1 Samuel 24:5

5 But then David's conscience began to hurt,

1 Samuel 24:5 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 24:5

And it came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him,
&c.] His conscience accused him, and he repented of what he had done:

because he had cut off Saul's skirt;
which though less than what his servants put him upon, and he might have thoughts of doing, yet was considered by him as a great indignity to his sovereign, and therefore sat uneasy on his mind.

1 Samuel 24:5 In-Context

3 He came to a cave close to some sheep pens by the road and went in to relieve himself. It happened to be the very cave in which David and his men were hiding far back in the cave.

4 They said to him, "This is your chance! The Lord has told you that he would put your enemy in your power and you could do to him whatever you wanted to." David crept over and cut off a piece of Saul's robe without Saul's knowing it.

5 But then David's conscience began to hurt,

6 and he said to his men, "May the Lord keep me from doing any harm to my master, whom the Lord chose as king! I must not harm him in the least, because he is the king chosen by the Lord!"

7 So David convinced his men that they should not attack Saul. Saul got up, left the cave, and started away.