1 Samuel 26:8 - Plain English Version

⁸ Abishai said, “Boss. Look at this. God wants you to kill that old man. He did wrong to you. I will stab him right through with his spear. I’ll only stab him one time. I’ll use that spear like it is a big pin, and I’ll pin him to the ground, and he will die straight away.”

More versions

King James Version (Oxford) 1769

⁸ Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time.

Amplified Bible - Classic Edition

⁸ Then said Abishai to David, God has given your enemy into your hands this day. Now therefore let me smite him to the earth at once with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.

American Standard Version (1901)

⁸ Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered up thine enemy into thy hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear to the earth at one stroke, and I will not smite him the second time.

Common English Bible

⁸ Abishai said to David, “God has handed your enemy over to you today! Let me pin him to the ground with my spear. One stroke is all I need! I won’t need a second.”

Catholic Public Domain Version

⁸ And Abishai said to David: "God has enclosed your enemy this day in your hands. Now therefore, I will pierce him with my lance, through to the ground, once, and there will not need to be a second."

1 Samuel 26:8 Cross References

2 Samuel 16:9

One of David’s boss soldiers was Abishai. He was the son of Zeruiah, David’s sister. He said, “Boss. That man is no good. He can’t swear at you like that. Let me cut off his head.”

1 Samuel 24:4

David’s men said to him, “You remember that God said this, ‘I will help you to beat your enemy that does wrong to you. You can do whatever you like to him.’ So you can kill him dead now.” David went quietly up behind Saul and cut off a little bit of his coat with his knife. Saul just sat there. He did not know what David was doing.

1 Samuel 24:5

But after he cut off that bit of Saul’s coat, David felt really shamed about it.

1 Samuel 26:23

Just now God brought us together, and I did not kill you. He picked you to be boss, so I will not kill you. God is good to people that listen to him. He is good to people that live straight.

1 Samuel 26:7

So in the middle of the night, David and Abishai went quietly into Saul’s camp. Everybody was asleep. They found Saul asleep in the middle of the camp. His spear stood there, stuck in the ground near his head. Other soldiers lay asleep nearby. One of them was Abner, the boss of Saul’s soldiers.

1 Samuel 26:9

But David answered, “You can’t kill him. God will punish you. He picked Saul to be our big boss.