1 Samuel 24:14

1 Samuel 24:14 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea.
• New International Version (NIV)“Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Who are you pursuing? A dead dog? A flea?
• English Standard Version (ESV)After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog! After a flea!
• New King James Version (NKJV)After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A flea?

Context of 1 Samuel 24:14

12“May the Lord judge between us. Perhaps the Lord will punish you for what you are trying to do to me, but I will never harm you. 13As that old proverb says, ‘From evil people come evil deeds.’ So you can be sure I will never harm you. Who is the king of Israel trying to catch anyway? Should he spend his time chasing one who is as worthless as a dead dog or a single flea? 15May the Lord therefore judge which of us is right and punish the guilty one. He is my advocate, and he will rescue me from your power!” 16When David had finished speaking, Saul called back, “Is that really you, my son David?” Then he began to cry.

1 Samuel 24:14 word by word

אַחֲרֵ֨י מִ֤י יָצָא֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אַחֲרֵ֥י מִ֖י אַתָּ֣ה רֹדֵ֑ף אַֽחֲרֵי֙ כֶּ֣לֶב מֵ֔ת אַחֲרֵ֖י פַּרְעֹ֥שׁ אֶחָֽד׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Afterאַחַר'achar · afterH310
• whom is the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• come outיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
• whom dost thou pursueרָדַףrâdaph · to pursueH7291
• a deadמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
• dogכֶּ֫לֶבkeleb · dogH3611
• aאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
• fleaפַּרְעֹשׁpar‛ôsh · fleaH6550

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 24:14

• 2 Samuel 6:20When David returned home to bless his own family, Michal, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet him. She said in disgust, “How distinguished the king of Israel looked today, shamelessly exposing himself to the servant girls like any vulgar person might do!”
• 1 Kings 21:7“Are you the king of Israel or not?” Jezebel demanded. “Get up and eat something, and don’t worry about it. I’ll get you Naboth’s vineyard!”
• 1 Samuel 17:43“Am I a dog,” he roared at David, “that you come at me with a stick?” And he cursed David by the names of his gods.
• 2 Samuel 3:8Abner was furious. “Am I some Judean dog to be kicked around like this?” he shouted. “After all I have done for your father, Saul, and his family and friends by not handing you over to David, is this my reward—that you find fault with me about this woman?
• 2 Samuel 9:8Mephibosheth bowed respectfully and exclaimed, “Who is your servant, that you should show such kindness to a dead dog like me?”
• 2 Samuel 16:9“Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king?” Abishai son of Zeruiah demanded. “Let me go over and cut off his head!”
• 1 Samuel 26:20Must I die on foreign soil, far from the presence of the Lord? Why has the king of Israel come out to search for a single flea? Why does he hunt me down like a partridge on the mountains?”
• Judges 8:1Then the people of Ephraim asked Gideon, “Why have you treated us this way? Why didn’t you send for us when you first went out to fight the Midianites?” And they argued heatedly with Gideon.

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 24:14

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14After a dead dog - A term used among the Hebrews to signify the most sovereign contempt; see 2 Samuel 16:9. One utterly incapable of making the least resistance against Saul, and the troops of Israel. The same idea is expressed in the term flea. The Targum properly expresses both thus: one who is weak, one who is contemptible.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14After whom … - i. e., was it consistent with the dignity of the king of Israel to lead armies in pursuit of a weak and helpless individual like David?Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-15Verses 8-15 David was falsely charged with seeking Saul's hurt; he shows Saul that God's providence had given him opportunity to do it. And it was upon a good principle that he refused to do it. He declares his fixed resolution never to be his own avenger. If men wrong us, God will right us, at farthest, in the judgment of the great day.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 8-158-15. David also arose ... and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul--The closeness of the precipitous cliffs, though divided by deep wadies, and the transparent purity of the air enable a person standing on one rock to hear distinctly the words uttered by a speaker standing on another (Jud 9:7). The expostulation of David, followed by the visible tokens he furnished of his cherishing no evil design against either the person or the government of the…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Samuel 24:14

• Dog (Sodomite?)
• Flea
• Humility
• Proverbs
• Self-Control

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• David
• Dog
• Flea
• Providence
• Reward
• Dead
• Samuel, Books of

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