1 Samuel 26:21
in 1 Samuel 26Then Saul replied, “I have sinned. Come back, David my son. I will never harm you again, because today you considered my life precious. I have played the fool and have committed a grave error!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then said Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David; for I will no more do thee harm, because my life was precious in thine eyes this day: behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly.
KJV
Then said Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David: for I will no more do thee harm, because my soul was precious in thine eyes this day: behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 26
Commentary
7 notes on this verseI have sinned - Perhaps the word חטאתי chatathi, “I have sinned,” should be read, I have erred, or, have been mistaken. I have taken thee to be a very different man from what I find thee to be. Taken literally it was strictly true. He often purposed the spilling of David’s blood; and thus, again and again, sinned against his life.
This site's exposition
I have sinned: return, my son David
on 1 Samuel 26:21-22
Saul's confession here goes further than the one he gave at the cave in chapter 24, naming himself a fool and owning that he has erred exceedingly, but Henry notes it is not the first such word from him and asks what a confession is worth without a change in the life behind it. David does not answer with trust; he keeps his distance still, telling one of Saul's own young men to come and fetch the spear rather than approach the king himself. The spear handed back is also a message: David could have kept the very weapon that names a king's rule, and chooses instead to return it whole.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
And Saul said: I have sinned, etc. To David, who proposed two causes for his exile and inquired from Saul what was true, Saul himself, conscious of his own mind, responded that it was not by the Lord's incitement, but by his own foolishness that …
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Saul gets information of David's movements and acts offensively. The Ziphites came to him and told him where David now was, in the same place where he was when they formerly betrayed him, ch. xxiii. Perhaps (though it is not mentioned) Saul had given them intimation, under-hand, that he continued his design against David, and would be glad of their assistance.
He owns himself melted and quite overcome by David's kindness to him. My soul was precious in thine eyes, which I thought had been odious. He acknowledges he had done very ill to persecute him: I have acted against God's law, I have sinned: and against my own interest, I have played the fool, in pursuing him as an enemy, who was indeed one of my best friends.
Then said Saul, I have sinned,....
He promises him that he will not persecute him as he has done, but protect him: I will no more do thee harm. We have reason to think, according to the mind he was now in, that he meant as he said, and yet neither his confession nor his promise of amendment came from a principle of true repentance.
The words behind it
23 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמֶר֩ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| שָׁא֨וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| חָטָ֜אתִי | chatati | I have sinned | H2398 → | 238 times |
| שׁ֣וּב | shuv | return | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| בְּנִֽי־ | beni- | O son my | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| דָוִ֗ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| כִּ֠י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אָרַ֤ע | ʾara' | I will do harm | H7489 → | 107 times |
| לְךָ֙ | lekha | to <the> you | ||
| ע֔וֹד | od | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| תַּ֠חַת | tachat | because | H8478 → | 505 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יָקְרָ֥ה | yakerah | it was precious | H3365 → | |
| נַפְשִׁ֛י | nafshi | life my | H5315 → | 754 times |
| בְּעֵינֶ֖יךָ | beeineikha | in view your | H5869 → | 887 times |
| הַיּ֣וֹם | haiyom | the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַזֶּ֑ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| הִנֵּ֥ה | hineh | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| הִסְכַּ֛לְתִּי | hiskalti | I have behaved foolishly | H5528 → | |
| וָאֶשְׁגֶּ֖ה | vaeshgeh | and I have gone astray | H7686 → | |
| הַרְבֵּ֥ה | harbeh | greatly | H7235 → | 227 times |
| מְאֹֽד׃ | meod | very | H3966 → | 300 times |
וַיֹּאמֶר֩and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
שָׁא֨וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
חָטָ֜אתִיI have sinned
chatatiH2398 →238 times
שׁ֣וּבreturn
shuvH7725 →1056 times
בְּנִֽי־O son my
beni-H1121 →4930 times
דָוִ֗דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
כִּ֠יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
אָרַ֤עI will do harm
ʾara'H7489 →107 times
לְךָ֙to <the> you
lekha
ע֔וֹדagain
odH5750 →490 times
תַּ֠חַתbecause
tachatH8478 →505 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יָקְרָ֥הit was precious
yakerahH3365 →
נַפְשִׁ֛יlife my
nafshiH5315 →754 times
בְּעֵינֶ֖יךָin view your
beeineikhaH5869 →887 times
הַיּ֣וֹםthe day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַזֶּ֑ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
הִנֵּ֥הhere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
הִסְכַּ֛לְתִּיI have behaved foolishly
hiskaltiH5528 →
וָאֶשְׁגֶּ֖הand I have gone astray
vaeshgehH7686 →
הַרְבֵּ֥הgreatly
harbehH7235 →227 times
מְאֹֽד׃very
meodH3966 →300 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
1 Samuel 24:17and said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have rewarded me with good, though I have rewarded you with evil.
it leads to
- Matthew 5:44
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
- Matthew 5:44
Through
1 Samuel 15:24Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; I have transgressed the LORD’s commandment and your instructions, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 12:13
Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” “The LORD has taken away your sin,” Nathan replied. “You will not die.
- Isaiah 51:12–13
“I, even I, am He who comforts you. Why should you be afraid of mortal man, of a son of man who withers like grass?
- 2 Samuel 12:13
Through
1 Samuel 15:30“I have sinned,” Saul replied. “Please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel. Come back with me, so that I may worship the LORD your God.”
it leads to
- John 12:43
For they loved praise from men more than praise from God.
- John 5:44
How can you believe if you accept glory from one another, yet do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?
- Isaiah 29:13
Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught…
- John 12:43
Through
Exodus 9:27Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,” he said. “The LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.
it leads to
- Lamentations 1:18
The LORD is righteous, for I have rebelled against His command. Listen, all you people; look upon my suffering. My young men and maidens have gone into captivity.
- 2 Chronicles 12:6
So the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The LORD is righteous.”
- Lamentations 1:18
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonUnited MonarchyDavidSecond king of united Israel, shepherd-turned-monarch, ancestor of the Messiah, and traditional author of many Psalms.
- PersonUnited monarchySaulIsrael's first king, head and shoulders above the people; began in humility, ended in rejection — sparing what God devoted, consul…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Samuel; 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.