1 Samuel 26

For a second time David has Saul completely at his mercy, and for a second time he refuses to kill the Lord’s anointed king. He takes only the spear and water jug as proof, then calls out to Saul from a distance. Saul confesses his wrong, yet David trusts God, not Saul’s promise, for his deliverance.

1 Samuel 26:1-2

The Ziphites, people of Ziph in Judah, again betray David’s hiding place to Saul. Saul responds with three thousand picked soldiers and heads down into the wilderness. The king of Israel is using his best army to hunt one man who has done him no wrong.

BSA: chosen (“selected, picked out”): These were Israel’s elite fighters, which shows how much of the nation’s strength Saul was spending on his private grudge.

See also: 1 Samuel 23:19-20.

1 Samuel 26:3-4

Saul camps beside the road, while David stays out in the wilderness. David does not rely on rumor. He sends out scouts to confirm that Saul has really come. Trusting God did not stop him from using wisdom and careful watching.

BSA: spies (“to explore, scout out”): David gathers firsthand information before acting, so his bold step rests on solid facts.

1 Samuel 26:5

David goes himself to look at the camp. He sees where Saul and Abner, his general, are sleeping. Saul lies in the middle, surrounded by his soldiers. The picture is of a king who feels completely safe in the middle of his army.

BSA: inner circle (“track, path”): The word points to the ring of wagons or baggage around the camp’s center, the place of greatest protection.

1 Samuel 26:6

David asks for a volunteer to go down into the enemy camp with him. Abishai, Joab’s brother and a son of Zeruiah, quickly says yes. Abishai is brave but hot-tempered, and this will matter in the next verses. Ahimelech the Hittite is also named, though he does not go.

BSA: go down (“to descend, to a lower place”): The phrase is literally about going downhill into the camp, a risky descent into the middle of danger.

See also: 2 Samuel 2:18.

1 Samuel 26:7

In the night they find everyone asleep, with Saul’s spear stuck in the ground beside his head. A spear planted at the head was a sign of a king’s authority. Abner and the soldiers lie all around, yet no one stirs. David has walked into the heart of danger.

BSA: spear (“lance, javelin”): This is the same kind of weapon Saul had hurled at David before, which makes it a pointed symbol of Saul’s hostility.

See also: 1 Samuel 18:10-11.

1 Samuel 26:8

Abishai sees God’s hand in this chance. He says God has delivered David’s enemy into his hand, and he offers to finish Saul with one blow. His reasoning sounds spiritual, but he reads an opportunity as permission. An open door is not always a command from God.

BSA: delivered (“handed over, surrendered”): Abishai believes God Himself has handed Saul over, and that is why his argument sounds so convincing.

See also: 1 Samuel 24:4.

1 Samuel 26:9

David refuses. Saul is the LORD’s anointed, set apart by God for the kingship, and no one can harm him and remain guiltless. David honors the office because God gave it, even though the man holding it has become his enemy.

BSA: anointed (“Messiah, the chosen king”): The word means one marked out by God with oil, so touching Saul would mean raising a hand against God’s own choice.

Hebrew: מְשִׁיחַ (mashiach, H4899) — “anointed one.” This is the Hebrew word from which we get Messiah. Here it describes a king set apart by God with oil. It later points ahead to the final King.

See also: 1 Samuel 24:6; Psalm 105:15.

1 Samuel 26:10-11

David leaves the outcome to God. He expects the LORD to deal with Saul in His own way and time, whether by natural death or in battle. David will not take what God has promised by wrongdoing. He asks for the spear and jug as proof instead.

BSA: forbid (“express strong disapproval, God forbid”): David feels the thought of striking Saul as something deeply offensive to the LORD, not just unwise.

See also: Romans 12:19; 1 Samuel 31:6.

1 Samuel 26:12

David takes the spear and water jug and they walk away unseen. The writer explains why nobody woke: a deep sleep from the LORD had fallen on them. God protected David and lets us see that He was in control of the whole night.

BSA: deep sleep (“a trance-like state, a heavy drowsiness”): This is a God-sent sleep, deeper than ordinary tiredness, so the safety of the whole night was God’s doing.

Hebrew: תַּרְדֵּמַת (tardemat, H8639) — “deep sleep.” It is the same word used when God put Adam to sleep before creating Eve. It describes a sleep that only God can bring.

See also: Genesis 2:21.

1 Samuel 26:13-14

David goes across to a safe height on the far side, with a wide gap between him and the camp. Then he calls out to Abner. He is safe and still has a distance to retreat. Abner, woken by the shouting, asks who dares to call the king.

BSA: gulf (“space, place”): The wide space between them shows David’s safety and also the real distance that had grown between David and Saul’s camp.

1 Samuel 26:15-16

David rebukes Abner for failing the very duty he was proud of. A trusted general should have guarded his king. David says they all deserve to die, because someone had come right up to the king. The missing spear and jug prove it.

BSA: protect (“keep watch, protect”): The word suggests careful guarding, so Abner’s sleeping was a failure of his main job. deserve to die (“are worthy of death, sons of death”): The idiom means they stood under a death sentence, a strong rebuke for neglecting the king.

1 Samuel 26:17

Saul recognizes David’s voice and calls him my son. David answers by calling Saul my lord and king. Even now David speaks with respect, though the king has been hunting him. Their old relationship still shows through the conflict.

BSA: recognized (“to scrutinize, to treat as familiar”): Saul knows the voice well, which hints at how close they once were.

See also: 1 Samuel 24:16.

1 Samuel 26:18

David asks Saul three honest questions: why is he being chased, what has he done, and what evil is in his hand? He calls himself the king’s servant. He does not defend himself with anger. He simply asks Saul to name any crime he has committed.

BSA: servant (“slave, one who serves”): David describes himself as a loyal subject, not a rival, which makes Saul’s pursuit look even more unjust.

1 Samuel 26:19

David offers two possibilities. If the LORD stirred Saul up, let an offering settle it. If men did it by slander, let them be cursed. Being driven from the land felt to him like being told to serve other gods, because he was cut off from the LORD’s people and worship.

BSA: inheritance (“possession, legacy”): The land and the worshiping community were God’s gift to His people, so being exiled felt like being cut off from God’s own share. offering (“gift, sacrifice”): David is ready to make peace with God through sacrifice if his own wrongdoing has caused this.

See also: Deuteronomy 32:9.

1 Samuel 26:20

David pleads that his blood not be shed far from the LORD’s presence. He then shows how small the whole chase is: Israel’s king is hunting a flea, or a partridge in the hills. It is a humble, almost humorous picture of how unworthy the pursuit is.

BSA: flea (“a small, insignificant thing”): David makes himself small to show Saul how ridiculous it is for a king to spend an army on him.

See also: 1 Samuel 24:14.

1 Samuel 26:21

Saul admits his guilt in plain words: I have sinned, I have played the fool. He promises not to harm David again, because David spared his life. The confession sounds sincere here, but the history shows that Saul’s heart did not last.

BSA: sinned (“missed the mark, gone wrong”): The word pictures an archer who misses the target, so Saul admits he has aimed his whole life at the wrong thing. precious (“valuable, of great worth”): Saul sees that his life was treasured by David, even though he had treated David’s life as worthless.

See also: 1 Samuel 15:24.

1 Samuel 26:22-23

David hands back the spear and sends a young man to fetch it. He trusts that the LORD repays each person for righteousness and faithfulness. He does not need to prove himself to Saul. He acts rightly and leaves the result to God.

BSA: faithfulness (“firmness, security, fidelity”): The word means steady reliability, and David claims that God notices those who stay true when it costs them.

See also: Psalm 18:20-24.

1 Samuel 26:24

David prays that as he valued Saul’s life, the LORD would value his. He does not trust Saul’s promise for his safety. He asks God to rescue him from all trouble. The believer’s protection comes from the LORD Himself.

BSA: valued (“considered precious, spared”): David’s mercy toward Saul becomes the basis of his prayer that God will treat his own life with the same care.

See also: Matthew 5:7.

1 Samuel 26:25

Saul blesses David and says he will do great things and prevail. It is a kind of acknowledgment of what God is doing. Then they go their separate ways. David does not return with Saul, and the story shows he was wise not to trust him.

BSA: prevail (“overcome, triumph”): Saul admits that David is destined to succeed, even though he is still the sitting king.

See also: 1 Samuel 24:20.