Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 1 Samuel
Chapter 24: Mine Hand Shall Not Be Upon Thee
Given the perfect chance to kill his hunter, David refuses to lift his hand against the LORD's anointed. He cuts only the skirt of Saul's robe, and even that pricks his conscience. Then he appeals to God as judge, and Saul, confronted with such mercy, weeps and confesses, 'Thou art more righteous than I.'
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of 1 Samuel chapter 24. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Chapter 24 records one of the noblest moments of David's life: sparing the king who sought his death, and leaving vengeance with the LORD. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
David Spares the LORD's Anointed (1 Samuel 24:1-7)
Saul walks unknowing into the very cave where David hides, and David refuses to take the life the LORD has placed in his hand.
The LORD Forbid That I Should Do This Thing
"And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi. Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats. And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave. And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the LORD said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily. And it came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul's skirt. And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD'S anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD. So David stayed his servants with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way."
Word Study
"the LORD'S anointed," Hebrew meshiach YHWH (מְשִׁיחַ יְהוָה), "the anointed one of the LORD." Twice David refuses to touch "the LORD'S anointed" (meshiach YHWH), the very word from which we get Messiah and, in Greek, Christ. Saul had been anointed with oil by Samuel, and though the Spirit had departed and the man had become David's murderous enemy, David would not lift his hand against the office God had set apart. His reverence was not for Saul the man, who deserved judgment, but for the LORD who had anointed him; to strike the anointed was to usurp God's own prerogative. There is deep wisdom here. David refused to grasp by his own hand the throne God had promised to give him in God's time. He would receive the kingdom as a gift, not seize it by blood. And the tenderness of his conscience is remarkable: even cutting the mere skirt of Saul's robe, a bloodless act, made his "heart smote him." A soft heart before God feels the smallest overstep.
Explanation
The scene is almost staged by providence. Saul, hunting David with three thousand men in the wilderness of Engedi, enters a cave "to cover his feet" (to relieve himself), the very cave in whose dark recesses David and his men are hiding. David's men see it as God's gift: here is your enemy, delivered into your hand, kill him. David creeps forward, but instead of taking Saul's life he silently cuts off the skirt of his robe as proof he could have. Yet even this pricks his conscience. He restrains his men with a solemn principle: he will not stretch out his hand against the LORD's anointed. Saul rises and leaves, never knowing how close he came to death, and how great a mercy was shown him. David had the throne within his grasp and would not take it by his own hand.
Gospel Focus
David in the cave is a shining picture of the Lord Jesus, who, though hunted and hated, "when he was reviled, reviled not again... but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously" (1 Peter 2:23). David could have seized the kingdom by killing Saul; Christ could have called twelve legions of angels. Both refused to grasp by force what the Father would give in His time. David's restraint teaches the believer the hardest lesson of the Christian walk: to leave vengeance with God. "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves... Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord" (Romans 12:19). When your enemy is delivered into your hand, and every voice says strike, the tender conscience says, "The LORD forbid." Do not take by your own hand what God has promised to give in His way and His hour. The kingdom that is seized by blood is not the kingdom God gives to the meek.
The LORD Judge Between Me and Thee (1 Samuel 24:8-15)
David calls after Saul, shows the skirt as proof of his innocence, and commits his whole cause to the LORD as judge.
After a Dead Dog, After a Flea
"David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself. And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou men's words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt? Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the LORD had delivered thee to day into mine hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee: but mine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my lord; for he is the LORD'S anointed. Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand: for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it. The LORD judge between me and thee, and the LORD avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea. The LORD therefore be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of thine hand."
Word Study
"avenge," Hebrew naqam (נָקַם), "to take vengeance, to avenge." David's refrain, "the LORD avenge (naqam) me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee," is the very heart of the chapter. He does not deny that a wrong has been done; he simply hands the settling of it to God. This is not weakness but faith: he so trusts the justice of the LORD that he can leave his cause entirely in God's hands and keep his own hands clean. He calls himself "a dead dog, after a flea", the humblest, least threatening of things, showing how far he is from grasping at power. The believer is called to the same trust: "recompense to no man evil for evil... avenge not yourselves... give place unto wrath" (Romans 12:17-19). To "give place unto wrath" is to step aside and let God's justice, not ours, have room to work. David plays the injured innocent, but instead of retaliating he cries, "The LORD therefore be judge... plead my cause."
Explanation
David follows Saul out of the cave and, from a safe distance, calls after him with striking humility, bowing his face to the earth and calling Saul "my lord the king" and even "my father." He makes his defense with the evidence in his hand: the skirt he cut proves both that he could have killed Saul and that he chose not to, "there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand." He exposes the lie behind Saul's hunt ("men's words") and insists on his own innocence, "I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it." Then he makes his great appeal, not to his own strength but to heaven: "The LORD judge between me and thee." He belittles himself as no threat, a dead dog, a flea, unworthy of a king's army, and rests his whole cause with the God who sees, pleads, and delivers.
Gospel Focus
David's appeal, "The LORD therefore be judge... and plead my cause," is the response of faith to injustice, and it points straight to Christ, who "committed himself to him that judgeth righteously" (1 Peter 2:23). When slandered and hunted, David does not defend himself with the sword but commits his cause to the righteous Judge. This is a hard grace for the wronged believer. When lies are told about you, when you are pursued without cause, the flesh cries out to strike back and to clear your own name by force. Faith says, "The LORD judge between me and thee." He sees what men do in secret; He will plead the cause of the innocent and deliver in His time. "Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him... fret not thyself" (Psalm 37:7). The one who can leave his cause with God can keep his hands clean, and a clean hand is worth more than a won argument.
Thou Art More Righteous Than I (1 Samuel 24:16-22)
Confronted by such mercy, Saul weeps, confesses David's righteousness, and acknowledges that David will surely be king.
Saul Lifted Up His Voice, and Wept
"And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept. And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil. And thou hast shewed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me: forasmuch as when the LORD had delivered me into thine hand, thou killedst me not. For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the LORD reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day. And now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand. Swear now therefore unto me by the LORD, that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father's house. And David sware unto Saul. And Saul went home; but David and his men gat them up unto the hold."
Word Study
"more righteous," Hebrew tsaddiq (צַדִּיק), "righteous, just, in the right." Saul is forced to confess, "Thou art more righteous (tsaddiq) than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil." Nothing so exposes and shames evil as unexpected good. David's mercy did what no argument could: it broke through Saul's hardness and wrung from him, at least for a moment, an honest confession. This is the power the Scripture commends, "be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21). Heaping kindness on an enemy is likened to heaping "coals of fire on his head" (Romans 12:20), the melting, convicting warmth of grace. Saul even blesses David and prophesies the kingdom is his, "I know well that thou shalt surely be king." Yet, tragically, this repentance is only a feeling, not a turning; Saul goes home, but soon resumes the hunt. Emotion moved by grace is not the same as a heart changed by grace.
Explanation
David's words break Saul down. "Is this thy voice, my son David?" he cries, and weeps aloud. For a moment the old king sees clearly: David has returned good for evil, sparing the life God gave into his hand. Saul confesses the truth he has long fought, "Thou art more righteous than I," and even the truth he most feared, "I know well that thou shalt surely be king." He begs David to spare his descendants, a plea David honors, later showing kindness to Jonathan's son Mephibosheth. David swears the oath. But note how the scene ends: "Saul went home; but David and his men gat them up unto the hold." Saul's tears did not change him. He does not invite David back or call off the hunt; he simply goes home, and David, wisely, does not trust the confession but returns to his stronghold. Words of repentance without a changed life are only weather, not a new season.
Gospel Focus
Saul's tears are a solemn warning. He felt deeply, confessed truly, and blessed David sincerely in the moment, yet nothing changed, for it was "the sorrow of the world," which "worketh death," not the "godly sorrow" that "worketh repentance to salvation" (2 Corinthians 7:10). Many are moved by grace who are never mastered by it. They weep at the goodness of God and go home unchanged. True repentance is not a feeling that passes but a turning that lasts. Set against Saul stands David, who overcame evil with good and left the outcome to God, and in that he images Christ, whose mercy toward His enemies is meant to lead them "to repentance" (Romans 2:4). The question the chapter presses is not whether the goodness of God can move you to tears, Saul's did, but whether it will move you to turn. Do not go home from the cave unchanged.
Chapter 24 in Review
1 Samuel 24 records one of the noblest hours of David's life. Saul, hunting him with three thousand men, unknowingly enters the very cave where David hides. Urged to kill his enemy, David instead cuts only the skirt of Saul's robe, and even that smites his conscience, for he will not "stretch forth mine hand against the LORD'S anointed." He follows Saul out, shows the skirt as proof of his innocence, and commits his cause to God: "The LORD judge between me and thee." Confronted by such mercy, Saul weeps, confesses "Thou art more righteous than I," and admits David will surely be king, then goes home, unchanged.
For the Apostolic reader, David in the cave foreshadows Christ, who when reviled reviled not again but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously. David refuses to seize by his own hand the throne God had promised to give, teaching the believer to leave vengeance with God and overcome evil with good. And Saul's fruitless tears warn that the sorrow of the world is not the godly sorrow that leads to repentance. Grace that only moves the feelings, and does not turn the heart, saves no one.
- David would not touch "the LORD'S anointed", he refused to seize by force what God had promised to give.
- A tender conscience feels even small overstep; David's heart smote him for cutting a robe.
- "The LORD judge between me and thee", faith commits its cause to the righteous Judge and keeps its hands clean.
- Saul wept but did not turn; the sorrow of the world is not the godly sorrow that works repentance.
Questions for Reflection
- When an enemy is "delivered into your hand," do you strike, or say with David, "The LORD forbid"?
- Can you leave your cause with the God who judges righteously, rather than clearing your name by force?
- Has the goodness of God ever moved you to tears without moving you to turn? Which was it, world's sorrow or godly?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). The Hebrew terms are standard and can be checked in any Hebrew lexicon. Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- David spares the LORD's anointed; leaving vengeance with God: 1 Samuel 24:1-7; 1 Peter 2:23; Romans 12:19.
- The appeal to the LORD as judge; committing one's cause to God: 1 Samuel 24:8-15; Romans 12:17-19; Psalm 37:7.
- Saul's fruitless tears; overcoming evil with good; godly versus worldly sorrow: 1 Samuel 24:16-22; Romans 12:20-21; 2 Corinthians 7:10; Romans 2:4.