1 Samuel 26:8

1 Samuel 26:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Then 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.
• New International Version (NIV)Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of the spear; I won’t strike him twice.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then Abishai said to David, "God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then Abishai said to David, “God has delivered your enemy into your hand this day. Now therefore, please, let me strike him at once with the spear, right to the earth; and I will not have to strike him a second time!”

Context of 1 Samuel 26:8

6Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, saying, “Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.” 7So David and Abishai came to the people by night, and behold, Saul lay sleeping inside the circle of the camp with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the people were lying around him. Then Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hand; now therefore, please let me strike him with the spear to the ground with one stroke, and I will not strike him the second time.” 9But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can stretch out his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be without guilt?” 10David also said, “As the Lord lives, surely the Lord will strike him, or his day will come that he dies, or he will go down into battle and perish.

1 Samuel 26:8 word by word

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֲבִישַׁי֙ אֶל־דָּוִ֔ד סִגַּ֨ר אֱלֹהִ֥ים הַיּ֛וֹם אֶת־אוֹיִבְךָ֖ בְּיָדֶ֑ךָ וְעַתָּה֩ אַכֶּ֨נּוּ נָ֜א בַּחֲנִ֤ית וּבָאָ֙רֶץ֙ פַּ֣עַם אַחַ֔ת וְלֹ֥א אֶשְׁנֶ֖ה לֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

• Then Abishaiאֲבִישַׁי'ăbîyshay 'abshay · AbishaiH52
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• to Davidדָּוִדdâvid dâvîyd · DavidH1732
• Todayיוֹםyôm · day: todayH3117
• Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• has deliveredסָגַרsâgar · to shutH5462
• your enemyאָיַב'âyab · be hostileH340
• into your handיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
• nowעַתָּ֫ה‛attâh · nowH6258
• therefore, pleaseנָאnâ' · pleaseH4994
• let me strikeנָכָהnâkâh · to smiteH5221
• him with the spearחֲנִיתchănîyth · spearH2595
• to the groundאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: soilH776
• with oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
• strokeפַּ֫עַםpa‛am pa‛ămâh · beatH6471
• strike him the secondשָׁנָהshânâh · to changeH8138

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 26:8

• 1 Samuel 26:23The Lord will repay each man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the Lord delivered you into my hand today, but I refused to stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed.
• 1 Samuel 23:14David stayed in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand.
• 1 Samuel 24:4The men of David said to him, “Behold, this is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold; I am about to give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems good to you.’” Then David arose and cut off the edge of Saul’s robe secretly.
• Joshua 21:44And the Lord gave them rest on every side, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers, and no one of all their enemies stood before them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hand.
• Judges 1:4Judah went up, and the Lord gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hands, and they defeated ten thousand men at Bezek.
• 1 Samuel 24:18You have declared today that you have done good to me, that the Lord delivered me into your hand and yet you did not kill me.
• Deuteronomy 32:30How could one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Unless their Rock had sold them, And the Lord had given them up?
• Psalms 31:8And You have not given me over into the hand of the enemy; You have set my feet in a large place.
• Romans 11:32For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.
• Galatians 3:22But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
• Nahum 1:9Whatever you devise against the Lord, He will make a complete end of it. Distress will not rise up twice.

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 26:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand - Here Abishai uses the same language as did David's men, when Saul came into the cave at En-gedi, (see 1 Samuel 24:4, etc.), and David uses the same language in reply.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8God has delivered your enemy into your hand: Compare 1 Samuel 24:4.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 8-128-12. Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand--This midnight stratagem shows the activity and heroic enterprise of David's mind, and it was in unison with the style of warfare in ancient times. let me smite him ... even to the earth at once--The ferocious vehemence of the speaker is sufficiently apparent from his language, but David's magnanimity soared far above the notions of his followers. Though Saul's cruelty and…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Samuel 26:8

• Abishai
• Citizens
• Courage
• Loyalty
• Self-Control

In the dictionaries

• David
• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Abishai
• Samuel, Books of
• Saul
• Abishai, or Abishai
• Abner
• Joab

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 26

• 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