1 Samuel 29

Translated from the Hebrew of the Westminster Leningrad Codex. Tap a verse to see why it reads as it does. Tap a small letter to read its footnote.

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The Philistine commanders send David back

¹The Philistines gathered all their forces at Aphek, while Israel was camped by the spring in Jezreel. ²As the rulers of the Philistines marched past with their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men were marching at the rear with Achish. ³The Philistine commanders asked, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” Achish answered the commanders of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul king of Israel? He has been with me for some time now, a year or more, and from the day he came over to me until today I have found no fault in him.”

⁴But the Philistine commanders were angry with Achish and said to him, “Send the man back! Let him go back to the place where you stationed him. He is not to go down to battle with us, or he may turn against us once the fighting starts. How could this fellow win back his master’s favor? Surely with the heads of the men here! ⁵Is this not the David they sang about to one another as they danced, \q ‘Saul has struck down his thousands, \q and David his tens of thousands’?”

⁶So Achish called David and said to him, “As surely as the LORD lives, you have been honest, and I would be glad to have you march out and come back with me in the army. I have found nothing wrong in you from the day you came to me until today. But the rulers do not approve of you. ⁷So now, go back, and go in peace. Do nothing to displease the rulers of the Philistines.”

⁸David said to Achish, “But what have I done? What fault have you found in your servant from the day I entered your service until now, that I may not go out and fight the enemies of my lord the king?” ⁹Achish answered David, “I know that you are as good in my sight as an angel of God. But the Philistine commanders have said, ‘He must not go up with us into battle.’ ¹⁰So get up early in the morning, you and your master’s servants who came with you. Start early in the morning, and as soon as it is light, go.” ¹¹So David and his men got up early to set out in the morning and go back to the land of the Philistines, while the Philistines went up to Jezreel.