What Does 1 Samuel 26:10 Mean in the King James?

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 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

THE KEY

David names death as a real possibility without claiming the power to make himself its instrument.

THE MEANING

A life may be within your reach while its ending remains beyond your authority. The verse names three possible endings: the LORD strikes him, his day comes and he dies, or battle takes him; David assigns none of them to his own hand.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

The belief that another person’s death must come through your hand dissolves here: David speaks plainly about death without claiming the right to deliver it.

THE ROOT

יִגָּפֶנּוּ

yiggāphennû

GROWS FROM

נגף

to strike or strike down

English “smite” can sound like a single punitive act; the root ⁨נגף⁩ also grows into ⁨נֶגֶף⁩ (negef, a blow) and ⁨מַגֵּפָה⁩ (maggēfāh, a plague). David places the striking with the LORD, while the other outcomes come through the passage of time or battle.

ALSO GROWS

negef: A blow or affliction

נֶגֶף

The same root makes the LORD’s act a concrete striking, not merely an abstract judgment.

maggēfāh: A plague

מַגֵּפָה

The root’s reach from a blow to a plague shows how one act of striking can become a wider affliction.

THE PATTERN

Having power to retaliate does not make another person’s fate yours to carry out; judgment can be left to the LORD.

The LORD judge between me and thee, and the LORD avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.

1 Samuel 24:12 · KJVDavid names the LORD as judge and explicitly leaves his own hand out of the vengeance.

Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee.

Proverbs 20:22 · KJVThe verse refuses to treat repayment of evil as the reader’s task and leaves the outcome with the LORD.

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

Romans 12:19 · KJVThe verse assigns repayment to the Lord instead of the person who has been wronged.

THE THREAD

For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.

Exodus 12:23 · KJV

“Smite” in both verses comes from ⁨נגף⁩ (nagaph, to strike or strike down). Exodus makes explicit what David’s phrasing holds: the striking belongs to the LORD, while the verse also names whom that strike passes over.

Read the SDV Bible.

Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.

Get Selah Verse

The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.

Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us