1 Samuel 24:4

24:4 David’s men said to him, “This is the day about which the Lord said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hand, and you can do to him whatever seems appropriate to you.’” ¹  So David got up and quietly cut off an edge of Saul’s robe.

1 Samuel 24:19

24:19 Now if a man finds his enemy, does he send him on his way in good shape? May the Lord repay you with good this day for what you have done to me.

1 Samuel 26:8

26:8 Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me drive the spear ²  right through him into the ground with one swift jab! ³  A second jab won’t be necessary!”

Luke 9:54-56

9:54 Now when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call fire to come down from heaven and consume ⁴  them?” ⁵  9:55 But Jesus ⁶  turned and rebuked them, ⁷  9:56 and they went on to another village.

Luke 22:49

22:49 When ⁸  those who were around him saw what was about to happen, they said, “Lord, should ⁹  we use our swords?” ¹⁰ 

¹ tn Heb “is good in your eyes.”

² tn Here “the spear” almost certainly refers to Saul’s own spear, which according to the previous verse was stuck into the ground beside him as he slept. This is reflected in a number of English versions: TEV, CEV “his own spear”; NLT “that spear.” Cf. NIV, NCV “my spear,” in which case Abishai refers to his own spear rather than Saul’s, but this is unlikely since (1) Abishai would probably not have carried a spear along since such a weapon would be unwieldy when sneaking into the enemy camp; and (2) this would not explain the mention of Saul’s own spear stuck in the ground beside him in the previous verse.

³ tn Heb “let me strike him with the spear and into the ground one time.”

⁴ tn Or “destroy.”

⁵ tc Most mss, especially the later ones (A C D W Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 Ï it), read here “as also Elijah did,” making the allusion to 2 Kgs 1:10, 12, 14 more explicit. The shorter reading has better and earlier support (Ì^45,75 א B L Ξ 579 700* 1241 pc lat sa). It is difficult to explain how the shorter reading could have arisen from the longer, especially since it is well represented early on. However, the longer reading looks to have been a marginal note originally, incorporated into the text of Luke by early scribes.

⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷ tc Many mss ([D] K Γ Θ Ë^1,13 [579] 700 2542 pm it) have at the end of the verse (with slight variations) “and he said, ‘You do not know what sort of spirit you are of, for the Son of Man did not come to destroy people’s lives, but to save [them].’” This variant is clearly secondary, as it gives some content to the rebuke. Further, it is difficult to explain how such rich material would have been omitted by the rest of the witnesses, including the earliest and best mss.

⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁹ tn The direct question using “if” in Greek is not unusual (BDF §440.3).

¹⁰ sn “Should we use our swords?” The disciples’ effort to defend Jesus recalls Luke 22:35-38. One individual did not wait for the answer.