שמואל א, פרק כ״ד, פסוק י׳

David confronts Saul with a direct and piercing challenge, striking at the heart of the false accusations that drove the king to relentlessly hunt him. Rather than attacking Saul directly, David redirects the blame toward the malicious voices whispering in the king's ear, demanding to know why he chooses to accept their lies. This challenge is not merely about physical hearing, but rather a sharp rebuke for actively believing these destructive words [רש״י, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The people spreading these rumors are engaging in malicious gossip [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ], specifically pointing to the slander spread by Doeg the Edomite [רש״י]. These individuals falsely claim that David is actively plotting to harm the king and orchestrating his downfall [מצודת דוד].

To dismantle these rumors, David presents a logical and crushing argument. Generally, if a person wishes to harm someone but fails to do so, it is due to one of three reasons: a lack of physical ability, a fear of other people intervening, or a fear of God. David systematically proves to Saul that none of these obstacles prevented him from striking [מלבי״ם].

First, David possessed the complete physical ability to act when Saul was delivered directly into his hands inside the cave. Second, there was no reason to fear the intervention of others, as the two of them were entirely alone. Finally, David did not need to fear retribution from God; according to Torah law concerning a pursuer, he was fully permitted, and even commanded, to kill Saul in order to save his own life. Since all possible barriers were absent and he still did not strike, the only logical conclusion is that David simply has no desire to harm Saul. He spared the king solely out of respect for his status as God's anointed, causing the entire foundation of the slanderers' claims to completely collapse [מלבי״ם].