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?
• 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.”
• New Living Translation (NLT)But the Philistine commanders demanded, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” And Achish told them, “This is David, the servant of King Saul of Israel. He’s been with me for years, and I’ve never found a single fault in him from the day he arrived until today.”

Context of 1 Samuel 29:3

1The Philistines gathered all their forces at Aphek, and Israel camped by the spring in Jezreel. 2As the Philistine rulers marched with their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men were marching at the rear with Achish. 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.” 4But 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? 5Isn’t this the David they sang about in their dances: “ ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and 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 27:7David lived in Philistine territory a year and four months.
• 1 Samuel 25:28“Please forgive your servant’s presumption. The Lord your God will certainly make a lasting dynasty for my lord, because you fight the Lord’s battles, and no wrongdoing will be found in you as long as you live.
• Daniel 6:5Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”
• John 19:6As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”
• Romans 12:17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.
• 1 Peter 3:16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

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