Bible Strands
2 Samuel 1:14
So David asked him, “Why were you not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed?”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — David confronts the Amalekite messenger immediately after learning of Saul and Jonathan’s deaths. He questions the man’s audacity in killing the king before addressing the political implications of the report.
The words — The Hebrew phrase לִשְׁלֹחַ יָדְךָ (li/sh.Lo.ach ya.de./Kha) literally means "to stretch out your hand." This idiom specifically denotes taking direct violent action against a targeted individual.
The thread — The text directly parallels David’s earlier refusal to strike Saul in 1 Samuel 24:6 and 1 Samuel 26:9. These passages establish a consistent boundary where harming the king is treated as a direct violation of divine appointment.
Why it lands — The verse requires readers to acknowledge that political authority carries a sacred boundary regardless of the officeholder’s moral state. It demands a practical restraint that separates personal judgment from consecrated status.
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
King James Version
And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 26:9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can extend a hand against the LORD’s anointed and be guiltless?”
- Numbers 12:8 I speak with him face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you unafraid to speak against My servant Moses?”
- 1 Samuel 24:6 So he said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed. May I never lift my hand against him, since he is the LORD’s anointed.”
- 1 Samuel 31:4 Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through with it, or these uncircumcised men will come and run me through and torture me!” But his armor-bearer was terrified and refused to do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.
- Psalms 105:15 “Do not touch My anointed ones! Do no harm to My prophets!”
- 2 Peter 2:10 Such punishment is specially reserved for those who indulge the corrupt desires of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and self-willed, they are unafraid to slander glorious beings.