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

6“Who will volunteer to go in there with me?” David asked Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother. “I’ll go with you,” Abishai replied. 7So David and Abishai went right into Saul’s camp and found him asleep, with his spear stuck in the ground beside his head. Abner and the soldiers were lying asleep around him. “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!” 9“No!” David said. “Don’t kill him. For who can remain innocent after attacking the Lord’s anointed one? 10Surely the Lord will strike Saul down someday, or he will die of old age or in battle.

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 gives his own reward for doing good and for being loyal, and I refused to kill you even when the Lord placed you in my power, for you are the Lord’s anointed one.
• 1 Samuel 23:14David now stayed in the strongholds of the wilderness and in the hill country of Ziph. Saul hunted him day after day, but God didn’t let Saul find him.
• 1 Samuel 24:4“Now’s your opportunity!” David’s men whispered to him. “Today the Lord is telling you, ‘I will certainly put your enemy into your power, to do with as you wish.’” So David crept forward and cut off a piece of the hem of Saul’s robe.
• Joshua 21:44And the Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had solemnly promised their ancestors. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the Lord helped them conquer all their enemies.
• Judges 1:4When the men of Judah attacked, the Lord gave them victory over the Canaanites and Perizzites, and they killed 10,000 enemy warriors at the town of Bezek.
• 1 Samuel 24:18Yes, you have been amazingly kind to me today, for when the Lord put me in a place where you could have killed me, you didn’t do it.
• Deuteronomy 32:30How could one person chase a thousand of them, and two people put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the Lord had given them up?
• Psalms 31:8You have not handed me over to my enemies but have set me in a safe place.
• Romans 11:32For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.
• Galatians 3:22But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.
• Nahum 1:9Why are you scheming against the Lord? He will destroy you with one blow; he won’t need to strike 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