1 Samuel 27:12

1 Samuel 27:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Achish believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever.
• New International Version (NIV)Achish trusted David and said to himself, “He has become so obnoxious to his people, the Israelites, that he will be my servant for life.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And Achish trusted David, thinking, "He has made himself an utter stench to his people Israel; therefore he shall always be my servant."
• New King James Version (NKJV)So Achish believed David, saying, “He has made his people Israel utterly abhor him; therefore he will be my servant forever.”

Context of 1 Samuel 27:12

10Achish would ask David, ‘Which place did you go and attack today?’ Sometimes David would say, ‘We robbed the people of a town in Judah's desert.’ Or David might say, ‘We attacked a town in the desert where the people of Jerahmeel's clan live.’ Or he might say, ‘We attacked a town in the desert where the Kenites live.’ 11David killed all the people in the places that he attacked. He never took anyone back to Gath. He thought, ‘If any of the people are still alive, they might go to Gath and tell people what we have done.’ That is what David did for the whole time that he lived among the Philistines. So King Achish trusted David. He thought, ‘The Israelites must now hate David very much. So David will have to be my servant for ever.’

1 Samuel 27:12 word by word

וַיַּאֲמֵ֥ן אָכִ֖ישׁ בְּדָוִ֣ד לֵאמֹ֑ר הַבְאֵ֤שׁ הִבְאִישׁ֙ בְּעַמּ֣וֹ בְיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְהָ֥יָה לִ֖י לְעֶ֥בֶד עוֹלָֽם׃ פRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Achishאָכִישׁ'âkîysh · AchishH397
• believedאָמַן'âman · be faithfulH539
• Davidדָּוִדdâvid dâvîyd · DavidH1732
• sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• He hath made his peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• utterlyבָּאַשׁbâ'ash · to stinkH887
• him; therefore he shall be my servantעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
• for everעוֹלָם‛ôlâm ‛ôlâm · forever: enduringH5769

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 27:12

• 1 Samuel 13:4Everyone in Israel heard this message: ‘Saul has attacked the Philistines' camp. Now the Philistines hate the Israelites even more than they did before.’ So all the soldiers in Israel came to join Saul at Gilgal.
• Genesis 34:30When they returned to Jacob, he said to Simeon and Levi, ‘You have brought bad trouble to me! The people who live in this land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, will hate me. I will be like a bad smell to them. We do not have many men to fight for us. If the Perizzites and Canaanites join together and they attack us, they will destroy our whole family!’

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 27:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12He hath made his people - utterly to abhor him - This deception, which Dr. Delaney says "did harm to nobody, and to the account of which he is at an utter loss what degree of guilt to charge," imposed upon Achish, had the most direct tendency to make him imagine himself secure, while in the utmost danger; and to have a faithful friend and able ally in David, while he was the veriest enemy he could possibly have. Shame on him who becomes the apologist of…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-12Verses 8-12 While David was in the land of the Philistines, he attacked some remains of the devoted nations. The people whom he cut off were long before doomed to destruction. It is often wisdom to shun public notice, but we must in no situation be idle. We must always try to do somewhat in the cause of God. This expedition David hid from Achish. But an equivocation which serves the purpose of a lie, is as like to it as a hypocrite is to a profane person…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-12David fled to the Philistines to get away from Saul for good. Rather than killing Saul, David chose the dangerous life of a fugitive.Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Samuel 27:12

• David
• Falsehood
• Philistines

In the dictionaries

• David
• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Achish
• Abhor
• Abimelech
• Alliance
• Palestine
• Philistines

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 27

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings