, the men of my tent have said, ‘Who can find one [in need] who has not been satisfied with his meat’?
• 1 Samuel 24:10Behold, your eyes have seen today how the Lord had given you into my hand in the cave. Some told me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, ‘I will not reach out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’
• 1 Samuel 23:7Now when Saul was informed that David had come to Keilah, Saul said, “God has handed him over to me, for he shut himself in by entering a city that has double gates and bars.”
• 1 Samuel 26:23The Lord will repay each man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the Lord handed you over to me today, but I refused to put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed.

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 24:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4And the men of David said - We know not to what promise of God the men of David refer; they perhaps meant no more than to say, "Behold, the Lord hath delivered thine enemy into thy land, now do to him as he wishes to do to thee." Then David arose - Though I have a high opinion of the character of David, yet the circumstances of the case seem to indicate that he arose to take away the life of Saul, and that it was in reference to this that his heart smote…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4The day of which the Lord said … - This was the version by David‘s men of such divine predictions as 1 Samuel 15:28; 1 Samuel 16:1, 1 Samuel 16:12. Jonathan‘s words 1 Samuel 20:15; 1 Samuel 23:17 show clearly that these predictions were known.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4David’s men believed, as Saul did, that if the circumstances seem right, the Lord is telling you through those circumstances what to do (see 1 Samuel 23:7). David might have cut a piece of Saul’s robe without getting caught because Saul either took off the robe and set it aside or fell asleep in the cave.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 4-74-7. the men of David said ... Behold the day of which the Lord said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand--God had never made any promise of delivering Saul into David's hand; but, from the general and repeated promises of the kingdom to him, they concluded that the king's death was to be effected by taking advantage of some such opportunity as the present. David steadily opposed the urgent instigations of his followers to put an…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Samuel 24:4

• Cave
• Magnanimity
• Saul
• Self-Control

In the dictionaries

• David
• Dress
• Mantle
• Reward
• Flea
• Samuel, Books of
• Saul
• Skirt
• Engedi or Engedi

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 24

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings