1 Samuel 24:6

6 He said to his men, "May the Lord keep me from doing such a thing to my master! Saul is the Lord's appointed king. I should not do anything against him, because he is the Lord's appointed king!"

1 Samuel 24:6 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 24:6

And he said unto his men
When he returned and brought the skirt of Saul's garment in his hand; or else he said this before that, though here mentioned, when they moved it to him to dispatch him, as he had a fair opportunity of doing it:

God forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord's
anointed;
and which he could not think of but with detestation and abhorrence, since he was his sovereign lord and master, and he a subject of his, and was anointed by the order of God, and his person sacred:

to stretch forth my hand against him;
to take away his life; to cut off the skirt of his garment gave him uneasiness; but to slay him, the thought of it was shocking to him:

seeing he [is] the anointed of the Lord;
anointed by Samuel to be king, ( 1 Samuel 10:1 ) , by order of the Lord, ( 1 Samuel 9:17 ) .

1 Samuel 24:6 In-Context

4 The men said to David, "Today is the day the Lord spoke of when he said, 'I will give your enemy over to you. Do anything you want with him.'" Then David crept up to Saul and quietly cut off a corner of Saul's robe.

5 Later David felt guilty because he had cut off a corner of Saul's robe.

6 He said to his men, "May the Lord keep me from doing such a thing to my master! Saul is the Lord's appointed king. I should not do anything against him, because he is the Lord's appointed king!"

7 David used these words to stop his men; he did not let them attack Saul. Then Saul left the cave and went his way.

8 When David came out of the cave, he shouted to Saul, "My master and king!" Saul looked back, and David bowed facedown on the ground.