1 Samuel 29
29
1And the Philistines gather all their camps to Aphek, and the Israelites are encamping at a fountain which [is] in Jezreel,
2and the princes of the Philistines are passing on by hundreds, and by thousands, and David and his men are passing on in the rear with Achish.
3And the heads of the Philistines say, ‘What [are] these Hebrews?’ and Achish saith unto the heads of the Philistines, ‘Is not this David servant of Saul king of Israel, who hath been with me these days or these years, and I have not found in him anything [wrong] from the day of his falling away till this day.’
4And the heads of the Philistines are wroth against him, and the heads of the Philistines say to him, ‘Send back the man, and he doth turn back unto his place whither thou hast appointed him, and doth not go down with us into battle, and is not to us for an adversary in battle; and wherewith doth this one reconcile himself unto his lord — is it not with the heads of those men?’
5Is not this David, of whom they answer in choruses, saying, Saul hath smitten among his thousands, and David among his myriads?’
6And Achish calleth unto David, and saith unto him, ‘Jehovah liveth, surely thou [art] upright, and good in mine eyes is thy going out, and thy coming in, with me in the camp, for I have not found in thee evil from the day of thy coming in unto me till this day; and in the eyes of the princes thou art not good;
7and now, turn back, and go in peace, and thou dost do no evil in the eyes of the princes of the Philistines.’
8And David saith unto Achish, ‘But what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant from the day that I have been before thee till this day — that I go not in and have fought against the enemies of my lord the king?’
9And Achish answereth and saith unto David, ‘I have known that thou [art] good in mine eyes as a messenger of God; only, the princes of the Philistines have said, He doth not go up with us into battle;
10and now, rise thou early in the morning, and the servants of thy lord who have come with thee, when ye have risen early in the morning, and have light, then go ye.’
11And David riseth early, he and his men, to go in the morning, to turn back unto the land of the Philistines, and the Philistines have gone up to Jezreel.
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1 Samuel 29: YLT98
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
1 Samuel 29
29
David rescues the families of his troops
The Philistines send David back
1The Philistines had brought their whole army to Aphek,#29.1 Aphek: The events of chapter 29 probably took place as the Philistine army was on its way to Shunem, which they reached in 28.4. while Israel's army was camping near Jezreel Spring. 2-3The Philistine rulers and their troops were marching past the Philistine army commanders in groups of a hundred and a thousand. When David and his men marched by at the end with Achish, the commanders said, “What are these worthless Israelites doing here?”
“They are David's men,” Achish answered. “David used to be one of Saul's officers, but he left Saul and joined my army a long time ago. I've never had even one complaint about him.”
4The Philistine army commanders were angry and shouted:
Send David back to the town you gave him. We won't have him going into the battle with us. He could turn and fight against us! Saul would take David back as an officer if David brought him the heads of our soldiers. 5The Israelites even dance and sing,#1 S 18.7; 21.11.
“Saul has killed
a thousand enemies;
David has killed
ten thousand enemies!”
6Achish called David over and said:
I swear by the living LORD that you've been honest with me, and I want you to fight by my side. I don't think you've done anything wrong from the day you joined me until this very moment. But the other Philistine rulers don't want you to come along. 7Go back home and try not to upset them.
8“But what have I done?” David asked. “Do you know of anything I've ever done that would keep me from fighting the enemies of my king?”#29.8 my king: David may be referring to either Saul or Achish.
9Achish said:
I believe that you're as good as an angel of God, but our army commanders have decided that you can't fight in this battle. 10You and your troops will have to go back to the town I gave you.#29.10 go…you: One ancient translation; these words are not in the Hebrew text. Get up and leave tomorrow morning as soon as it's light. I am pleased with you, so don't let any of this bother you.#29.10 I am…bother you: One ancient translation; these words are not in the Hebrew text.
11David and his men got up early in the morning and headed back towards Philistia, while the Philistines left for Jezreel.
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