1 Samuel

⁷David said these things to stop his men. He would not let his men hurt Saul. Saul left the cave and went on his way. ⁸Later, David came out of the cave and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!” Saul looked back. David bowed with his face to the ground to show his respect. ⁹David said to Saul, “Why do you listen when people say, ‘David plans to hurt you’? ¹⁰You can see that with your own eyes that is not true. The Lord put you within my grasp today in the cave, but I refused to kill you. I was merciful to you. I said, ‘I won’t hurt my master. Saul is the Lord’S chosen king.’ ¹¹Look at this piece of cloth in my hand. I cut off the corner of your robe. I could have killed you, but I didn’t. Now, I want you to understand this. I want you to know that I am not planning anything against you. I did nothing wrong to you, but you are hunting me and trying to kill me. ¹²Let the Lord be the judge. I hope the Lord will punish you for the wrong you did to me, but I won’t fight you myself. ¹³There is an old saying: ‘Bad things come from bad people.’ “I haven’t done anything bad, and I won’t hurt you.