1 Kings 19:5
And he put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the Lord wrought great salvation for all Israel. Thou sawest it and didst rejoice. Why therefore wilt thou sin against innocent blood by killing David, who is without fault?
Open 1 Kings 19:5 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Et posuit animam suam in manu sua, et percussit Philisthæum, et fecit Dominus salutem magnam universo Israëli : vidisti, et lætatus es. Quare ergo peccas in sanguine innoxio, interficiens David, qui est absque culpa ?
- Septuagint (Swete)
- καὶ ἔθετο τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐπάταξεν τὸν ἀλλόφυλον, καὶ ἐποίησεν Κύριος σωτηρίαν μεγάλην, καὶ πᾶς Ἰσραὴλ εἶδον καὶ ἐχάρησαν· καὶ ἵνα τί ἁμαρτάνεις εἰς αἷμα ἀθῷον θανατῶσαι τὸν Δαυεὶδ δωρεάν;
- Hebrew (WLC)
- וַיָּשֶׂם֩ אֶת נַפְשׁ֨וֹ בְכַפּ֜וֹ וַיַּ֣ךְ אֶת הַפְּלִשְׁתִּ֗י וַיַּ֨עַשׂ יְהוָ֜ה תְּשׁוּעָ֤ה גְדוֹלָה֙ לְכָל יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל רָאִ֖יתָ וַתִּשְׂמָ֑ח וְלָ֤מָּה תֶֽחֱטָא֙ בְּדָ֣ם נָקִ֔י לְהָמִ֥ית אֶת דָּוִ֖ד חִנָּֽם
The Fathers on this verse
St John Chrysostom The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on Paul's Epistle to the Romans, Homily XXIX on Rom. xv. 14
For before everything else this is what the teacher ought to have. Wherefore also to Peter Christ saith, “If thou lovest Me, feed My sheep.” ( John xxi. 16 .) For he who loveth Christ loveth also His flock. And Moses too did He then set over the people of the Jews, when he had shown a kindly feeling towards them. And David in this way came to be king, having been first seen to be affectionately-minded towards them; so much indeed, though yet young, did he grieve for the people, as to risk his life for them, when he killed that barbarian. But if he said, “What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine?” ( 1 Sam. xix. 5 ; ib. xvii. 26 ) he said it not in order to demand a reward, but out of a wish to have confidence placed in himself, and to have the battle with him delivered to his charge. …
St Ambrose Letter LI: To Theodosius After the Massacre at Thessalonica
10. Holy Job, himself also powerful in this world, says: “I hid not my sin, but declared it before all the people.” His son Jonathan said to the fierce King Saul himself: “Do not sin against thy servant David;” and: “Why dost thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause?” For, although he was a king, yet he would have sinned if he slew the innocent. And again, David also, when he was in possession of the kingdom, and had heard that innocent Abner had been slain by Joab, the leader of his host, said: “I am guiltless and my kingdom is guiltless henceforth and for ever of the blood of Abner, the son of Ner,” and he fasted for sorrow.
The Fathers are given as they wrote. Where a passage lays the Passion on the Jewish people, the Church teaches that it cannot be charged against all the Jews then living, nor against the Jews of today, and that all sinners were its authors (CCC 597, 598).