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1 Samuel 24:16

in 1 Samuel 24

When David had finished saying these things, Saul called back, “Is that your voice, David my son?” Then Saul wept aloud

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept.

KJV

And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept.

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This verse in 1 Samuel 24

Commentary

8 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

My son David? - David had called Saul his master, lord, and king. Saul accosts him here as his son, to show that he felt perfectly reconciled to him, and wished to receive him as formerly into his family.

This site's exposition

Is this thy voice, my son David

on 1 Samuel 24:16-17

Saul knows David's voice before he can make out his face at that distance, and Wesley reads the weeping that follows as grief over his own sin against God as much as his cruelty to David. Saul's confession goes only so far, thou art more righteous than I, and Henry marks the limit precisely: bad men will commonly go no further than this, owning there are those better than they rather than owning their own wickedness outright.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

John Chrysostom

HOMILIES ON DAVID AND SAUL 3 · Written in the 5th century.

proposed

What then did Saul say? Having heard David saying, "See, here is the corner of your cloak in my hand," and everything else by which he mounted his defense along with this, he said, "Is this your voice, my child David?" O, what a great change had suddenly taken place: the one who could never bear even to call him by name, and instead hated the very mention of it, even admitted him to kinship, calling him "child." What could be more blessed than David, who turned the murderer into a father, the wolf into a lamb, who filled the furnace of anger with heavy dew, turned the tempest into tranquility and allayed all the inflammation of resentment? Those words of David, you see, penetrated the mind of that enraged man and effected this total transformation, as you can see from those words. He did not even say, "Are these your words, my son David?" but "Is this your voice, my child David?" He was now heartened by his very utterance. Just as a father hears the voice of his son returning from somewhere and is excited not only at the sight of him but also at the sound of his voice, so Saul too, when David's words penetrated and drove out the hostility, now recognized him as holy, and in setting aside one passion he was affected by another. That is to say, by driving out resentment he was affected by benevolence and fellow feeling.

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Samuel · Written before 735.

proposed

And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept, etc. And as the Lord taught through the apostles, the people of the Jews, among those who were predestined to eternal life, lifted up their voice in the confession of faith, which they had long sunk low …

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

Thy voice - He knew his voice, though being at a great distance from him, he could not discern his face. Wept - From the sense of his sin against God, and his base carriage to David.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

David Spares Saul in the Cave. 1 And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.

quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:94%@v1-3

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Many mourn for their sins that do not truly repent of them, weep bitterly for them, and yet continue in love and league with them. He ingenuously acknowledges David's integrity and his own iniquity (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

1 more voice on this verse

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul,....

The words behind it

19 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיְהִ֣י׀and it was

    vayhiH1961 →3559 times

  • כְּכַלּ֣וֹתwhen finished

    kekhalotH3615 →208 times

  • דָּוִ֗דDavid

    davidH1732 →999 times

  • לְדַבֵּ֞רto speak

    ledaberH1696 →1141 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • הַדְּבָרִ֤יםthe words

    hadevarimH1697 →1440 times

  • הָאֵ֙לֶּה֙<the> these

    haelehH428 →746 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • שָׁא֔וּלSaul

    shaulH7586 →402 times

  • וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • שָׁא֔וּלSaul

    shaulH7586 →402 times

  • הֲקֹלְךָ֥¿ voice your

    hakolechaH6963 →506 times

  • זֶ֖ה[is] this

    zehH2088 →1180 times

  • בְּנִ֣יO son my

    beniH1121 →4930 times

  • דָוִ֑דDavid

    davidH1732 →999 times

  • וַיִּשָּׂ֥אand he lifted up

    vaiyisa'H5375 →656 times

  • שָׁא֛וּלSaul

    shaulH7586 →402 times

  • קֹל֖וֹvoice his

    koloH6963 →506 times

  • וַיֵּֽבְךְּ׃and he wept

    vaiyevekH1058 →114 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

8 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

1 Samuel 26:17Then Saul recognized David’s voice and asked, “Is that your voice, David my son?” “It is my voice, my lord and king,” David said.5 worksGenesis 21:16Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she said, “I cannot bear to watch the boy die!” And as she sat nearby, she lifted up her voice and wept.3 worksLuke 21:15For I will give you speech and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.2 worksGenesis 33:4Esau, however, ran to him and embraced him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. And they both wept.2 worksActs 6:10but they could not stand up to his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.2 worksJob 6:25How painful are honest words! But what does your argument prove?2 works
The other 2 cross-references, with their words ▾
Proverbs 15:1A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.2 worksProverbs 25:11A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Luke 21:15

    For I will give you speech and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 1:9

      Then the LORD reached out His hand, touched my mouth, and said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.

    • Ephesians 6:19

      Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will boldly make known the mystery of the gospel,

    • Luke 12:12

      For at that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you should say.”

    • Acts 6:10

      but they could not stand up to his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.

    • Exodus 4:11–12

      And the LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Or who makes the mute or the deaf, the sighted or the blind? Is it not I, the LORD?

  • Through

    Acts 6:10

    but they could not stand up to his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.

    it leads to

    • Luke 21:15

      For I will give you speech and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.

    • Matthew 10:19–20

      But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to respond or what to say. In that hour you will be given what to say.

  • Through

    Genesis 33:4

    Esau, however, ran to him and embraced him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. And they both wept.

    it leads to

    • Genesis 45:14–15

      Then Joseph threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin wept as they embraced.

About 1 Samuel

David Shows Saul How He Spared His Life — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
David Shows Saul How He Spared His Life — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
1 Samuel: the study guide →Read 1 Samuel 24 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Samuel; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON DAVID AND SAUL 3; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 1 Samuel 24 →