⁶ He said to his men, “I swear before the Lord: I would never do such a thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed.^(A) I will never lift my hand against him, since he is the Lord’s anointed.”^(B)

⁶ Then David asked Ahimelech the Hittite^(A) and Joab’s brother Abishai^(B) son of Zeruiah, “Who will go with me into the camp^(C) to Saul?”

“I’ll go with you,” answered Abishai.

⁷ That night, David and Abishai came to the troops, and Saul was lying there asleep in the inner circle of the camp with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. Abner and the troops were lying around him. ⁸ Then Abishai said to David, “Today God has handed your enemy over to you. Let me thrust the spear through him into the ground just once. I won’t have to strike him twice!”

⁹ But David said to Abishai, “Don’t destroy him, for who can lift a hand against the Lord’s anointed and be blameless?”^{(D) 10} David added, “As the Lord lives, the Lord will certainly strike him down:^(E) either his day will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. ¹¹ However, because of the Lord, I will never lift my hand against the Lord’s anointed.^(F) Instead, take the spear and the water jug by his head, and let’s go.”

¹² So David took the spear and the water jug by Saul’s head, and they went their way. No one saw them, no one knew, and no one woke up; they all remained asleep because a deep sleep from the Lord^(G) came over them.

⁴ Then Saul said to his armor-bearer,^(A) “Draw your sword and run me through with it, or these uncircumcised men^(B) will come and run me through and torture me.” But his armor-bearer would not do it because he was terrified. Then Saul took his sword and fell on it.^(C)