1 Samuel 21:11

1 Samuel 21:11 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?
• New International Version (NIV)But the servants of Achish said to him, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t he the one they sing about in their dances: “ ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?”
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of him to one another in dances, saying: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands’?”
• New Living Translation (NLT)But the officers of Achish were unhappy about his being there. “Isn’t this David, the king of the land?” they asked. “Isn’t he the one the people honor with dances, singing, ‘Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?”

Context of 1 Samuel 21:11

9And the priest said, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the Valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it, for there is none but that here." And David said, "There is none like that; give it to me." 10And David rose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish the king of Gath. And the servants of Achish said to him, "Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances, 'Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands'?" 12And David took these words to heart and was much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13So he changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane in their hands and made marks on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard.

1 Samuel 21:11 word by word

וַיֹּ֨אמְר֜וּ עַבְדֵ֤י אָכִישׁ֙ אֵלָ֔יו הֲלוֹא־זֶ֥ה דָוִ֖ד מֶ֣לֶךְ הָאָ֑רֶץ הֲל֣וֹא לָזֶ֗ה יַעֲנ֤וּ בַמְּחֹלוֹת֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר הִכָּ֤ה שָׁאוּל֙ בַּאֲלָפָ֔יו וְדָוִ֖ד בְּרִבְבֹתָֽיו׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the servantsעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
• of Achishאָכִישׁ'âkîysh · AchishH397
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• not this Davidדָּוִדdâvid dâvîyd · DavidH1732
• the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• did they not singעָנָה‛ânâh · to singH6030
• one to another of himזֶהzeh · thisH2088
• in dancesמְחוֹלָהmechôlâh · danceH4246
• Saulשָׁאוּלshâ'ûl · SaulH7586
• hath slainנָכָהnâkâh · to smiteH5221
• his thousandsאֶ֫לֶף'eleph · thousandH505
• his ten thousandsרְבָבָהrebâbâh · myriadH7233

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 21:11

• Psalms 56:1Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me; all day long an attacker oppresses me;
• 1 Samuel 16:1The Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons."
• 1 Samuel 18:7And the women sang to one another as they celebrated, "Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands."
• 1 Samuel 29:5Is not this David, of whom they sing to one another in dances, 'Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands'?"

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 21:11

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11The king of the land - The Philistines gave him the title which their own lords bore.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-15Verses 10-15 God's persecuted people have often found better usage from Philistines than from Israelites. David had reason to put confidence in Achish, yet he began to be afraid. His conduct was degrading, and discovered wavering in his faith and courage. The more simply we depend on God, and obey him, the more comfortably and surely we shall walk through this troublesome world.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11king of the land: David’s reputation as a powerful warrior had become even greater than King Saul’s (see 1 Samuel 18:7). Because of this, people outside Israel began to speak of David as if he were already Israel’s king.Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Samuel 21:11

• Achish
• Dancing
• David
• Deception
• Gath
• Philistines

In the dictionaries

• David
• Saul
• Paul, Saul
• Abimelech
• Achish
• Judges, Book of
• Manner
• Require
• Ezekiel
• Games

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 21

• 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