When their judges— This first verse contains an account of David's humanity towards Saul, in giving him his life at two several times, when he had it in his power to destroy him as he pleased, says Mr. Peters, who translates it thus: Their judges have been dismissed in the rocky places, and have heard my words that they were sweet. That is, "their princes have been dismissed in safety, when I had them at an advantage in those rocky desarts, and they only heard me expostulate with them in the gentlest words." The next verse contains Saul's barbarity and cruelty towards David or his friends, in the horrid massacre of Abimelech and the priests, by the hand of Doeg; done in such a savage manner, that he compares it to the chopping and cleaving of wood. Like as when one cutteth and cleaveth, so have our bones been scattered on the earth, at the command of Saul; for so I read the Hebrew words, שׂאול לפי lepi Saul. As much as to say, "How unlike, how barbarous has their treatment been of me! my best friends slaughtered in great numbers at the command of Saul, and hewn to pieces in his presence, as one would cut or chop a piece of wood!" We may observe an elegant opposition between the words of David, which he calls sweet or pleasant, and שׂאול לפי lepi Saul, the command of Saul, or the cruel sentence pronounced by him. It may be proper just to remark, that the word
שׁפטיהם Shophteihem, rendered judges, in the plural, may refer not only to Saul, but to his chief captain, and other military officers; for they were fast asleep about him when David and his companions surprised them; though it may be understood of Saul alone, and that by no very uncommon figure of speech. See particularly 1 Samuel 24:4 in the original. As to his using the word judge rather than king or prince, there seems to be a peculiar elegancy in it; as he was just about to mention that inhuman sentence of Saul's executed upon the priests of Nob. So that it is as if he had said, "Even those cruel judges, who have sentenced my friends and favourers without mercy, have been dismissed by me in safety."