World English Bible
- The Ziphites came to Saul to Gibeah, saying, “Doesn’t David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is before the desert?”
- Then Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph.
- Saul encamped in the hill of Hachilah, which is before the desert, by the way. But David stayed in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness.
- David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul had certainly come.
- Then David arose and came to the place where Saul had encamped; and David saw the place where Saul lay, with Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his army. Saul lay within the place of the wagons, and the people were encamped around him.
- Then David answered and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, saying, “Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp?” Abishai said, “I will go down with you.”
- So David and Abishai came to the people by night; and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the place of the wagons, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the people lay around him.
- Then Abishai said to David, “God has delivered up your enemy into your hand today. Now therefore please let me strike him with the spear to the earth at one stroke, and I will not strike him the second time.”
- David said to Abishai, “Don’t destroy him, for who can stretch out his hand against the LORD’s anointed, and be guiltless?”
- David said, “As the LORD lives, the LORD will strike him; or his day shall come to die, or he shall go down into battle and perish.
- The LORD forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the LORD’s anointed; but now please take the spear that is at his head and the jar of water, and let’s go.”
- So David took the spear and the jar of water from Saul’s head, and they went away. No man saw it, or knew it, nor did any awake; for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the LORD had fallen on them.
- Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of the mountain far away, a great space being between them;
- and David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Don’t you answer, Abner?” Then Abner answered, “Who are you who calls to the king?”
- David said to Abner, “Aren’t you a man? Who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not kept watch over your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy your lord the king.
- This thing isn’t good that you have done. As the LORD lives, you are worthy to die, because you have not kept watch over your lord, the LORD’s anointed. Now see where the king’s spear is, and the jar of water that was at his head.”
- Saul recognized David’s voice, and said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” David said, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.”
- He said, “Why does my lord pursue his servant? For what have I done? What evil is in my hand?
- Now therefore, please let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it is so that the LORD has stirred you up against me, let him accept an offering. But if it is the children of men, they are cursed before the LORD; for they have driven me out today that I shouldn’t cling to the LORD’s inheritance, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods!’
- Now therefore, don’t let my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of the LORD; for the king of Israel has come out to seek a flea, as when one hunts a partridge in the mountains.”
- Then Saul said, “I have sinned. Return, my son David; for I will no more do you harm, because my life was precious in your eyes today. Behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly.”
- David answered, “Behold the spear, O king! Let one of the young men come over and get it.
- The LORD will give to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness; because the LORD delivered you into my hand today, and I wouldn’t stretch out my hand against the LORD’s anointed.
- Behold, as your life was respected today in my eyes, so let my life be respected in the LORD’s eyes, and let him deliver me out of all oppression.”
- Then Saul said to David, “You are blessed, my son David. You will both do mightily, and will surely prevail.” So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place.
Devotional on 1 Samuel 26
Take a quiet moment to read 1 Samuel 26 in your preferred translation. The quotations below are from the New International Version.
• Geography. The “hill of Hakilah, facing Jeshimon”
(v. 3) rises in the arid badlands south-east of Hebron. Archaeologists
have mapped its ridges and caves; it is barren, wind-scoured, and offers
clear sight-lines—ideal for a lookout.
• Political climate. Saul is still king by public
title, David by divine promise. Two anointed men occupy one land, and
the tension runs through every verse.
• Ziphites again. These border-people (cf. 23:19)
choose the security of Saul’s favor over the risk of harboring a
fugitive. Their repeated betrayal reminds us how fear shapes
alliances.
David scouts the camp, then descends with Abishai. The narrator repeats “Saul was lying inside the camp with the army encamped around him” (v. 5) to stress the human impossibility of reaching him. Yet two men walk straight to the center.
Hebrew note: verse 12 says וַיהוָה הִפִּיל תַּרְדֵּמָה (“the LORD had caused a deep sleep” – tardēmâ) to fall on them. The same rare word appears when God puts Adam to sleep (Gen 2:21) and when He seals covenant with Abram (Gen 15:12). In Scripture, tardēmâ signals that God alone is acting while humans lie powerless.
Abishai whispers, “Let me pin him to the ground with one thrust” (v. 8). The verb “pin” (’akev) is the same root as “Jacob”—a word-play implying a grabbing of the heel, a shortcut. David refuses shortcuts.
David speaks three convictions:
1. Sacred office matters. “Who can lay a hand on the
LORD’s anointed (māshîaḥ YHWH) and be guiltless?” He separates
Saul’s behavior (unjust) from Saul’s office (still holy).
2. God alone judges timing. “Either his time will come…
or he will go into battle and perish.” David trusts divine process,
echoing Deut 32:35 and foreshadowing Rom 12:19.
3. I will not. Personal agency remains: “But the LORD
forbid that I should…” Restraint is an act of worship.
Early interpreters saw here a pattern for Christian ethics.
• Augustine: David prefigures Christ, who refused to call angels against
those arresting Him.
• Calvin: Civil authorities may be flawed, yet rebellion is not the
church’s tool; prayer and witness are.
• Wesley: The “meekness of wisdom” is stronger than drawn swords.
David takes two objects:
• Spear – symbol of royal power and military
right.
• Water jar – symbol of life in the desert.
At dawn he calls across the ravine to Abner, Saul’s general. By holding the spear high, David proves both skill and restraint; by holding the jar, he proves he could have ended Saul’s life-supply as easily as his breath.
Literary device: irony. Abner, whose name means “father of light,” sleeps in darkness and must be awakened by his enemy to his dereliction of duty.
• Saul’s words: “I have sinned… I will not try to
harm you again” (v. 21). This is his third sorrowful speech (cf. 15:24;
24:17). It sounds humble, yet nothing truly changes. Emotion is not
repentance.
• David’s words: He pleads that righteousness “be
rewarded” by the LORD (v. 23). David does not demand vindication from
Saul; he looks upward.
David’s final sentence is poignant: “May your life be valued highly in the eyes of the LORD” (v. 24). He blesses the man who hunts him. Jesus will later say, “Love your enemies… pray for those who persecute you” (Matt 5:44).
1 Samuel 26 sits between Advent and Easter in biblical
theology:
• Like Jesus in the wilderness, David rejects a devilish shortcut to
power.
• Like Jesus in Gethsemane, he enters darkness while friends sleep, and
chooses the Father’s will over the sword (John 18:10-11).
• David’s patience leads to a throne not snatched but
received—foreshadowing the path of the cross before the
crown (Phil 2:5-11).
• Ancient camp formations: Kings slept inside a ring
of soldiers; breaching it was unheard of. The text magnifies God’s
intervention.
• Honor-shame culture: By sparing Saul twice, David
piles “burning coals” (Prov 25:21-22) upon his honor, urging him to
right relationship without public humiliation.
• Desert survival: A water skin was priceless; to lose
it at night could mean death by noon. David risks his own need for
Saul’s sake.
Suggested cross-references for meditation:
• Romans 12:17-21 – overcoming evil with good
• 1 Peter 2:21-23 – Christ’s example of suffering
• Psalm 54 – the prayer David wrote “when the Ziphites went to Saul”
(title)
Hymn suggestion: “May the Mind of Christ My Saviour” (Katie Barclay Wilkinson, 1913). Sing stanza 3 slowly: “May the peace of God my Father / Rule my life in everything…”—a fitting refrain after a night beside a sleeping king.
Lord of David and Lord of us,
You hold every spear and every breath.
Save us from grasping what You wish to give,
teach us to honor even those who wound us,
and keep us awake to Your purposes while the world sleeps.
May our restraint display Your greatness,
until the day Your kingdom comes in full.
Through Jesus, the true Anointed, we pray. Amen.