1 Samuel 22:17

22:17 Then the king said to the messengers ¹  who were stationed beside him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, for they too have sided ²  with David! They knew he was fleeing, but they did not inform me.” But the king’s servants refused to harm ³  the priests of the Lord.

1 Samuel 25:39

25:39 When David heard that Nabal had died, he said, “Praised be the Lord who has vindicated me and avenged the insult that I suffered from Nabal! ⁴  The Lord has kept his servant from doing evil, and he has repaid Nabal for his evil deeds.” ⁵  Then David sent word to Abigail and asked her to become his wife.

1 Samuel 26:19

26:19 So let my lord the king now listen to the words of his servant. If the Lord has incited you against me, may he take delight in ⁶  an offering. But if men have instigated this, ⁷  may they be cursed before the Lord! For they have driven me away this day from being united with the Lord’s inheritance, saying, ‘Go on, serve other gods!’

1 Samuel 29:3

29:3 The leaders of the Philistines asked, “What about these Hebrews?” Achish said to the leaders of the Philistines, “Isn’t this David, the servant of King Saul of Israel, who has been with me for quite some time? ⁸  I have found no fault with him from the day of his defection until the present time!” ⁹ 

¹ tn Heb “runners.”

² tn Heb “their hand is.”

³ tn Heb “to extend their hand to harm.”

⁴ tn Heb “who has argued the case of my insult from the hand of Nabal.”

⁵ tn Heb “his servant he has held back from evil, and the evil of Nabal the Lord has turned back on his head.”

⁷ tn Heb “may he smell.” The implication is that Saul should seek to appease God, for such divine instigation to evil would a sign of God’s disfavor. For a fuller discussion of this passage see R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “Does God Deceive?” BSac 155 (1998): 19-21.

⁸ tn Heb “but if the sons of men.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “these days or these years.”

¹¹ tn Heb “from the day of his falling [away] until this day.”