1 Samuel 24:14

Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog? A flea?

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — David addresses the king of Israel, who is actively pursuing him through the wilderness. He poses rhetorical questions to confront the monarch directly about his campaign.

The words — The text pairs מֶ֣לֶךְ (Me.lekh, "king") with יָצָא֙ (ya.Tza', "has he come out") to frame the royal military expedition. It uses מִ֤י (mi, "whom?") alongside אַתָּ֣ה ('a.Tah, "you") to directly question the pursuer's target.

The thread — The contrast between royal pursuit and a helpless target resurfaces when David warns against letting his blood fall far from the LORD's presence (1 Samuel 26:20). The same self-deprecating animal imagery appears in Goliath's taunt (1 Samuel 17:43) and Mephibosheth's address (2 Samuel 9:8).

Why it lands — The verse forces a reader to confront the absurdity of a king directing his full military force against a defenseless fugitive. It strips away royal pretension by reducing the pursuit to the hunting of a dead dog or a flea.

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

אַחֲרֵ֨י'a.cha.Reiafter מִ֤יmiwhom?יָצָא֙ya.Tza'has he come out מֶ֣לֶךְMe.lekh[the] king of יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לYis.ra.'ElIsrael אַחֲרֵ֥י'a.cha.Reiafter מִ֖יmiwhom?אַתָּ֣ה'a.Tah[are] you רֹדֵ֑ףro.Defpursuing אַֽחֲרֵי֙'a.cha.Reiafter כֶּ֣לֶבKe.leva dog מֵ֔תMetdead אַחֲרֵ֖י'a.cha.Reiafter פַּרְעֹ֥שׁpar.'Osha flea אֶחָֽד׃'e.Chadone

King James Version

After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea.

Cross-references

1 Samuel 26:20 So do not let my blood fall to the ground far from the presence of the LORD. For the king of Israel has come out to look for a flea, like one who hunts a partridge in the mountains.”
1 Samuel 17:43 “Am I a dog,” he said to David, “that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
2 Samuel 9:8 Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog like me?”
Judges 8:1 Then the men of Ephraim said to Gideon, “Why have you done this to us? Why did you fail to call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they contended with him violently.
2 Samuel 3:8 Abner was furious over Ish-bosheth’s accusation. “Am I the head of a dog that belongs to Judah?” he asked. “All this time I have been loyal to the house of your father Saul, to his brothers, and to his friends. I have not delivered you into the hand of David, but now you accuse me of wrongdoing with this woman!
2 Samuel 16:9 Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head!”
1 Kings 21:7 But his wife Jezebel said to him, “Do you not reign over Israel? Get up, eat some food, and be cheerful, for I will get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”
2 Samuel 6:20 When David returned home to bless his own household, Saul’s daughter Michal came out to meet him. “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today!” she said. “He has uncovered himself today in the sight of the maidservants of his subjects, like a vulgar person would do.”