1 Samuel 24:5

5 Now it happened afterward that David's heart troubled him because he had cut Saul's robe.

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 So he came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to attend to his needs. (David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave.)

4 Then the men of David said to him, "This is the day of which the Lord said to you, 'Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.' " And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul's robe.

5 Now it happened afterward that David's heart troubled him because he had cut Saul's robe.

6 And he said to his men, "The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord's anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord."

7 So David restrained his servants with these words, and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went on his way.