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John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 26:21

Then said Saul, I have sinned ,.... Which is more than he acknowledged before, and yet, it is to be feared he had no true sense of his sin, and real repentance for it; but, like Pharaoh, his guilty conscience for the present forced this confession from him; see Exodus 9:27 , return, my son David : meaning to his own house, or rather to his palace, since he had disposed of his wife to another man: for I will no more do thee harm : or seek to do it by pursuing him from place to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 26:22

And David answered and said, behold the king's spear !.... And which perhaps was his sceptre, and which David therefore would not keep, lest it should be thought or said that he had deprived him of an ensign of his royalty, and be interpreted as a token of his design to seize his crown and throne: and let one of the young men come over and fetch it ; for notwithstanding the acknowledgment Saul had made of his sin and folly, David did not choose to carry the spear to him; not caring to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 26:23

The Lord render to every man his righteousness, and his faithfulness ,.... Or recompense every man that deals justly and faithfully with others, as he had done with Saul; or the Lord, who is just and faithful to his promises, reward the men that act the good and upright part; and this was a prayer of faith; for David doubted not that, though Saul might fail, yet God could not: for the Lord delivered thee into my hand this day ; or, "into an hand" F24 ביד "in manum", Pagninus,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 26:24

And, behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes ,.... Or "magnified" F25 גדלה "magnificata est", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus. ; and made great account of, as being the life of the king of Israel, and the Lord's anointed, and so spared: so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the Lord ; he does not say in the eyes of Saul, as it should have been by way of retaliation, and as it might have been expected he would have said; but he had no dependence on Saul, nor... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 26:25

Then Saul said to David, blessed be thou, my son David ,.... He desired God to bless him, and pronounced him blessed himself, believing he would be a happy and prosperous man: thou shall both do great things ; he had done great things already, in slaying Goliath, obtaining victories over the Philistines, and escaping the hands of Saul, and keeping out of them with so small a force; and he should do greater things yet: and also shalt still prevail ; against Saul and all his... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 26:15

Art not thou a valiant man ? - This is a strong irony. Ye are worthy to die; ye are sons of death - ye deserve death for this neglect of your king. And had not Saul been so deeply affected with David's generosity in preserving his life, he had doubtless put Abner and his chief officers to death; though they were not to blame, as their apparent neglect was the effect of a supernatural sleep. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 26:19

Let him accept an offering - If God have stirred thee up against me, why, then, let him deliver my life into thy hand, and accept it as a sacrifice. But as the word is מנחה minchah , a gratitude-offering, perhaps the sense may be this: Let God accept a gratitude-offering from thee, for having purged the land of a worker of iniquity; for, were I not such, God would never stir thee up against me. But if they be the children of men - If men have, by false... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 26:20

As when one doth hunt a partridge - It is worthy of remark that the Arabs, observing that partridges, being put up several times, soon become so weary as not to be able to fly; they in this manner hunt them upon the mountains, till at last they can knock them down with their clubs. It was in this manner that Saul hunted David, coming hastily upon him, and putting him up from time to time, in hopes that he should at length, by frequent repetitions of it, be able to destroy him.... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 26:21

I have sinned - Perhaps the word חטאתי chatathi , "I have sinned," should be read, I have erred, or, have been mistaken. I have taken thee to be a very different man from what I find thee to be. Taken literally it was strictly true. He often purposed the spilling of David's blood; and thus, again and again, sinned against his life. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 26:25

Thou shalt both do great things , and also shalt still prevail . - The Hebrew is תוכל יכל וגם תעשה עשה גם gam asoh thaaseh , vegam yachol tuchal ; "Also in doing thou shalt do, and being able thou shalt be able; which the Targum translates, also in reigning thou shalt reign, and in prospering thou shalt prosper; which in all probability is the meaning. There is a vast deal of dignity in this speech of David, arising from a consciousness of his own innocence. He... read more

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