1 Samuel 24:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: May the Lord judge between me and you, may the Lord avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you.

NIV: May the Lord judge between you and me. And may the Lord avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you.

NASB: May the Lord judge between you and me, and may the Lord take vengeance on you for me; but my hand shall not be against you.

CSB: "May the Lord judge between me and you, and may the Lord take vengeance on you for me, but my hand will never be against you.

NLT: May the Lord judge between us. Perhaps the Lord will punish you for what you are trying to do to me, but I will never harm you.

KJV: The Lord judge between me and thee, and the Lord avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.

NKJV: Let the Lord judge between you and me, and let the Lord avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you.

First Samuel 24:8–15 is David's defense of his own innocence towards Saul. David swears to King Saul he will never harm him. David could have. Saul had entered the cave where David and his men were hiding. David's was able to get so close that he cut off a piece of Saul's clothes without being detected (1 Samuel 1–7). David pleads his case, that he would never hurt or betray the King: the corner of the robe proves it. Saul is chastised. He agrees that David is both righteous and extraordinarily loyal. He asks David to protect his family when he is king and returns to Gibeah (1 Samuel 24:16–22).

David is faced with a moment of decision. As he and his men hide in a cave, Saul comes in alone to relieve himself. David refuses to kill Saul, as his men want him to, insisting that it would be a crime against the Lord to harm His anointed one. David does confront Saul outside the cave, holding up a corner of his robe to show he could have killed Saul but did not. Saul agrees David has been righteous and he has been evil. He admits that David will become king over Israel.

God again protects David from fighting his earthly King. David has fled a city that would have betrayed him to Saul. He has run from the wilderness where the locals did, in fact, do so (1 Samuel 23). Yet again, nearby people warn Saul where David is. David has the chance to kill Saul, but refuses, and Saul admits David is more righteous than he. Next, Nabal the fool dishonors David, and David marches for revenge. Nabal's wife, Abigail, saves David from murdering her innocent servants, and Nabal dies of natural—or godly—causes. In return, David marries Abigail (1 Samuel 25). During these events, the prophet Samuel dies.

First Samuel introduces the key figures who led Israel after the era of the judges. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel were originally part of a single text, split in certain translations shortly before the birth of Christ. Some of the Bible’s most famous characters are depicted in this book. These including the prophet Samuel, Israel’s first king, Saul, her greatest king, David, and other famous names such as Goliath and Jonathan. By the end of this book, Saul has fallen; the book of 2 Samuel begins with David’s ascension to the throne.

Accessed 10/15/2025 8:30:00 PM