1 Samuel 24:6

6 And David said to his men, The Lord be merciful to me, lest I do this thing to my lord, the anointed of the Lord, or that I send mine hand on him, for he is the christ of the Lord. (And David said to his men, The Lord forbid that I do this to my lord, who is the Lord's anointed, or that I put my hand against him, for he is the Lord's anointed.)

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 And the servants of David said to him, Lo! the day of which the Lord spake to thee, (and said,) I shall betake to thee thine enemy, that thou do to him as it pleaseth in thine eyes. Therefore David rose up, and cutted the hem off the mantle of Saul privily. (And David's servants said to him, Lo! this is the day of which the Lord spoke to thee, and said, I shall deliver thy enemy to thee, so that thou can do to him as it pleaseth thee. And David rose up, and secretly cut off the hem of Saul's mantle.)

5 After these things, David smote his heart, that is, his conscience reproved him, for he had cut away the hem of the mantle of Saul. (But after doing this, David's heart struck him, that is, his conscience reproved him, for he had cut away the hem of Saul's mantle.)

6 And David said to his men, The Lord be merciful to me, lest I do this thing to my lord, the anointed of the Lord, or that I send mine hand on him, for he is the christ of the Lord. (And David said to his men, The Lord forbid that I do this to my lord, who is the Lord's anointed, or that I put my hand against him, for he is the Lord's anointed.)

7 The Lord liveth, for but the Lord smite him, either his day come, that he die, either he go down into battle, and perish, the Lord be merciful to me, that I send not mine hand into the christ of the Lord; and David brake his men by such words, and suffered not them, that they rised against Saul. And Saul rose out of the den, and went in the way begun. (As the Lord liveth, but the Lord strike him down, or his day come that he die, or that he go down to the battle, and perish, the Lord forbid that I put my hand against the Lord's anointed; and David convicted his men with such words, and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. And so Saul left the cave without any harm, and went on the way begun.)

8 And David rose up after him, and he went out of the den, and cried after the back of Saul, and said, My lord, the king! And Saul beheld behind himself; and David bowed himself low to the earth, and worshipped him (and David bowed low to the ground, and honoured him).