1 Samuel 27 · Verse 12

1 Samuel 27:12

And Achish believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever.
1 Samuel 27:12, King James Version

1 Samuel 27:12 in other translations

BSBSo Achish trusted David, thinking, “Since he has made himself an utter stench to his people Israel, he will be my servant forever.”
WEBAchish believed David, saying, “He has made his people Israel utterly to abhor him. Therefore he will be my servant forever.”
ASVAnd Achish believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever.
YLTAnd Achish believeth in David, saying, ‘He hath made himself utterly abhorred among his people, in Israel, and hath been to me for a servant age-during.'
DARBYAnd Achish trusted David, saying, He has made himself utterly odious among his people Israel; and he shall be my servant for ever.
BBEAnd Achish had belief in what David said, saying, He has made himself hated by all his people Israel, and so he will be my servant for ever.
WebsterAnd Achish believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever.

What does 1 Samuel 27:12 mean?

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 12 He hath made his people - utterly to abhor him - This deception, which Dr. Delaney says "did harm to nobody, and to the account of which he is at an utter loss what degree of guilt to charge," imposed upon Achish, had the most direct tendency to make him imagine himself secure, while in the utmost danger; and to have a faithful friend and able ally in David, while he was the veriest enemy he could possibly have. Shame on him who becomes the apologist of such conduct! As to Dr. Chandler, he should know that no lie is of the truth, and that all falsity is an abomination to the Lord.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Samuel 27:8-12

While David was in the land of the Philistines, he attacked some remains of the devoted nations. The people whom he cut off were long before doomed to destruction. It is often wisdom to shun public notice, but we must in no situation be idle. We must always try to do somewhat in the cause of God. This expedition David hid from Achish. But an equivocation which serves the purpose of a lie, is as like to it as a…

Read the full comment on 1 Samuel 27:8-12 →

1 Samuel 27:12 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיַּאֲמֵ֥ןvai.ya.'a.Menand he trustedH539
אָכִ֖ישׁ'a.KhishAchishH397
בְּדָוִ֣דbe.da.Vidin DavidH1732
לֵאמֹ֑רle.Mor<to> sayingH559
הַבְאֵ֤שׁhav.'Eshcertainly <to become odious>H887
הִבְאִישׁ֙hiv.'Ishhe has become odiousH887
בְּעַמּ֣וֹbe.'a.Moamong people hisH5971
בְיִשְׂרָאֵ֔לve.Yis.ra.'Elamong IsraelH3478
וְהָ֥יָהve.Ha.yahand he will becomeH1961
לִ֖יliof me
לְעֶ֥בֶדle.'E.ved<into> a servant ofH5650
עוֹלָֽם\׃\ \פo.LamperpetuityH5769

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Samuel 27:12

  • Genesis 34:30

    And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.

  • 1 Samuel 13:4

    And all Israel heard say that Saul had smitten a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel also was had in abomination with the Philistines. And the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
utterly to abhor. Heb. to stink.
13:4; Ge 34:30

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 1 Samuel 27:11

    And David saved neither man nor woman alive, to bring tidings to Gath, saying, Lest they should tell on us, saying, So did David, and so will be his manner all the while he dwelleth in the country of the Philistines.

  • 1 Samuel 27:12

    And Achish believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever.

Read all of 1 Samuel 27

1 Samuel 27:12 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y Achîs creía á David, diciendo así: El se hace abominable en su pueblo de Israel, y será siempre mi siervo.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Akish crut David, et disait: Il s’est mis en mauvaise odeur auprès de son peuple, auprès d’Israël, et il sera mon serviteur à toujours.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Achis glaubte David und sprach: Er hat sich bei seinem Volke, bei Israel, ganz stinkend gemacht, und er wird mir zum Knechte sein ewiglich.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Credidit ergo Achis David, dicens: Multa mala operatus est contra populum suum Israël: erit igitur mihi servus sempiternus.