1 Samuel 19:9

But as Saul was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, a spirit of distress from the LORD came upon him. While David was playing the harp,

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Saul sits in his house with a spear in hand while David plays the harp, occurring immediately after David’s decisive victory over the Philistines (1 Samuel 19:8). A spirit of distress from the LORD comes upon Saul at this moment, preceding his attempt to pin David to the wall (1 Samuel 19:10).

The words — ר֫וּחַ (rûaḥ) translates as "spirit" and רָעָה (rāʿâ) as "evil" or "distress," combining in the text to describe a tormented state that the narrative attributes directly to the LORD.

The thread — The same phrase appears in 1 Samuel 16:14, where the Spirit of the LORD departs from Saul and a spirit of distress from the LORD begins to torment him, and in 1 Samuel 18:10, where a spirit of distress sent from God comes upon Saul while David plays.

Why it lands — The text records a direct divine action that shifts Saul from royal posture to psychological torment, requiring the reader to observe how God’s intervention immediately precedes Saul’s violent attempt to kill David.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וַתְּהִי֩va./te.Hiand/ it was ר֨וּחַRu.acha spirit of יְהוָ֤ה׀Yah.wehYahweh רָעָה֙ra.'Ahevil אֶל־'el-to שָׁא֔וּלsha.'UlSaul וְהוּא֙ve./Hu'and/ he בְּבֵית֣וֹbe./vei.T/oin/ house/ his יוֹשֵׁ֔בyo.Shev[was] sitting וַחֲנִית֖וֹva./cha.ni.T/oand/ spear/ his בְּיָד֑וֹbe./ya.D/o[was] in/ hand/ his וְדָוִ֖דve./da.Vidand/ David מְנַגֵּ֥ןme.na.Gen[was] playing an instrument בְּיָֽד׃be./Yadwith/ hand

King James Version

And the evil spirit from the Lord was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand.

Cross-references

1 Samuel 16:14 Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a spirit of distress from the LORD began to torment him.
1 Samuel 16:16 Let our lord command your servants here to seek out someone who can skillfully play the harp. Whenever the spirit of distress from God is upon you, he is to play it, and you will be well.”
1 Samuel 18:10 The next day a spirit of distress sent from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied inside the house while David played the harp as usual. Now Saul was holding a spear,

People named

DavidSaul