As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.’ But my hand shall not be against you.
Parallel translations
- WEB As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness;’ but my hand will not be on you.
- KJV As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.
- BSB As the old proverb says, ‘Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.’ But my hand will never be against you.
- NASB As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness’; but my hand shall not be against you.
- NLT As that old proverb says, ‘From evil people come evil deeds.’ So you can be sure 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 quotes a proverb that wickedness comes from the wicked, implying his own clean hands prove his innocence. His refusal to kill shows he is not wicked.
Overview
By citing the ancient saying that evil deeds spring from evil people, David argues that his sparing of Saul demonstrates he harbors no wickedness. Had he been the rebel Saul feared, he would have struck. The verse underscores that conduct reveals character, and David's restraint testifies to a heart that will not return evil for evil.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Matt 7:20Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
- Matt 7:16–18By their fruits you will know them. Do you gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles?
- Matt 12:33–34“Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit.
- Matt 15:19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies.
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 24:13 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
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