1 Samuel 29:3

1 Samuel 29:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Then said the princes of the Philistines, What do these Hebrews here? And Achish said unto the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, which hath been with me these days, or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell unto me unto this day?
• New International Version (NIV)The commanders of the Philistines asked, “What about these Hebrews?” Achish replied, “Is this not David, who was an officer of Saul king of Israel? He has already been with me for over a year, and from the day he left Saul until now, I have found no fault in him.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)the commanders of the Philistines said, "What are these Hebrews doing here?" And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, "Is this not David, the servant of Saul, king of Israel, who has been with me now for days and years, and since he deserted to me I have found no fault in him to this day."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then the princes of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or these years? And to this day I have found no fault in him since he defected to me.”

Context of 1 Samuel 29:3

1The Philistines brought all their military units together at Aphek while Israel was camped by the spring in Jezreel. 2As the Philistine leaders were passing in review with their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men were passing in review behind them with Achish. Then the Philistine commanders asked, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” Achish answered the Philistine commanders, “That is David, servant of King Saul of Israel. He has been with me a considerable period of time. From the day he defected until today, I’ve found no fault with him.” 4The Philistine commanders, however, were enraged with Achish and told him, “Send that man back and let him return to the place you assigned him. He must not go down with us into battle only to become our adversary during the battle. What better way could he ingratiate himself with his master than with the heads of our men? 5Isn’t this the David they sing about during their dances: Saul has killed his thousands, but David his tens of thousands?”

1 Samuel 29:3 word by word

וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ שָׂרֵ֣י פְלִשְׁתִּ֔ים מָ֖ה הָעִבְרִ֣ים הָאֵ֑לֶּה וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אָכִ֜ישׁ אֶל־שָׂרֵ֣י פְלִשְׁתִּ֗ים הֲלֽוֹא־זֶ֨ה דָוִ֜ד עֶ֣בֶד׀ שָׁא֣וּל מֶֽלֶךְ־יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל אֲשֶׁ֨ר הָיָ֤ה אִתִּי֙ זֶ֤ה יָמִים֙ אוֹ־זֶ֣ה שָׁנִ֔ים וְלֹֽא־מָצָ֤אתִי בוֹ֙ מְא֔וּמָה מִיּ֥וֹם נָפְל֖וֹ עַד־הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃ פRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Then saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• the princesשַׂרώar · rulerH8269
• of the Philistinesפְּלִשְׁתִּיpelishtîy · PhilistineH6430
• these Hebrewsעִבְרִי‛ibrîy · HebrewH5680
• And Achishאָכִישׁ'âkîysh · AchishH397
• not this Davidדָּוִדdâvid dâvîyd · DavidH1732
• the servantעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
• of Saulשָׁאוּלshâ'ûl · SaulH7586
• the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• which hath been with me these daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• or these yearsשָׁנָהshâneh shânâh · yearH8141
• and I have foundמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
• no faultמְא֫וּמָהme'ûmâh · anythingH3972
• in him sinceיוֹםyôm · day: todayH3117
• he fellנָפַלnâphal · to fall: desertingH5307

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 29:3

• 1 Samuel 27:7The length of time that David stayed in Philistine territory amounted to a year and four months.
• 1 Samuel 25:28Please forgive your servant’s offense, for the Lord is certain to make a lasting dynasty for my lord because he fights the Lord’s battles. Throughout your life, may evil not be found in you.
• Daniel 6:5Then these men said, “We will never find any charge against this Daniel unless we find something against him concerning the law of his God.”
• John 19:6When the chief priests and the temple servants saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” Pilate responded, “Take him and crucify him yourselves, since I find no grounds for charging him.”
• Romans 12:17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Give careful thought to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes.
• 1 Peter 3:16Yet do this with gentleness and reverence, keeping a clear conscience, so that when you are accused, those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame.

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 29:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3These days, or these years - I suppose these words to mark no definite time, and may be understood thus: "Is not this David, who has been with me for a considerable time?"Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3He fell unto me - The regular word for deserting and going over to the other side. See Jeremiah 37:13; Jeremiah 38:19.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3the servant of King Saul of Israel: To Achish, David appeared to be a valuable defector (someone who had left his former king). The other Philistine rulers were suspicious. They feared that David was a spy who planned to attack them from inside their defenses. found no fault in him: This was the first of three times Achish defended David (see also 1 Samuel 29:6, 9). However, David had been deceiving Achish the entire time (see 1 Samuel 27:1–12).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. these days, or these years--He had now been with the Philistines a full year and four months (1Sa 27:7), and also some years before. It has been thought that David kept up a private correspondence with this Philistine prince, either on account of his native generosity, or in the anticipation that an asylum in his territories would sooner or later be needed.Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Samuel 29:3

• Hebrew
• Integrity

In the dictionaries

• David
• Israel
• Philistines
• Saul
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Paul, Saul
• Achish
• Fault
• Lords of the Philistines

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 29

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings