Epiphany Season · Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time · Year C
1 Samuel 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23
David Spares Saul's Life at Hakilah
February 20, 2028
Overview & Insights
"The Lord will repay every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness." (1 Samuel 26:23)
David sneaks into Saul's camp at night while Saul is hunting him and finds the king asleep with his spear stuck in the ground beside him. Rather than kill his enemy when he has the chance, David takes the spear and water jar as proof of his restraint and refuses to harm the Lord's anointed.
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Commentary
BibleHub: 1 Samuel 26:2 Commentaries BibleHub
Aggregated classic commentaries on David's restraint toward Saul.
Enduring Word: 1 Samuel 26 Enduring Word · David Guzik
David Guzik's verse-by-verse notes on David sparing Saul a second time.
Precept Austin: 1 Samuel 26 Commentary Precept Austin
Verse-level study helps and gathered quotations on the episode at Hakilah.
StudyLight: 1 Samuel 26 (Barnes' Notes) StudyLight
Albert Barnes' close reading of David's refusal to strike the Lord's anointed.
Agape Bible Study: 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle C) Agape Bible Study
Catholic verse-by-verse notes on all four of this Sunday's readings.
Background & Word Study
BibleHub Interlinear: 1 Samuel 26:2 BibleHub
Hebrew text with parsing for the spear and water-jar scene.
Sefaria: 1 Samuel 26:2-23 Sefaria
Hebrew text alongside translation, with linked classical Jewish commentaries.
Enter the Bible: 1 Samuel Enter the Bible
Luther Seminary background on David and Saul's rivalry.
The Church Fathers
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