1 Samuel 26:22

22 David answered and said, "Here is the king's spear; let one of the young men come over and take 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 And so then, do not let my blood fall to the ground {away from} the presence of Yahweh, for the king of Israel has gone out to seek a single flea, as one hunts a partridge in the mountains."
21 Then Saul said, "I have sinned! Come back, David my son, for I will not harm you again, because my life [was] precious in your eyes this day. Look, I have acted like a fool and {have made a terrible mistake}."
22 David answered and said, "Here is the king's spear; let one of the young men come over and take it.
23 Yahweh repays to each [one] his righteousness and his faithfulness, for Yahweh gave you into my hand today, but I was not willing to stretch out my hand against Yahweh's anointed.
24 Look, as your life was precious in my eyes this day, may my life be great in the eyes of Yahweh, and may he rescue me from all trouble."

Footnotes 1

Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.