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 26:10KJV
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1 Samuel 26:10 (KJV)

What does 1 Samuel 26:10 mean?

1 Samuel 26:10 means that David believes Saul’s fate is in God’s hands, not his own. David says that the LORD will deal with Saul—whether by striking him down, letting him die naturally, or allowing him to fall in battle—but David himself will not harm Saul.

David is speaking to Abishai while they are secretly in Saul’s camp. Saul is hunting David, but David refuses to kill Saul even when he has the chance. David’s words show his trust that God (the LORD) will decide Saul’s end, and that it is not David’s place to take matters into his own hands.

The Hebrew behind 1 Samuel 26:10

  • LORD (יְהוָה, YHWH): This is the personal name for God in the Hebrew Bible, emphasizing that David sees Saul’s fate as resting with the one true God, not with human action.
  • smite (נָכָה, nakah): This word means to strike or hit, often with the sense of a decisive or fatal blow. David is saying that if Saul is to be struck down, it will be by God’s direct action.
  • descend (יָרַד, yarad): This means to go down, here referring to going down into battle. David lists this as one possible way Saul might die, highlighting that there are many ways God could bring about Saul’s end without David’s involvement.

Why 1 Samuel 26:10 matters

  • This verse makes it clear that David refuses to take vengeance or seize the throne by violence, even when it seems justified or easy.
  • David’s statement highlights his respect for God’s timing and authority, which is a key theme in his story and sets him apart from Saul.
  • The verse helps explain why David is later described as a man after God’s own heart—he trusts God’s justice rather than forcing his own way.

Where else these words appear

“perish” Hebrew H5595 · used in 20 verses

  • Genesis 18:23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
  • Deuteronomy 29:19 And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst:
  • Proverbs 13:23 Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is destroyed for want of judgment.

“smite” Hebrew H5062 · used in 46 verses

  • Exodus 8:2 And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs:
  • Judges 20:39 And when the men of Israel retired in the battle, Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons: for they said, Surely they are smitten down before us, as in the first battle.
  • 2 Chronicles 6:24 And if thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house;