1 Samuel 26:10

10 David said furthermore, "As the LORD liveth, the LORD shall smite him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall descend into battle and perish.

1 Samuel 26:10 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 26:10

And David said furthermore
In order to make Abishai easy, and prevent his doing what he proposed:

[as] the Lord liveth;
which was the form of an oath, made to assure Abishai of the truth of what follows, and therefore he need not be hasty to put Saul to death, since it would not be long before he should die, in one or other of the three following ways: either

the Lord shall smite him;
suddenly, which the Jews call cutting off, or death by the hand of heaven, by the immediate hand of God:

or his day shall come to die;
the time appointed for him to die a natural death, of some disease common to men:

or he shall descend into battle, and perish;
which was commonly reckoned death, casual or accidental, and in which last way Saul did die, ( 1 Samuel 31:3 1 Samuel 31:4 ) .

1 Samuel 26:10 In-Context

8 Then said Abishai to David, "God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day. Now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time."

9 And David said to Abishai, "Destroy him not, for who can stretch forth his hand against the LORD'S anointed and be guiltless?"

10 David said furthermore, "As the LORD liveth, the LORD shall smite him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall descend into battle and perish.

11 The LORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the LORD'S anointed; but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go."

12 So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul's bolster, and they got away. And no man saw it nor knew it, neither awakened; for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the LORD had fallen upon them.