David 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.
Parallel translations
- WEB David said, “As Yahweh lives, Yahweh will strike him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall go down into battle and perish.
- KJV David said furthermore, As the LORD liveth, the LORD shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish.
- NKJV David said furthermore, “As the Lord lives, the Lord shall strike him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall go out to battle and perish.
- NASB David also said, “As the Lord lives, the Lord certainly will strike him, or his day will come that he dies, or he will go down in battle and perish.
- NLT Surely the Lord will strike Saul down someday, or he will die of old age or in battle.
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 entrusts Saul's fate entirely to the LORD, who will strike him in His own time and way. He refuses to take into his own hands what belongs to God's judgment.
Overview
David lists the ways God might bring Saul's end: a direct stroke, natural death, or death in battle. By naming these, he commits Saul's life to divine providence rather than seizing the moment himself. This trust in God as the righteous Judge models the faith later urged on believers: 'Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord' (Romans 12:19).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- 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.”
- Gen 47:29When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise to show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt,
- Deut 31:14Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, the time of your death is near. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the Tent of Meeting, so that I may commission him.” So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the Tent of Meeting.
- Ps 37:13but the Lord laughs, seeing that their day is coming.
- 1 Sam 25:38About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal dead.
- 1 Sam 31:6So Saul, his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men died together that same day.
- 1 Sam 25:26Now, my lord, as surely as the LORD lives and you yourself live, the LORD has held you back from coming to bloodshed and avenging yourself with your own hand. May your enemies and those who seek harm for my lord be like Nabal.
- Deut 32:35Vengeance is Mine; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.”
- Ps 37:10Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found.
- Rev 18:8Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and grief and famine—and she will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.”
- Job 14:5Since his days are determined and the number of his months is with You, and since You have set limits that he cannot exceed,
- Ps 94:1–2O LORD, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth.
- Job 14:14When a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, until my renewal comes.
- 1 Sam 24:15May the LORD be our judge and decide between you and me. May He take notice and plead my case and deliver me from your hand.”
- Luke 18:7Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Will He continue to defer their help?
- Eccl 3:2a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
- Heb 9:27Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment,
- Job 7:1“Is not man consigned to labor on earth? Are not his days like those of a hired hand?
- Ps 94:23He will bring upon them their own iniquity and destroy them for their wickedness. The LORD our God will destroy them.
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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 26:10 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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