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1 Samuel 29
Evangelical Heritage Version
1 Samuel 29
Evangelical Heritage Version
David Is Dismissed by the Philistines
29 The Philistines gathered all their armies together at Aphek, and the Israelites camped beside the spring at Jezre’el. 2 As the serens[a] of the Philistines were marching past with their units of a hundred and units of a thousand, David and his men were marching in the rear of the column with Achish.
3 The officers of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?”
Achish said to the officers of the Philistines, “Isn’t this David, the servant of Saul, king of Israel, who has been with me for some time now?[b] I have found no fault in him from the day he defected, right up to today.”
4 But the officers of the Philistines were angry with him, and the officers of the Philistines said, “Make this man return to the place that you have assigned to him. He must not go down to battle with us, or else he might become an adversary against us during the battle. What better way for this man to reconcile himself to his master than with the heads of these men of ours? 5 Isn’t this David, about whom they sang to one another as they danced, ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?’”
6 Then Achish called David and said to him, “As the Lord lives, you have been straightforward with me. As far as I am concerned,[c] it would be good to have you accompany me[d] on this campaign, because I have not found anything wrong with you from the day you came to me right up to this day. Nevertheless, in the opinion of the serens you are a liability. 7 So now return. Go in peace, so that you do not displease the serens of the Philistines.”
8 David said to Achish, “But what have I done? What have you found in your servant from the day I came into your presence until this day that would disqualify me from going and fighting against the enemies of my lord the king?”
9 Achish answered David, “I know that, as far as I am concerned, you are as good as an angel of God. Nevertheless, the officers of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go up to the battle with us.’ 10 So get up early in the morning, along with the servants of your master who have come with you. Get up early in the morning, and leave as soon as it is light.”[e]
11 So David got up early, and he and his men left early in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines, but the Philistines went up to Jezre’el.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 29:2 The word seren is used only of the rulers of the five Philistine city states. It may be related to the Greek word tyrant, an autocratic ruler of a city state. Seren is a title like pharaoh or czar, which is applied to one specific class of rulers. Since this is a unique title, the translation uses the transliteration seren rather than the traditional rendering lord.
- 1 Samuel 29:3 Literally these days or these years
- 1 Samuel 29:6 Hebrew in my eyes
- 1 Samuel 29:6 Hebrew your going out and your coming in with me
- 1 Samuel 29:10 The Greek Old Testament includes words that are not present in the Hebrew text. They are marked with half-brackets in the following. 10 So get up early in the morning along with the servants of your master who have come with you ⎣and go to the place I assigned to you. Don’t take this bad situation to heart, because in my opinion you are good.⎦ Get up early in the morning, and leave as soon as it is light.
1 Samuel 29
New International Version
1 Samuel 29
New International Version
Achish Sends David Back to Ziklag
29 The Philistines gathered(A) all their forces at Aphek,(B) and Israel camped by the spring in Jezreel.(C) 2 As the Philistine rulers marched with their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men were marching at the rear(D) with Achish. 3 The commanders of the Philistines asked, “What about these Hebrews?”
Achish replied, “Is this not David,(E) who was an officer of Saul king of Israel? He has already been with me for over a year,(F) and from the day he left Saul until now, I have found no fault in him.”
4 But the Philistine commanders were angry with Achish and said, “Send(G) the man back, that he may return to the place you assigned him. He must not go with us into battle, or he will turn(H) against us during the fighting. How better could he regain his master’s favor than by taking the heads of our own men? 5 Isn’t this the David they sang about in their dances:
“‘Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands’?”(I)
6 So Achish called David and said to him, “As surely as the Lord lives, you have been reliable, and I would be pleased to have you serve with me in the army. From the day(J) you came to me until today, I have found no fault in you, but the rulers(K) don’t approve of you. 7 Now turn back and go in peace; do nothing to displease the Philistine rulers.”
8 “But what have I done?” asked David. “What have you found against your servant from the day I came to you until now? Why can’t I go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”
9 Achish answered, “I know that you have been as pleasing in my eyes as an angel(L) of God; nevertheless, the Philistine commanders(M) have said, ‘He must not go up with us into battle.’ 10 Now get up early, along with your master’s servants who have come with you, and leave(N) in the morning as soon as it is light.”
11 So David and his men got up early in the morning to go back to the land of the Philistines, and the Philistines went up to Jezreel.
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.