Passage

1 Samuel 24.5

Book: 1 Samuel · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"3. And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet. Now David and his men were abiding in the innermost parts of the cave. 4. And the men of David said unto him, Behold, the day of which Jehovah said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thy hand, and thou shalt do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily."

"5. And it came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul's skirt."

"6. And he said unto his men, Jehovah forbid that I should do this thing unto my lord, Jehovah's anointed, to put forth my hand against him, seeing he is Jehovah's anointed. 7. So David checked his men with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. And Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way." (1 Samuel 24:3-7, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"3. He came to the sheep pens by the way, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were staying in the innermost parts of the cave. 4. David’s men said to him, “Behold, the day of which Yahweh said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’” Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe secretly."

"5. Afterward, David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt."

"6. He said to his men, “Yahweh forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, Yahweh’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is Yahweh’s anointed.” 7. So David checked his men with these words, and didn’t allow them to rise against Saul. Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way." (1 Samuel 24:3-7, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"3. 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. 4. 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. ^{Saul's: Heb. the robe which was Saul's}"

"5. And it came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul's skirt."

"6. 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. 7. 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. ^{stayed: Heb. cut off}" (1 Samuel 24:3-7, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"3. and he cometh in unto folds of the flock, on the way, and there [is] a cave, and Saul goeth in to cover his feet; and David and his men in the sides of the cave are abiding. 4. And the men of David say unto him, 'Lo, the day of which Jehovah said unto thee, Lo, I am giving thine enemy into thy hand, and thou hast done to him as it is good in thine eyes;' and David riseth and cutteth off the skirt of the upper robe which [is] on Saul, gently."

"5. And it cometh to pass afterwards that the heart of David smiteth him, because that he hath cut off the skirt which [is] on Saul,"

"6. and he saith to his men, 'Far be it from me, by Jehovah; I do not do this thing to my lord, to the anointed of Jehovah, to put forth my hand against him, for the anointed of Jehovah he [is].' 7. And David subdueth his men by words, and hath not permitted them to rise against Saul; and Saul hath risen from the cave, and goeth on the way;" (1 Samuel 24:3-7, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD

Quoted in

H3820 - lev

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.