Bible Strands
1 Samuel 24:5
Afterward, David’s conscience was stricken because he had cut off the corner of Saul’s robe.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — David stands in a cave immediately after stealthily cutting a corner from King Saul’s robe while the king pursues him. His own men urge him to capitalize on the opportunity, but David remains alone with the physical act he just committed.
The words — The phrase וַ/יַּ֥ךְ לֵב־דָּוִד (va/i.Yakh lev David) literally means "and it struck the heart of David." This verb describes a sudden, forceful pressure of conviction that follows David’s action of cutting Saul’s robe.
The thread — The same idiom for a stricken conscience appears in 2 Samuel 24:10 after David’s census, in 2 Samuel 12:9 regarding his sin with Uriah, and in 2 Kings 22:19 when King Josiah humbles himself before the Lord.
Why it lands — The text reports a visceral reaction to a boundary-crossing act, independent of whether the act was legally punishable. It asks a reader to recognize that reverence for God’s appointed order produces immediate internal conviction, not merely external compliance.
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The Hebrew words
King James Version
And it came to pass afterward, that David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt.
Cross-references
- 2 Samuel 24:10 After David had numbered the troops, his conscience was stricken and he said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, O LORD, I beg You to take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”
- 2 Samuel 12:9 Why then have you despised the command of the LORD by doing evil in His sight? You put Uriah the Hittite to the sword and took his wife as your own. You have slain him with the sword of the Ammonites.
- 2 Kings 22:19 because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its people, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and because you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I have heard you,’ declares the LORD.
- 1 John 3:20 Even if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and He knows all things.