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

2So Saul chose 3,000 of the best soldiers in Israel. They went to look for David and his men near Wild Goat Rocks. 3Saul came to the place near the road where the shepherds keep their sheep. There was a cave near to this place. Saul went in there to use it as a toilet. David and his men were hiding at the back of the same cave. David's men said to him, ‘This is the day that the Lord told you about! The Lord said to you, “I will give your enemy to you. Then you can decide what is the right thing to do to him.” ’ So David stood up very quietly. He went and he cut off a small piece of cloth from Saul's coat. Saul did not know what had happened. 5After that, David thought that he had done something wrong. He felt sorry that he had cut a piece of cloth from Saul's coat. 6David said to his men, ‘I ask the Lord to stop me doing anything wrong to my master. The Lord has chosen him to be Israel's king. I must never do anything to hurt him. He is the king that the Lord has chosen.’

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 26:8Abishai said to David, ‘Tonight God has given your enemy into your power. I will push Saul's spear through his body and fix him to the ground. I will only have to do it once to kill him. I will not need to do it again.’
• 2 Samuel 4:8They brought Ish-Bosheth's head to David in Hebron. They said to the king, ‘Here is the head of Ish-Bosheth, Saul's son! Saul was your enemy who wanted to kill you. So today the Lord has punished him and his descendants. They have paid for the bad things that they did to you, our lord, the king.’
• Job 31:31None of the people who work in my house have ever said, “Job has not welcomed strangers into his house. He has not shared his food with them.”
• 1 Samuel 24:10You can see that the Lord has kept you safe today when I had a chance to hurt you in the cave. Some of my men wanted me to kill you, but I did not agree. I said, “I will not hurt my master, because the Lord has chosen him to be king.”
• 1 Samuel 23:7Someone told Saul that David was now at Keilah. Saul said, ‘God has now put David under my power. David has gone into a town that has high walls and strong gates. He will not be able to leave that place.’
• 1 Samuel 26:23The Lord wants everyone to do what is right and true. He blesses people who live like that. The Lord put you under my power today. But I would not agree to hurt the Lord's chosen king.

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