1 Samuel 26:22

22 David answered, "See what I have here? The king's spear. Let one of your servants come and get it.

1 Samuel 26:22 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 26:22

And David answered and said, behold the king's spear!
&c.] 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 trust him, and put himself into his hands, lest the evil spirit should return and come upon him suddenly, and alter his disposition and carriage; nor would he send any of his men with it, whose lives were dear to him, lest they should be seized as traitors, but desires one of Saul's men might be sent for it.

1 Samuel 26:22 In-Context

20 But you're not getting rid of me that easily; you'll not separate me from God in life or death. The absurdity! The king of Israel obsessed with a single flea! Hunting me down - a mere partridge - out in the hills!"
21 Saul confessed, "I've sinned! Oh, come back, my dear son David! I won't hurt you anymore. You've honored me this day, treating my life as most precious. And I've acted the fool - a moral dunce, a real clown."
22 David answered, "See what I have here? The king's spear. Let one of your servants come and get it.
23 It's God's business to decide what to do with each of us in regard to what's right and who's loyal. God put your life in my hands today, but I wasn't willing to lift a finger against God's anointed.
24 Just as I honored your life today, may God honor my life and rescue me from all trouble."
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.