The men of David said to him, Behold, the day of which Yahweh said to you, Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe secretly.
The incident recorded in this chapter concerns "cutting off" (1 Samuel 24:4-5; 1 Samuel 24:11; 1 Samuel 24:21). David had the opportunity and received encouragement to cut off Saul’s life but chose to cut off only his robe hem. He ended up promising not to cut off Saul’s descendants and name.