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.
• 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!”
• New Living Translation (NLT)“God has surely handed your enemy over to you this time!” Abishai whispered to David. “Let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of the spear; I won’t need to strike twice!”

Context of 1 Samuel 26:8

6David then asked Ahimelek the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, “Who will go down into the camp with me to Saul?” “I’ll go with you,” said Abishai. 7So David and Abishai went to the army by night, and there was Saul, lying asleep inside the camp with his spear stuck in the ground near his head. Abner and the soldiers were lying around him. 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.” 9But David said to Abishai, “Don’t destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless? 10As surely as the Lord lives,” he said, “the Lord himself will strike him, or his time will come and he will die, or he will go 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

Words taken from the KJV.

• Then saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Abishaiאֲבִישַׁי'ăbîyshay 'abshay · AbishaiH52
• to Davidדָּוִדdâvid dâvîyd · DavidH1732
• Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• hath deliveredסָגַרsâgar · to shutH5462
• thine enemyאֹיֵב'ôyêb 'ôyêb · enemyH341
• into thine handיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
• this dayיוֹםyôm · day: todayH3117
• now therefore let me smiteנָכָהnâkâh · to smiteH5221
• him, I pray thee, with the spearחֲנִיתchănîyth · spearH2595
• even to the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: soilH776
• at onceאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
• at onceפַּ֫עַםpa‛am pa‛ămâh · beatH6471
• him the second timeשָׁנָהshânâh · to repeatH8138

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 26:8

• 1 Samuel 26:23The Lord rewards everyone for their righteousness and faithfulness. The Lord delivered you into my hands today, but I would not lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed.
• 1 Samuel 23:14David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands.
• 1 Samuel 24:4The 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.
• Joshua 21:44The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hands.
• Judges 1:4When Judah attacked, the Lord gave the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek.
• 1 Samuel 24:18You have just now told me about the good you did to me; the Lord delivered me into your hands, but you did not kill me.
• Deuteronomy 32:30How could one man chase a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the Lord had given them up?
• Psalms 31:8You have not given me into the hands of the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place.
• Romans 11:32For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.
• Galatians 3:22But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.
• Nahum 1:9Whatever they plot against the Lord he will bring to an end; trouble will not come a second time.

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