TRV
Translation
King James Version
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.
KJV (with Strong's)
Moreover, my father H1, see H7200, yea, see H7200 the skirt H3671 of thy robe H4598 in my hand H3027: for in that I cut off H3772 the skirt H3671 of thy robe H4598, and killed H2026 thee not, know H3045 thou and see H7200 that there is neither evil H7451 nor transgression H6588 in mine hand H3027, and I have not sinned H2398 against thee; yet thou huntest H6658 my soul H5315 to take H3947 it.
Complete Jewish Bible
Moreover, my father, look! Here in my hand you see the corner of your cloak. By the fact that I only cut off a piece of your cloak and didn't kill you, you can see and understand that I have no plan to do harm or rebel, and that I haven't sinned against you -even though you are seeking every chance you get to take my life.
Berean Standard Bible
See, my father, look at the corner of your robe in my hand. For I cut it off, but I did not kill you. See and know that there is no evil or rebellion in my hands. I have not sinned against you, even though you are hunting me down to take my life.
American Standard Version
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 my hand, and I have not sinned against thee, though thou huntest after my life to take it.
World English Bible Messianic
Moreover, my father, behold, yes, see the skirt of your robe in my hand; for in that I cut off the skirt of your robe, and didn’t kill you, know and see that there is neither evil nor disobedience in my hand, and I have not sinned against you, though you hunt for my life to take it.
Geneva Bible (1599)
Behold, this day thine eyes haue seene, that the Lord had deliuered thee this day into mine hand in the caue, and some bade me kill thee, but I had compassion on thee, and said, I will not lay mine hande on my master: for he is the Lordes Anoynted.
Young's Literal Translation
`And, my father, see, yea see the skirt of thine upper robe in my hand; for by cutting off the skirt of thy upper robe, and I have not slain thee, know and see that there is not in my hand evil and transgression, and I have not sinned against thee, and thou art hunting my soul to take it!
Study This Verse
Commentary on 1 Samuel 24 verses 9–15
9 ¶ And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou men's words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt?
10 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.
11 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.
12 The LORD judge between me and thee, and the LORD avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.
13 As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.
14 After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea.
15 The LORD therefore be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of thine hand.
We have here David's warm and pathetic speech to Saul, wherein he endeavours to convince him that he did him a great deal of wrong in persecuting him thus and to persuade him therefore to be reconciled.
I. He calls him father (Sa1 24:11), for he was not only, as king, the father of his country, but he was, in particular, his father-in-law. From a father one may expect compassion and a favourable opinion. For a prince to seek the ruin of any of his good subjects is as unnatural as for a father to seek the ruin of his own children.
II. He lays the blame of his rage against him upon his evil counsellors: Wherefore hearest thou men's words? Sa1 24:9. It is a piece of respect due to crowned heads, if they do amiss, to charge it upon those about them, who either advised them to it or should have advised them against it. David had reason enough to think that Saul persecuted him purely from his own envy and malice, yet he courteously supposes that others put him on to do it, and made him believe that David was his enemy and sought his hurt. Satan, the great accuser of the brethren, has his agents in all places, and particularly in the courts of those princes that encourage them and give ear to them, who make it their business to represent the people of God as enemies to Caesar and hurtful to kings and provinces, that, being thus dressed up in bear-skins, they may "be baited."
III. He solemnly protests his own innocence, and that he is far from designing any hurt or mischief to Saul: "There is neither evil nor transgression in my hand, Sa1 24:11. I am not chargeable with any crime, nor conscious of any guilt, and, had I a window in my breast, thou mightest through it see the sincerity of my heart in this protestation: I have not sinned against thee (however I have sinned against God), yet thou huntest my soul," that is, "my life." Perhaps it was about this time that David penned the seventh psalm, concerning the affair of Cush the Benjamite (that is, Saul, as some think), wherein he thus appeals to God (Sa1 24:3-5): If there be iniquity in my hands, then let the enemy persecute my soul and take it, putting in a parenthesis, with reference to the story of this chapter, Yea, I have delivered him that without cause is my enemy.
IV. He produces undeniable evidence to prove the falsehood of the suggestion upon which Saul's malice against him was grounded. David was charged with seeking Saul's hurt: "See," says he, "yea, see the skirt of thy robe, Sa1 24:11. Let this be a witness for me, and an unexceptionable witness it is; had that been true of which I am accused, I should now have had thy head in my hand and not the skirt of thy robe, for I could as easily have cut off that as this." To corroborate this evidence he shows him, 1. That God's providence had given him opportunity to do it: The lord delivered thee, very surprisingly, to day into my hand, whence many a one would have gathered an intimation that it was the will of God he should now give the determining blow to him whose neck lay so fair for it. When Saul had but a very small advantage against David he cried out, God has delivered him into my hand (Sa1 23:7), and resolved to make the best of that advantage; but David did not so. 2. That his counsellors and those about him had earnestly besought him to do it: Some bade me kill thee. He had blamed Saul for hearkening to men's words and justly; "for," says he, "if I had done so, thou wouldest not have been alive now." 3. That it was upon a good principle that he refused to do it; not because Saul's attendants were at hand, who, it may be, would have avenged his death; no, it was not by the fear of them, but by the fear of God, that he was restrained from it. "He is my lord, and the Lord's anointed, whom I ought to protect, and to whom I owe faith and allegiance, and therefore I said, I will not touch a hair of his head." Such a happy command he had of himself that his nature, in the midst of the greatest provocation, was not suffered to rebel against his principles.
V. He declares it to be his fixed resolution never to be his own avenger: "The Lord avenge me of thee, that is, deliver me out of thy hand; but, whatever comes of it, my hand shall not be upon thee" (Sa1 24:12), and again (Sa1 24:13), for saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked. The wisdom of the ancients is transmitted to posterity by their proverbial sayings. Many such we receive by tradition from our fathers; and the counsels of common persons are very much directed by this, "As the old saying is." Here is one that was in use in David's time: Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked, that is, 1. Men's own iniquity will ruin them at last, so some understand it. Forward furious men will cut their own throats with their own knives. Give them rope enough, and they will hang themselves. In this sense it comes in very fitly as a reason why his hand should not be upon him. 2. Bad men will do bad things; according as men's principles and dispositions are, so will their actions be. This also agrees very well with the connexion. If David had been a wicked man, as he was represented, he would have done this wicked thing; but he durst not, because of the fear of God. Or thus: Whatever injuries bad men do us (which we are not to wonder at; he that lies among thorns must expect to be scratched), yet we must not return them; never render railing for railing. Though wickedness proceed from the wicked, yet let it not therefore proceed from us by way of retaliation. Though the dog bark at the sheep, the sheep does not bark at the dog. See Isa 32:6-8.
VI. He endeavours to convince Saul that as it was a bad thing, so it was a mean thing, for him to give chase to such an inconsiderable person as he was (Sa1 24:14): Whom does the king of Israel pursue with all this care and force? A dead dog; a flea; one flea, so it is in the Hebrew. It is below so great a king to enter the lists with one that is so unequal a match for him, one of his own servants, bred a poor shepherd, now an exile, neither able nor willing to make any resistance. To conquer him would not be to his honour, to attempt it was his disparagement. If Saul would consult his own reputation, he would slight such an enemy (supposing he were really his enemy) and would think himself in no danger from him. David was so far from aspiring that he was, in his own account, as a dead dog. Mephibosheth thus calls himself, Sa2 9:8. This humble language would have wrought upon Saul if he had had any spark of generosity in him. Satis est prostrsse leoni - Enough for the lion that he has laid his victim low. What credit would it be to Saul to trample upon a dead dog? What pleasure could it be to him to hunt a flea, a single flea, which (as some have observed), if it be sought, is not easily found, if it be found, is not easily caught, and, if it be caught, is a poor prize, especially for a prince. Aquila non captat muscas - The eagle does not dart upon flies. David thinks Saul had no more reason to fear him than to fear a flea-bite.
VII. He once and again appeals to God as the righteous Judge (Sa1 24:12 and Sa1 24:15): The Lord judge between me and thee. Note, The justice of God is the refuge and comfort of oppressed innocence. If men wrong us, God will right us, at furthest, in the judgment of the great day. With him David leaves his cause, and so rests satisfied, waiting his time to appear for him.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 9–15. Public domain.
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Gregory of NyssaAD 395
ON THE INSCRIPTIONS OF THE PSALMS 2.14.229-30
Saul, therefore, came out of the cave unaware of what had happened, wearing the little garment which had been trimmed all around. David came out behind him in self-assurance, and having seized the hill lying above the cave in advance, held out the end [of Saul’s robe] in his hand. This was nothing other than a bloodless trophy against his enemies. And he cried out to Saul in a loud voice and told him about this new and marvelous heroism, which was unstained by the defilement of blood, in which the hero was victorious and the one defeated was saved from death. For David’s excellence is not attested in the fall of his enemy, but the superiority of his power is made clearer in the salvation of his opponent from danger. He had such an excess of confidence that he did not think that his own salvation lay in the destruction of those arrayed against him, but even when those who plotted against him survived he was confident that no one would harm him.But the Word teaches rather by this story that the one who excels in virtue does not fight bravely against those of his own race but fights against the passions. The anger in both men, then, was destroyed by such excellence as David had, in the one, when he destroyed his own wrath by means of reason and quenched the urge to take vengeance, and in the other, when Saul put to death his evil against David because of the clemency which he had experienced. For one can learn from the story itself the kind of things Saul uttered afterwards to the victor when he was submerged in shame for what he had undertaken and demonstrated his spontaneous turning away from evil by his lament and tears.
John ChrysostomAD 407
HOMILIES ON DAVID AND SAUL 3
So what did David reply? “Your servant, my lord the king.” A contest and rivalry then developed as to which one would pay greater respect to the other: one admitted the other to kinship, the other called him lord. What he means is something like this: I am interested in one thing only, your welfare and the progress of virtue. You called me child, and I love and am fond of you if you have me as a servant, provided you set aside your resentment, provided you do not suspect me of any evil or think me to be scheming and warring against you. He fulfilled that apostolic law, note, that bids us excel ourselves in showing one another honor, unlike the general run of people, whose disposition is worse than beasts’ and who cannot bear to be the first to greet their neighbor, having the view that they are shamed and insulted if they share a mere greeting with someone.
John ChrysostomAD 407
HOMILIES ON DAVID AND SAUL 2
When he had offered this excellent sacrifice, then, achieved the victory and omitted nothing needed for a trophy, the cause of the problem, Saul, arose and left the cave, all unaware of what had gone on. “David also left behind him,” looking in the direction of heaven with eyes now free of concern, and more satisfied on that occasion than when he had overthrown Goliath and cut off the savage’s head. It was, in fact, a more conspicuous victory than the former one, the spoils more majestic, the booty more glorious, the trophy more commendable. In the former case he needed a sling, stones and battle line, whereas in this case thought counted for everything, the victory was achieved without weapons, and the trophy was erected without blood being spilt. He returned, therefore, bearing not a savage’s head but resentment mortified and rage unnerved—spoils he deposited not in Jerusalem but in heaven and the city on high.
BedeAD 735
Commentary on Samuel
Rather, my father, see, etc. Rather, says the Lord, my people, since I was called and was the Son of Man to confirm the promises of the fathers, it did not displease me to be incarnate. See and recognize the boundary of your royal state in my power; for when I cut off the summit of your earthly kingdom, calling many from its defense, which is carried out through arms, strife, and wars, to the simplicity of my faith and religion, giving many into the hands of enemies for the guilt of perfidy, I did not wish to extend the hand of open vengeance against you. Consider and see that there is nothing evil or wicked in my work, and recognize that I am he of whom the prophet testifies: "He committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth" (Isa. LIII). Who among you convicts me of sin (John VIII), you who conspire to erase the memory of my name from the land of the living?
Richard ChallonerAD 1781
A thought to kill thee: That is, a suggestion, to which I did not consent.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
1 Samuel 24:11 captures David's poignant and powerful appeal to King Saul, immediately after David had spared Saul's life in the cave of Engedi. Holding a piece of Saul's robe that he secretly cut off, David presents irrefutable evidence of his proximity and opportunity to kill the king, yet his deliberate choice not to. This verse serves as David's emphatic declaration of innocence, asserting that he harbors no evil or rebellious intent against Saul, despite the king's relentless and unjust pursuit of his life. It highlights David's integrity, his profound respect for God's anointed, and the stark contrast between his righteous character and Saul's paranoid malevolence.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The passage powerfully employs Dramatic Irony, as Saul is initially unaware that David and his men are in the cave, while the audience knows David has spared his life. This creates significant tension and underscores David's moral superiority. Symbolism is central, with the "skirt of the robe" acting as a potent symbol of Saul's vulnerability, David's proximity, and his deliberate choice not to harm the king. It also symbolizes Saul's diminishing authority and David's burgeoning integrity. The dialogue is imbued with Pathos, as David's respectful address ("my father") and his earnest plea for understanding evoke deep sympathy for his unjust persecution. Finally, the entire verse is built on Contrast: David's mercy versus Saul's malice, David's innocence versus Saul's accusation, and David's respect for authority versus Saul's abuse of power.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
1 Samuel 24:11 serves as a profound illustration of how God's chosen deliverer operates with integrity and a deep reverence for divine order, even when facing extreme provocation. David's refusal to harm Saul, despite having the perfect opportunity, is not merely an act of personal restraint but a theological statement: he trusts God's timing and method for establishing the kingdom, rather than resorting to human violence or political maneuvering. This demonstrates a faith that believes God is sovereign over all circumstances, including the rise and fall of kings. David's blamelessness in the face of false accusations also foreshadows the suffering of the righteous, who are often persecuted despite their innocence, relying on God for ultimate vindication.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
David's encounter with Saul in the cave of Engedi, culminating in this powerful appeal, offers timeless lessons for believers navigating complex relationships and unjust circumstances. It challenges us to cultivate a heart of mercy and restraint, even when presented with seemingly perfect opportunities for retaliation or self-vindication. David's unwavering respect for God's anointed, despite Saul's deeply flawed character, teaches us to honor positions of authority, understanding that ultimate judgment belongs to God. In a world often driven by vengeance and self-preservation, David's example calls us to a higher standard: to respond to evil with good, to maintain integrity under pressure, and to trust God's sovereign hand to bring about justice in His perfect timing. Our actions, like the piece of Saul's robe in David's hand, should serve as clear evidence of our character and our commitment to Christ-like principles, even when our motives are misunderstood or we face baseless accusations.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why did David cut off the skirt of Saul's robe instead of killing him?
Answer: David cut off the skirt of Saul's robe as a symbolic act to demonstrate his proximity to Saul and his ability to harm him, without actually taking Saul's life. His men urged him to kill Saul, viewing it as a divine opportunity, but David refused, stating that he would not "stretch forth my hand against the LORD's anointed". The act of cutting the robe served as irrefutable proof to Saul that David had him at his mercy but chose restraint and respect for God's chosen king. It was a powerful, non-violent way to prove his innocence and loyalty, contrasting sharply with Saul's paranoid accusations and demonstrating David's trust in divine providence rather than human intervention.
What does "neither evil nor transgression in mine hand" mean in this context?
Answer: When David declares "neither evil nor transgression in mine hand," he is emphatically stating his complete innocence of any wrongdoing or rebellion against King Saul. "Evil" (Hebrew: raʻ) refers to general malice or harm, while "transgression" (Hebrew: peshaʻ) denotes a more serious offense, often implying rebellion or treachery against an authority. Saul had repeatedly accused David of seeking to usurp his throne and plotting against him. David's statement, backed by the tangible evidence of the robe, directly refutes these accusations, asserting that his actions are not driven by any ill will or disloyalty, but rather by respect for Saul's position and trust in God's plan. He is declaring his blamelessness in the face of Saul's unfounded persecution, emphasizing that he has committed no sin against the king, despite Saul's relentless pursuit of his life.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
David's profound act of mercy and his declaration of blamelessness in 1 Samuel 24:11 powerfully prefigure the character and mission of Jesus Christ. David, though innocent, was relentlessly pursued and unjustly persecuted by Saul, yet he refused to retaliate, instead demonstrating profound restraint and respect for God's anointed. This mirrors Christ, the ultimate innocent one, who "committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth; and when he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly" (1 Peter 2:22-23). Just as David had the power to take Saul's life but chose not to, Jesus, possessing all divine authority, willingly laid down His life, not to save Himself, but to save humanity, even those who persecuted Him (John 10:18). David's appeal for Saul to "know thou and see that [there is] neither evil nor transgression in mine hand" finds its ultimate fulfillment in Christ, whose perfect life and sacrificial death definitively prove His blamelessness and provide the only means for humanity's reconciliation with God (2 Corinthians 5:21). David's trust in divine vindication, rather than personal vengeance, points to the cross, where God's justice and mercy perfectly converged to address the ultimate "evil and transgression" of humanity.