God’s Word Translation
1 Samuel 29:4
4But the Philistine officers were angry with Achish. “Send the man back,” the Philistine officers told him. “Return him to the place you assigned him. He shouldn’t go with us into battle. He shouldn’t ⌞be allowed to⌟ become our enemy during the battle. Is this man going to try to regain his master’s favor? He’ll do it with the lives of our men!
1 Samuel 29:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, Make this fellow return, that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he be an adversary to us: for wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master? should it not be with the heads of these men?
- New International Version (NIV)But the Philistine commanders were angry with Achish and said, “Send 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 against us during the fighting. How better could he regain his master’s favor than by taking the heads of our own men?
- English Standard Version (ESV)But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him. And the commanders of the Philistines said to him, "Send the man back, that he may return to the place to which you have assigned him. He shall not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become an adversary to us. For how could this fellow reconcile himself to his lord? Would it not be with the heads of the men here?
- New King James Version (NKJV)But the princes of the Philistines were angry with him; so the princes of the Philistines said to him, “Make this fellow return, that he may go back to the place which you have appointed for him, and do not let him go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become our adversary. For with what could he reconcile himself to his master, if not with the heads of these men?
Context of 1 Samuel 29:4
2The Philistine leaders were marching by with their companies and regiments. David and his men were marching in the rear with Achish. 3The Philistine officers asked, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” Achish asked the Philistine officers, “Isn’t this David, the servant of King Saul of Israel, who has been with me now for a year or two? I’ve found nothing wrong with him from the day he defected until now.” But the Philistine officers were angry with Achish. “Send the man back,” the Philistine officers told him. “Return him to the place you assigned him. He shouldn’t go with us into battle. He shouldn’t ⌞be allowed to⌟ become our enemy during the battle. Is this man going to try to regain his master’s favor? He’ll do it with the lives of our men! 5Isn’t this David of whom people sing in dances: ‘Saul has defeated thousands but David tens of thousands’?” 6Then Achish called David and told him, “I solemnly swear, as the Lord lives, you are a dependable man. I consider your campaigning with me a good thing, because I’ve never found anything wrong with you from the day you came to me until now. But the rulers don’t approve of you.
Read all of 1 Samuel 291 Samuel 29:4 word by word
וַיִּקְצְפ֨וּ עָלָ֜יו שָׂרֵ֣י פְלִשְׁתִּ֗ים וַיֹּ֣אמְרוּ לוֹ֩ שָׂרֵ֨י פְלִשְׁתִּ֜ים הָשֵׁ֣ב אֶת־הָאִ֗ישׁ וְיָשֹׁב֙ אֶל־מְקוֹמוֹ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר הִפְקַדְתּ֣וֹ שָׁ֔ם וְלֹֽא־יֵרֵ֤ד עִמָּ֙נוּ֙ בַּמִּלְחָמָ֔ה וְלֹא־יִֽהְיֶה־לָּ֥נוּ לְשָׂטָ֖ן בַּמִּלְחָמָ֑ה וּבַמֶּ֗ה יִתְרַצֶּ֥ה זֶה֙ אֶל־אֲדֹנָ֔יו הֲל֕וֹא בְּרָאשֵׁ֖י הָאֲנָשִׁ֥ים הָהֵֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And the princesשַׂרώar · rulerH8269
- of the Philistinesפְּלִשְׁתִּיpelishtîy · PhilistineH6430
- were wrothקָצַףqâtsaph · be angryH7107
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto him, Makeשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
- this fellowאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- to his placeמָקוֹםmâqôm mâqôm meqômâh meqômâh · placeH4725
- which thou hast appointedפָּקַדpâqad · to reckon: overseerH6485
- him, and let him not go downיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381
- with us to battleמִלְחָמָהmilchâmâh · battleH4421
- he be an adversaryשָׂטָןώâţân · SatanH7854
- to us: for wherewith should he reconcileרָצָהrâtsâh · to acceptH7521
- himself unto his masterאָדוֹן'âdôn 'âdôn · lordH113
- with the headsרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218
- of these menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
Cross-references for 1 Samuel 29:4
- 1 Samuel 14:21The Hebrews who had been with the Philistines before this and had been stationed in the camp now joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan.
- 1 Chronicles 12:19Some men from Manasseh had deserted ⌞Saul’s army⌟ to join David when he went with the Philistines to attack Saul. (However, David didn’t help the Philistines because their rulers sent him away after considering the matter. They said, “It will cost us our heads when he deserts and joins his master Saul.”)
- Luke 16:8“The master praised the dishonest manager for being so clever. Worldly people are more clever than spiritually-minded people when it comes to dealing with others.”
Commentaries on 1 Samuel 29:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4The princes of the Philistines were wroth - It is strange that they had not yet heard of David's destruction of a village of the Geshurites, Gezrites, and Amalekites, 1 Samuel 27:8, 1 Samuel 27:9. Had they heard of this, they would have seen much more cause for suspicion.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4with the heads of our men: The commanders' fears were justified (compare 1 Samuel 17:51; 18:27).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him--It must be considered a happy circumstance in the overruling providence of God to rescue David out of the dangerous dilemma in which he was now placed. But David is not free from censure in his professions to Achish (1Sa 29:8), to do what he probably had not the smallest purpose of doing--of fighting with Achish against his enemies. It is just an instance of the unhappy consequences into which a false…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Samuel 29:4
In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries