Revised Literal Translation
1 Samuel 29:4
4And 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?
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
2And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by thousands: but David and his men passed on in the rereward with Achish. 3Then 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? 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? 5Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands? 6Then Achish called David, and said unto him, Surely, as Yhwh liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the army is good in my sight: for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day: nevertheless the lords favour thee not.
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
- 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 14:21Moreover the Hebrews that were with the Philistines before that time, which went up with them into the camp from the country round about, even they also turned to be with the Israelites that were with Saul and Jonathan.
- 1 Chronicles 12:19And there fell some of Manasseh to David, when he came with the Philistines against Saul to battle: but they helped them not: for the lords of the Philistines upon advisement sent him away, saying, He will fall to his master Saul to the jeopardy of our heads.
- Luke 16:8And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
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
Revised Literal Translation — © 2018 Michael W. Jones, Sr. — GPL
Commentaries