1 Samuel 24 · Verse 12

1 Samuel 24:12

The Lord judge between me and thee, and the Lord avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.
1 Samuel 24:12, King James Version

1 Samuel 24:12 in other translations

BSBMay the LORD judge between you and me, and may the LORD take vengeance on you, but my hand will never be against you.
WEBMay the LORD judge between me and you, and may the LORD avenge me of you; but my hand will not be on you.
ASVJehovah judge between me and thee, and Jehovah avenge me of thee; but my hand shall not be upon thee.
YLT‘Jehovah doth judge between me and thee, and Jehovah hath avenged me of thee, and my hand is not on thee;
DARBYJehovah judge between me and thee, and Jehovah avenge me of thee; but my hand shall not be upon thee.
BBEMay the Lord be judge between me and you, and may the Lord give me my rights against you, but my hand will never be lifted up against you.
WebsterThe LORD judge between me and thee, and the LORD avenge me of thee: but my hand shall not be upon thee.

What does 1 Samuel 24:12 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 24:8-15

8-15. David also arose ... and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul--The closeness of the precipitous cliffs, though divided by deep wadies, and the transparent purity of the air enable a person standing on one rock to hear distinctly the words uttered by a speaker standing on another (Jud 9:7). The expostulation of David, followed by the visible tokens he furnished of his cherishing no evil design against…

Read the full comment on 1 Samuel 24:8-15 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 12 The Lord judge between me and thee - Appeals of this kind to God are the common refuge of the poor and oppressed people. So also among the Hindoos: God will judge between us. Mother Kalee will judge. Sometimes this springs from a consciousness of innocence, and sometimes from a desire of revenge.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Samuel 24:8-15

David was falsely charged with seeking Saul's hurt; he shows Saul that God's providence had given him opportunity to do it. And it was upon a good principle that he refused to do it. He declares his fixed resolution never to be his own avenger. If men wrong us, God will right us, at farthest, in the judgment of the great day.

Read the full comment on 1 Samuel 24:8-15 →

1 Samuel 24:12 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

יִשְׁפֹּ֤טyish.Potmay he judgeH8199
יְהוָה֙Yah.wehYahwehH3068
בֵּינִ֣יbei.Nibetween meH996
וּבֵינֶ֔ךָu.vei.Ne.khaand between youH996
וּנְקָמַ֥נִיu.ne.ka.Ma.niand he will avenge meH5358
יְהוָ֖הYah.wehYahwehH3068
מִמֶּ֑ךָּmi.Me.kafrom youH4480
וְיָדִ֖יve.ya.Diand hand myH3027
לֹ֥אlo'notH3808
תִֽהְיֶה\־tih.yeh-it will beH1961
בָּֽךְ\׃Bakhon <the> you

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Samuel 24:12

  • Psalms 43:1

    Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.

  • Judges 11:27

    Wherefore I have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to war against me: the Lord the Judge be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.

  • Psalms 35:1

    A Psalm of David. Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me.

  • Genesis 16:5

    And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the Lord judge between me and thee.

  • Romans 12:19

    Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

  • Job 5:8

    I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:

  • 1 Peter 2:23

    Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:

  • Psalms 94:1

    O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself.

  • Psalms 7:8-9

    The Lord shall judge the people: judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me. Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.

  • 1 Samuel 26:10-11

    David said furthermore, As the Lord liveth, the Lord shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish. The Lord forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the Lord’s anointed: but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go.

  • 1 Samuel 26:23

    The Lord render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness: for the Lord delivered thee into my hand to day, but I would not stretch forth mine hand against the Lord’s anointed.

  • Revelation 6:10

    And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Lord judge.
26:10,23; Ge 16:5; Jud 11:27; Job 5:8; Ps 7:8,9; 35:1; 43:1; 94:1
Ro 12:19; 1Pe 2:23; Re 6:10
but mine hand.
26:11

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 1 Samuel 24:11

    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.

  • 1 Samuel 24:12

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

  • 1 Samuel 24:13

    As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.

Read all of 1 Samuel 24

1 Samuel 24:12 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y mira, padre mío, mira aún la orilla de tu manto en mi mano: porque yo corté la orilla de tu manto, y no te maté. Conoce pues, y ve que no hay mal ni traición en mi mano, ni he pecado contra ti; con todo, tú andas á caza de mi vida para quitármela.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et regarde, mon père, regarde le pan de ta robe dans ma main; car en ce que j’ai coupé le pan de ta robe et ne t’ai point tué, sache et vois qu’il n’y a pas de mal en ma main, ni de transgression, et que je n’ai pas péché contre toi; et toi, tu fais la chasse à mon âme pour la prendre.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und sieh, mein Vater, ja, sieh den Zipfel deines Oberkleides in meiner Hand! Denn daß ich einen Zipfel deines Oberkleides abgeschnitten und dich nicht getötet habe, daran erkenne und sieh, daß nichts Böses in meiner Hand ist, noch ein Vergehen, und daß ich nicht an dir gesündigt habe; du aber stellst meinem Leben nach, um es zu nehmen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Quin potius pater mi, vide, et cognosce oram chlamydis tuæ in manu mea: quoniam cum præscinderem summitatem chlamydis tuæ, nolui extendere manum meam in te: animadverte, et vide, quoniam non est in manu mea malum, neque iniquitas, neque peccavi in te: tu autem insidiaris animæ meæ ut auferas eam.