1 Samuel 24:3-7

Common English Bible

³ He came to the sheep pens beside the road where there was a cave. Saul went into the cave to use the restroom.^[a] Meanwhile, David and his soldiers were sitting in the very back of the cave.

⁴ David’s soldiers said to him, “This is the day the Lord spoke of when he promised you, ‘I will hand your enemy over to you, and you can do to him whatever you think best.’” So David snuck up and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. ⁵ But immediately David felt horrible that he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.^[b]

⁶ “The Lord forbid,” he told his men, “that I should do something like that to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lift my hand against him, because he’s the Lord’s anointed!” ⁷ So David held his soldiers in check by what he said,^[c] and he wouldn’t allow them to attack Saul. Saul then left the cave and went on his way.