"O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is guilt on my hands, if I have repaid my ally with evil or without cause have robbed my foe, then let my enemy pursue and overtake me; let him trample my life to the ground and make me sleep in the dust. (Psalm 7:3-5) And he cut off a corner of Saul's robe. What is written (1 Samuel 24:6)? "And David's heart smote him." Rabbi Judah says, David said, "What is the difference between the cutting off of the corner of a garment and the cutting off of the top of it?"
Rabbi Nehemiah says, they annulled the commandment of fringes for one hour. When the fringes were cut off, he did not know what to do, and he sought them but did not find them. He said to Abner, "Where is the corner of my robe?" He replied, "In your ships you passed over and they were cut off."
When David heard this, he said to him (1 Samuel 24:11), "My father, see." From this we learn that a man must show the same respect to his father-in-law as he does to his own father. Rabbi Judah said, David's father told Saul, "He has also seen." He said to Abner, "Did a lion come across the way?
Did a bear meet you?" (1 Samuel 17:34). The Rabbis say, he said both to Abner, "My father, see.", for Abner was a lion in learning. When he came to the circle, he said to him (2 Samuel 2:14), "Will you not answer, Abner?" He said, "Who are you who calls to the king?"
He replied, "You are a man, are you not? And Israel has chosen you to be their prince." And he said, "I am listening." Then David said to him, "I am innocent of wrongdoing; and as for you, you have hunted me down today.
May the Lord judge between you and me. And may the Lord avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you." (1 Samuel 24:12-13) And he said, "The Lord forbid that I should lay a hand on the Lord's anointed." (1 Samuel 24:10) And I will save the empty-handed who has been snatched from the hand of the oppressor. (Job 29:12) And he measured out two lengths of cord to put to death.
Rabbi Joshua ben Levi says, because he killed his father and mother (and his eyesight was dim). Rabbi Judah says, he killed his father, mother, and brother (and made himself blind). "My honor lies in the dust; my body will dwell in safety." (Psalm 7:6) This refers to God's kingdom.