The Meaning of 1 Samuel 26:10 Explained

1 Samuel 26:10

KJV: David said furthermore, As the LORD liveth, the LORD shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish.

YLT: And David saith, 'Jehovah liveth; except Jehovah doth smite him, or his day come that he hath died, or into battle he go down, and hath been consumed --

Darby: And David said, As Jehovah liveth, Jehovah will surely smite him; either his day shall come to die, or he shall descend into battle and perish.

ASV: And David said, As Jehovah liveth, Jehovah will smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall go down into battle and perish.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

David  said  furthermore, [As] the LORD  liveth,  the LORD  shall smite  him; or his day  shall come  to die;  or he shall descend  into battle,  and perish. 

What does 1 Samuel 26:10 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Samuel 26:1-12 - Sparing His Enemy's Life
The Ziphites' treachery served as a foil to the intrinsic nobility of David's character. God made the wrath of man to praise Him, and restrained the remainder, Psalms 76:10, so that His servant escaped as a bird out of the fowler's snare. Read here, Psalms 54:1-7.
It was a bold act for David and Abishai to thread their way between watch-fires and sentries, and talk in whispers over the prostrate body of the sleeping monarch. As David says in one of the Psalms, "By thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall." The special share attributed here to God is the deep sleep which had fallen on the camp, 1 Samuel 26:12. The Lord who put the resolve into David's mind, cooperated in its execution. We are sometimes led by a divine impulse, and God will set His seal on our act; but we should not throw ourselves into peril unless the occasion plainly requires it. We are not at liberty to cast ourselves down from the mountain, unless it is clearly God's will. In David's case, there was sufficient reason for this adventure; first, that Saul might be warned once more; and second, that the integrity of the young outlaw might be established. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Samuel 26

1  Saul, by the discovery of the Ziphites, comes to Hachilah against David
4  David coming into the trench keeps Abishai from killing Saul,
11  but takes his spear and jug
13  David reproves Abner
17  and exhorts Saul
21  Saul acknowledges his sin

What do the individual words in 1 Samuel 26:10 mean?

and furthermore said David [As] lives Yahweh furthermore - Yahweh shall strike him or his day shall come and to die or to battle he shall go out and perish
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר דָּוִד֙ חַי־ יְהוָ֔ה כִּ֥י אִם־ יְהוָ֖ה יִגָּפֶ֑נּוּ אֽוֹ־ יוֹמ֤וֹ יָבוֹא֙ וָמֵ֔ת א֧וֹ בַמִּלְחָמָ֛ה יֵרֵ֖ד וְנִסְפָּֽה

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר  and  furthermore  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
דָּוִד֙  David 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּוִד  
Sense: youngest son of Jesse and second king of Israel.
חַי־  [As]  lives 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חַי 
Sense: living, alive.
יְהוָ֔ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
כִּ֥י  furthermore 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
אִם־    - 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: אִם  
Sense: if.
יְהוָ֖ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
יִגָּפֶ֑נּוּ  shall  strike  him 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: נָגַף  
Sense: to strike, smite.
יוֹמ֤וֹ  his  day 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
יָבוֹא֙  shall  come 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
וָמֵ֔ת  and  to  die 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מוּת  
Sense: to die, kill, have one executed.
בַמִּלְחָמָ֛ה  to  battle 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִלְחָמָה  
Sense: battle, war.
יֵרֵ֖ד  he  shall  go  out 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָרַד  
Sense: to go down, descend, decline, march down, sink down.
וְנִסְפָּֽה  and  perish 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: סָפָה  
Sense: to sweep or snatch away, catch up, destroy, consume.