1 Samuel 24 · Verse 6

1 Samuel 24:6

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.
1 Samuel 24:6, King James Version

1 Samuel 24:6 in other translations

BSBSo he said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed. May I never lift my hand against him, since he is the LORD’s anointed.”
WEBHe said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the LORD’s anointed.”
ASVAnd 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.
YLTand 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.'
DARBYAnd he said to his men, Jehovah forbid that I should do this thing to my master, Jehovah's anointed, to stretch forth my hand against him, for he is the anointed of Jehovah.
BBEAnd David said to his men, Before the Lord, never let it be said that my hand was lifted up against my lord, the man of the Lord's selection, for the Lord's holy oil has been put on him.
WebsterAnd he said to his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the LORD'S anointed, to stretch forth my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.

What does 1 Samuel 24:6 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 24:4-7

4-7. the men of David said ... Behold the day of which the Lord said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand--God had never made any promise of delivering Saul into David's hand; but, from the general and repeated promises of the kingdom to him, they concluded that the king's death was to be effected by taking advantage of some such opportunity as the present. David steadily opposed the urgent…

Read the full comment on 1 Samuel 24:4-7 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 6 The Lord's anointed - However unworthily Saul was now acting, he had been appointed to his high office by God himself, and he could only be removed by the authority which placed him on the throne. Even David, who knew he was appointed to reign in his stead, and whose life Saul had often sought to destroy, did not conceive that he had any right to take away his life; and he grounds the reasons of his forbearance on this - He is my master, I am his subject. He is the Lord's anointed, and therefore sacred as to his person in the Lord's sight. It is an awful thing to kill a king, even the most untoward, when he has once been constitutionally appointed to the throne. No experiment of this kind has ever succeeded; the Lord abhors king killing. Had David taken away the life of Saul at this time, he would, in the sight of God, have been a murderer.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Samuel 24:1-7

God delivered Saul into David's hand. It was an opportunity given to David to exercise faith and patience. He had a promise of the kingdom, but no command to slay the king. He reasons strongly, both with himself and with his men, against doing Saul any hurt. Sin is a thing which it becomes us to startle at, and to resist temptations thereto. He not only would not do this bad thing himself, but he would not suffer…

Read the full comment on 1 Samuel 24:1-7 →

1 Samuel 24:6 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.

וַיֹּ֨אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
לַאֲנָשָׁ֜יוla.'a.na.Shavto men hisH582
חָלִ֧ילָהcha.Li.lahfar be itH2486
לִּ֣יlito <the> me
מֵֽיהוָ֗הme.Yah.wehfrom YahwehH3068
אִם\־'im-ifH518
אֶעֱשֶׂה֩'e.'e.SehI will doH6213
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הַדָּבָ֨רha.da.Varthe thingH1697
הַזֶּ֤הha.Zeh<the> thisH2088
לַֽאדֹנִי֙la.do.Nito lord myH113
לִמְשִׁ֣יחַlim.Shi.achto [the] [one] anointed ofH4899
יְהוָ֔הYah.wehYahwehH3068
לִשְׁלֹ֥חַlish.Lo.achby stretching outH7971
יָדִ֖יya.Dihand myH3027
בּ֑וֹboon <the> him
כִּֽי\־ki-forH3588
מְשִׁ֥יחַme.Shi.ach[is] [the] [one] anointed ofH4899
יְהוָ֖הYah.wehYahwehH3068
הֽוּא\׃Hu'heH1931

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

Cross references for 1 Samuel 24:6

  • 2 Samuel 1:14

    And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?

  • Romans 12:14-13:2

    Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. …

  • Job 31:29-30

    If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him: Neither have I suffered my mouth to sin by wishing a curse to his soul.

  • 1 Samuel 26:9-11

    And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord’s anointed, and be guiltless? 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 Thessalonians 5:15

    See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.

  • Matthew 5:44

    But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

  • 1 Kings 21:3

    And Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
the Lord forbid.
26:9-11; 2Sa 1:14; 1Ki 21:3; Job 31:29,30; Mt 5:44; Ro 12:14-21
Ro 13:1,2; 1Th 5:15

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

Context

  • 1 Samuel 24:5

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

  • 1 Samuel 24:6

    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.

  • 1 Samuel 24:7

    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.

Read all of 1 Samuel 24

1 Samuel 24:6 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Después de lo cual el corazón de David le golpeaba, porque había cortado la orilla del manto de Saúl.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et il arriva, après cela, que le cœur de David le reprit de ce qu’il avait coupé le pan de la robe de Saül.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Aber es geschah hernach, da schlug dem David sein Herz, darum daß er den Zipfel von dem Oberkleide Sauls abgeschnitten hatte;
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Post hæc percussit cor suum David, eo quod abscidisset oram chlamydis Saul.