May the LORD judge between you and me, and may the LORD take vengeance on you, but my hand will never be against you.
Parallel translations
- WEB May Yahweh judge between me and you, and may Yahweh avenge me of you; but my hand will not be on 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
David commits his cause to God as judge, refusing to take personal revenge. He entrusts justice to the Lord rather than his own hand.
Overview
David appeals to Yahweh to judge between him and Saul and to avenge any wrong, while vowing his own hand will not touch the king. This is the heart of biblical patience under persecution: leaving room for God's justice rather than repaying evil for evil. It anticipates Romans 12, 'Vengeance is mine, says the Lord,' and reflects the trust Christ Himself showed in committing Himself to the One who judges righteously.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Judg 11:27I have not sinned against you, but you have done me wrong by waging war against me. May the LORD, the Judge, decide today between the Israelites and the Ammonites.”
- Ps 43:1Vindicate me, O God, and plead my case against an ungodly nation; deliver me from deceitful and unjust men.
- Ps 35:1Of David. Contend with my opponents, O LORD; fight against those who fight against me.
- Gen 16:5Then Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be upon you! I delivered my servant into your arms, and ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has treated me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me.”
- Ps 94:1O LORD, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth.
- Rom 12:19Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”
- 1 Pet 2:23When they heaped abuse on Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats, but entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.
- Job 5:8However, if I were you, I would appeal to God and lay my cause before Him—
- Ps 7:8–9The LORD judges the peoples; vindicate me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and integrity.
- 1 Sam 26:23May the LORD repay every man for his righteousness and faithfulness. For the LORD delivered you into my hand today, but I would not stretch out my hand against the LORD’s anointed.
- 1 Sam 26:10–11David added, “As surely as the LORD lives, the LORD Himself will strike him down; either his day will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish.
- Rev 6:10And they cried out in a loud voice, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You avenge our blood and judge those who dwell upon the earth?”
- Gen 31:53May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 24:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.