And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou men’s words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt?
Parallel translations
- WEB David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to men’s words, saying, ‘Behold, David seeks to harm you?’
- BSB and said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Look, David intends to harm you’?
- NKJV And David said to Saul: “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Indeed David seeks your harm’?
- NASB And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Behold, David is seeking to harm you’?
- NLT Then he shouted to Saul, “Why do you listen to the people who say I am trying to 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 asks why Saul listens to slanderers who claim David seeks his harm. He confronts the lies that have fueled the persecution.
Overview
David identifies false counselors and rumor-mongers as a root of Saul's hostility, appealing to Saul to weigh the truth for himself. He distinguishes between the gossip Saul has believed and his own actual conduct. The verse exposes how slander poisons relationships and how the righteous must sometimes answer accusations plainly, trusting God to vindicate the truth.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Prov 29:12If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.
- Eccl 7:21–22Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee:
- Prov 17:4A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue.
- Prov 26:28A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin.
- 1 Sam 26:19Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the LORD have stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering: but if they be the children of men, cursed be they before the LORD; for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, Go, serve other gods.
- Prov 16:28A froward man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends.
- Prov 26:20–22Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.
- Prov 25:23The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue.
- Lev 19:16Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD.
- Ps 141:6When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they shall hear my words; for they are sweet.
- Jas 3:6And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
- Ps 101:5Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer.
- Prov 18:8The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
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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 24:9 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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