1 Samuel 26 · Verse 4

1 Samuel 26:4

David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come in very deed.
1 Samuel 26:4, King James Version

1 Samuel 26:4 in other translations

BSBDavid sent out spies to verify that Saul had arrived.
WEBDavid therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul had certainly come.
ASVDavid therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come of a certainty.
YLTand David sendeth spies, and knoweth that Saul hath come unto Nachon,
DARBYDavid sent out spies, and learned that Saul was certainly come.
BBEAnd so David sent out watchers, and got word from them that Saul was certainly coming.
WebsterDavid therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul had come in very deed.

What does 1 Samuel 26:4 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 26:4-5
4-5. David ... sent out spies ... and David arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched--Having obtained certain information of the locality, he seems, accompanied by his nephew (1Sa 26:6), to have hid himself, perhaps disguised, in a neighboring wood, or hill, on the skirts of the royal camp towards night, and waited to approach it under covert of the darkness. 1Sa 26:5-25. David Stays Abishai from Killing Saul, but Takes His Spear and Cruse.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Samuel 26:1-12

How soon do unholy hearts lose the good impressions convictions have made upon them! How helpless were Saul and all his men! All as though disarmed and chained, yet nothing is done to them; they are only asleep. How easily can God weaken the strongest, befool the wisest, and baffle the most watchful! David still resolved to wait till God thought fit to avenge him on Saul. He will by no means force his way to the…

Read the full comment on 1 Samuel 26:1-12 →

1 Samuel 26:4 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.

וַיִּשְׁלַ֥חvai.yish.Lachand he sentH7971
דָּוִ֖דda.VidDavidH1732
מְרַגְּלִ֑יםme.ra.ge.LimspiesH7270
וַיֵּ֕דַעvai.Ye.da'and he knewH3045
כִּֽי\־ki-thatH3588
בָ֥אva'he had comeH935
שָׁא֖וּלsha.'UlSaulH7586
אֶל\־'el-toH413
נָכֽוֹן\׃na.Khona certain [thing]H3559

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

Cross references for 1 Samuel 26:4

  • Matthew 10:16

    Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

  • Joshua 2:1

    And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jos 2:1; Mt 10:16

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

Context

  • 1 Samuel 26:3

    And Saul pitched in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon, by the way. But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness.

  • 1 Samuel 26:4

    David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come in very deed.

  • 1 Samuel 26:5

    And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched: and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay in the trench, and the people pitched round about him.

Read all of 1 Samuel 26

1 Samuel 26:4 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		David por tanto envió espías, y entendió por cierto que Saúl había venido.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et David envoya des espions, et il sut très certainement que Saül était venu.
German
Elberfelder 1871		da sandte David Kundschafter aus, und er erfuhr mit Gewißheit, daß Saul gekommen war.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		misit exploratores, et didicit quod illuc venisset certissime.