1 Samuel 29

1 And the Philistines gather all their camps to Aphek, and Israel is encamping at a fountain which [is] in Jezreel,

Now the Philistines collected all their armies to Aphek: and the Israelites encamped by a fountain which [is] in Jezreel.

2 and 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.

And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by thousands: but David and his men passed on in the rear with Achish.

3 And the heads of the Philistines say, “What [are] these Hebrews?” And Achish says to the heads of the Philistines, “Is this not David, servant of Saul king of Israel, who has been with me these days or these years, and I have not found anything in him [wrong] from the day of his falling away until this day?”

Then said the princes of the Philistines, What [do] these Hebrews [here]? And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, [Is] not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who hath been with me these days, or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell [to me] to this day?

4 And the heads of the Philistines are angry against him, and the heads of the Philistines say to him, “Send back the man, and he turns back to his place to where you have appointed him, and does not go down with us into battle, and is not for an adversary to us in battle; and with what does this one reconcile himself to his lord—is it not with the heads of those men?

And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said to him, Make this man 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 should be an adversary to us: for with what would he reconcile himself to his master? [would it] not [be] with the heads of these men?

5 Is this not David, of whom they answer in choruses, saying, Saul has struck among his thousands, and David among his myriads?”

[Is] not this David, of whom they sung one to another in dances, saying, Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

6 And Achish calls to David and says to him, “YHWH lives, surely you [are] upright, and good in my eyes is your going out, and your coming in with me in the camp, for I have not found evil in you from the day of your coming to me until this day; but you are not good in the eyes of the princes;

Then Achish called David, and said to him, Surely, [as] the LORD liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host [is] good in my sight: for I have not found evil in thee from the day of thy coming to me to this day: nevertheless the lords favor thee not.

7 and now, return, and go in peace, and you do no evil in the eyes of the princes of the Philistines.”

Therefore now return, and go in peace, that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines.

8 And David says to Achish, “But what have I done? And what have you found in your servant from the day that I have been before you until this day—that I do not go in and have fought against the enemies of my lord the king?”

And David said to Achish, But what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant, so long as I have been with thee to this day, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king.

9 And Achish answers and says to David, “I have known that you [are] good in my eyes as a messenger of God; only, the princes of the Philistines have said, He does not go up with us into battle;

And Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou [art] good in my sight, as an angel of God: notwithstanding, the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle.

10 and now, rise early in the morning—and the servants of your lord who have come with you. When you have risen early in the morning, and have light, then go.”

Wherefore now rise early in the morning with thy master's servants that are come with thee: and as soon as ye shall have risen early in the morning, and have light, depart.

11 And David rises early, he and his men, to go in the morning, to return to the land of the Philistines, and the Philistines have gone up to Jezreel.

So David and his men rose early to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.