Let the Lord judge between you and me, and let the Lord avenge me on you. But my hand shall not 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.
- BSB May the LORD judge between you and me, and may the LORD take vengeance on you, but my hand will never 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 therefore have not sinned against you, but you do me wrong to war against me. May Yahweh the Judge be judge today between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.”
- Ps 43:1Vindicate me, God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation. Oh, deliver me from deceitful and wicked men.
- Ps 35:1By David. Contend, Yahweh, with those who contend with me. Fight against those who fight against me.
- Gen 16:5Sarai said to Abram, “This wrong is your fault. I gave my servant into your bosom, and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes. Yahweh judge between me and you.”
- Ps 94:1Yahweh, you God to whom vengeance belongs, you God to whom vengeance belongs, shine out.
- Rom 12:19Don’t seek revenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to God’s wrath. For it is written, “Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.”
- 1 Pet 2:23Who, when he was cursed, didn’t curse back. When he suffered, didn’t threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously;
- Job 5:8“But as for me, I would seek God. I would commit my cause to God,
- Ps 7:8–9Yahweh administers judgment to the peoples. Judge me, Yahweh, according to my righteousness, and to my integrity that is in me.
- 1 Sam 26:23Yahweh will render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness; because Yahweh delivered you into my hand today, and I wouldn’t stretch out my hand against Yahweh’s anointed.
- 1 Sam 26:10–11David said, “As Yahweh lives, Yahweh will strike him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall go down into battle and perish.
- Rev 6:10They cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, Master, the holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
- Gen 31:53The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” Then Jacob swore by the fear of his father, Isaac.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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.