1 Samuel 24:4

4 And David's men said to him, Now is the time when the Lord says to you, I will give up your hater into your hands to do with him whatever seems good to you. Then David, getting up, took the skirt of Saul's robe in his hand, cutting off the end of it without his knowledge.

1 Samuel 24:4 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 24:4

And the men of David said unto him
Some of his principal men, who were about him, and near him, such as Joab and Abishai:

behold the day of which the Lord said unto thee:
now the time was come that he spoke of to him by Samuel, or Gad, or to himself directly:

behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand;
and such was Saul, as appeared by his seeking to take away his life; and now he was in the hand of David to take away his life, if he pleased:

that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee;
an opportunity of this kind now offered:

then David arose;
from that part of the cave in which he was, the further part of it:

and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily;
unawares to him, and unobserved by him, which might be easily done, if Saul was asleep, and it is probable he was; and by the same way it may be accounted for that he did not hear the discourse that passed between David and his men.

1 Samuel 24:4 In-Context

2 Then Saul took three thousand of the best men out of all Israel, and went in search of David and his men on the rocks of the mountain goats.

3 And on the way he came to a place where sheep were kept, where there was a hollow in the rock; and Saul went in for a private purpose. Now David and his men were in the deepest part of the hollow.

4 And David's men said to him, Now is the time when the Lord says to you, I will give up your hater into your hands to do with him whatever seems good to you. Then David, getting up, took the skirt of Saul's robe in his hand, cutting off the end of it without his knowledge.

5 And later, David was full of regret for cutting off Saul's skirt.

6 And David said to his men, Before the Lord, never let it be said that my hand was lifted up against my lord, the man of the Lord's selection, for the Lord's holy oil has been put on him.