I Samuelis 24
1 cumque reversus esset Saul postquam persecutus est Philistheos nuntiaverunt ei dicentes ecce David in deserto est Engaddi
After Saul [and his soldiers] returned [home] after fighting against the Philistia army, someone reported to Saul that David [and his men] had gone into the desert near En-Gedi.
2 adsumens ergo Saul tria milia electorum virorum ex omni Israhel perrexit ad investigandum David et viros eius etiam super abruptissimas petras quae solis hibicibus perviae sunt
[When] Saul [heard that, he] chose 3,000 men from various areas in Israel, and they went to search for David and his men at a place named Rocks of Wild Goats.
3 et venit ad caulas quoque ovium quae se offerebant vianti eratque ibi spelunca quam ingressus est Saul ut purgaret ventrem porro David et viri eius in interiori parte speluncae latebant
At a place where the road was alongside some sheep pens, Saul [left the road and] entered a cave to defecate [EUP]. [He did not know that] David and his men were hiding further inside that same cave!
4 et dixerunt servi David ad eum ecce dies de qua locutus est Dominus ad te ego tradam tibi inimicum tuum ut facias ei sicut placuerit in oculis tuis surrexit ergo David et praecidit oram clamydis Saul silenter
David’s men [saw Saul and] whispered to David, “Today is the day that Yahweh spoke about when he said, ‘I will enable you to defeat your enemy.’ You can do to him whatever you want to!” So David crept toward the entrance of the cave and [with his knife] he cut off a piece of Saul’s robe.
5 post haec percussit cor suum David eo quod abscidisset oram clamydis Saul
[And then he returned to his men]. But then David felt guilty for having cut off a piece of Saul’s robe.
6 dixitque ad viros suos propitius mihi sit Dominus ne faciam hanc rem domino meo christo Domini ut mittam manum meam in eum quoniam christus Domini est
He said to his men, “I should not have done that to the king! I hope/desire that Yahweh will never allow me to attack the one whom God has appointed, because Yahweh is the one who chose him [to be the king].”
7 et confregit David viros suos sermonibus et non permisit eos ut consurgerent in Saul porro Saul exsurgens de spelunca pergebat coepto itinere
By saying that, David restrained his men, and did not allow them to kill Saul.
8 surrexit autem et David post eum et egressus de spelunca clamavit post tergum Saul dicens domine mi rex et respexit Saul post se et inclinans se David pronus in terram adoravit
After Saul left the cave and started to walk on the road again, David came out of the cave and shouted to Saul, “King Saul!” Saul turned around and looked, and David bowed down with his face touching the ground.
9 dixitque ad Saul quare audis verba hominum loquentium David quaerit malum adversum te
Then he said to Saul, “(Why do you pay attention to people when they say ‘David wants to harm you’?/You should not pay attention to people when they say ‘David wants to harm you’.) [RHQ]
10 ecce hodie viderunt oculi tui quod tradiderit te Dominus in manu mea in spelunca et cogitavi ut occiderem te sed pepercit tibi oculus meus dixi enim non extendam manum meam in domino meo quia christus Domini est
Today you can see with your own eyes that [what they say is not true]. Yahweh put you in a place where my men and I could have killed you when you were in this cave. Some of my men told me that I should do that, but I did not do that. I said to them, ‘I will not harm my master, because he is the king whom Yahweh appointed.’
11 quin potius pater mi vide et cognosce oram clamydis tuae in manu mea quoniam cum praeciderem summitatem clamydis tuae nolui extendere manum meam in te animadverte et vide quoniam non est in manu mea malum neque iniquitas neque peccavi in te tu autem insidiaris animae meae ut auferas eam
Your majesty, look at this piece of your robe that is in my hand! I cut it from your robe, but I did not kill you. So now you should be able to understand that I am not planning to do anything evil to you. I have not done anything wrong to you, but you are searching for me to kill me.
12 iudicet Dominus inter me et te et ulciscatur me Dominus ex te manus autem mea non sit in te
I hope/desire that Yahweh will judge and decide which of us ([is doing what is right/pleases him]). And I hope/desire that he will punish you for the wrong things that you have done to me. But I will not try to harm you.
13 sicut et in proverbio antiquo dicitur ab impiis egredietur impietas manus ergo mea non sit in te
There is a proverb that has the words, ‘Evil things are done by evil people.’ But [I am not evil, so] I will not do evil things to you.
14 quem sequeris rex Israhel quem persequeris canem mortuum sequeris et pulicem unum
“You are the king of Israel. So (why are you pursuing me?/you should not be pursuing me.) [RHQ] I am [as harmless as] [MET] a dead dog or a flea.
15 sit Dominus iudex et iudicet inter me et te et videat et diiudicet causam meam et eruat me de manu tua
I hope/desire that Yahweh will judge which of us [is doing what (he wants/is right)]. I trust that he will [act like a lawyer and] judge (my case/what I have done), and that he will rescue me from your power [MTY].”
16 cum autem conplesset David loquens sermones huiuscemodi ad Saul dixit Saul numquid vox haec tua est fili mi David et levavit Saul vocem suam et flevit
When David finished speaking, Saul [called out to him and] asked, “My son David, is that your voice [that I am hearing]?” Then he began to cry loudly.
17 dixitque ad David iustior tu es quam ego tu enim tribuisti mihi bona ego autem reddidi tibi mala
He said, “You are a better man than I am. You have done something very good to me when I tried to do something very bad to you.
18 et tu indicasti hodie quae feceris mihi bona quomodo tradiderit me Dominus in manu tua et non occideris me
When Yahweh put me in a place [in that cave] where you could have easily killed me, you did not do that.
19 quis enim cum invenerit inimicum suum dimittet eum in via bona sed Dominus reddat tibi vicissitudinem hanc pro eo quod hodie operatus es in me
(Who else would/No one else would) find his enemy and allow his enemy to escape [when he could kill him instead] [RHQ]. I hope/desire that Yahweh will reward you for being kindly to me today.
20 et nunc quia scio quod certissime regnaturus sis et habiturus in manu tua regnum Israhel
I know that [some day] you will surely become the king, and that your kingdom will prosper as you rule the Israeli people.
21 iura mihi in Domino ne deleas semen meum post me neque auferas nomen meum de domo patris mei
Now while Yahweh is listening, solemnly promise to me that you will not kill my family and get rid of all my descendants.”
22 et iuravit David Sauli abiit ergo Saul in domum suam et David et viri eius ascenderunt ad tutiora loca
David solemnly promised Saul that he would not [harm Saul’s family]. Then Saul went back home, and David and his men went back up into the place where they had been hiding.
