1 Samuel 29 · Verse 4

1 Samuel 29:4

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?
1 Samuel 29:4, King James Version

1 Samuel 29:4 in other translations

BSBBut the commanders of the Philistines were angry with Achish and told him, “Send that man back and let him return to the place you assigned him. He must not go down with us into battle only to become our adversary during the war. What better way for him to regain the favor of his master than with the heads of our men?
WEBBut the princes of the Philistines were angry with him; and the princes of the Philistines said to him, “Make the man return, that he may go back to his place where you have appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become an adversary to us. For with what should this fellow reconcile himself to his lord? Should it not be with the heads of these men?
ASVBut the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, Make the man return, that he may go back to his place where thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become an adversary to us: for wherewith should this fellow reconcile himself unto his lord? should it not be with the heads of these men?
YLTAnd 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?'
DARBYBut the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said to him, Make the man return, that he may go again to his place where thou hast appointed him, that he go not down with us to the battle, that in the battle he be not an adversary to us; for wherewith should this fellow reconcile himself to his master? should it not be with the heads of these men?
BBEBut the rulers of the Philistines were angry with him, and said to him, Make the man go back to the place you have given him; do not let him go down with us to the fight, or he may be turned against us and be false to us: for how will this man make peace with his lord? will it not be with the heads of these men?
WebsterAnd 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?

What does 1 Samuel 29:4 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
4. 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 step--a departure from the straight course of duty--will betray everyone who commits it.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 4 The 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, 1Sam 27:8, 1Sam 27:9. Had they heard of this, they would have seen much more cause for suspicion.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Samuel 29:1-5

David waited with a secret hope that the Lord would help him out of his difficulty. But he seems to have been influenced too much by the fear of man, in consenting to attend Achish. It is hard to come near to the brink of sin, and not to fall in. God inclined the princes of the Philistines to oppose David's being employed in the battle. Thus their dislike befriended him, when no friend could do him such a kindness.

Read the full comment on 1 Samuel 29:1-5 →

1 Samuel 29:4 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.

וַיִּקְצְפ֨וּvai.yik.tze.Fuand they were angryH7107
עָלָ֜יו'a.Lavtowards himH5921
שָׂרֵ֣יsa.Rei[the] commanders ofH8269
פְלִשְׁתִּ֗יםfe.lish.Tim[the] PhilistinesH6430
וַיֹּ֣אמְרוּvai.Yo.me.ruand they saidH559
לוֹ֩loto <the> him
שָׂרֵ֨יsa.Rei[the] commanders ofH8269
פְלִשְׁתִּ֜יםfe.lish.Tim[the] PhilistinesH6430
הָשֵׁ֣בha.Shevsend backH7725
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הָאִ֗ישׁha.'Ishthe manH376
וְיָשֹׁב֙ve.ya.Shoso may he returnH7725
אֶל\־'el-toH413
מְקוֹמוֹ֙me.ko.Moplace hisH4725
אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.SherwhereH834
הִפְקַדְתּ֣וֹhif.kad.Toyou assigned himH6485
שָׁ֔םShamthereH8033
וְלֹֽא\־ve.lo'-and notH3808
יֵרֵ֤דye.Redhe will go downH3381
עִמָּ֙נוּ֙'i.Ma.nuwith usH5973
בַּמִּלְחָמָ֔הba.mil.cha.Mahin the battleH4421
וְלֹא\־ve.lo'-and notH3808
יִֽהְיֶה\־yih.yeh-he will becomeH1961
לָּ֥נוּLa.nuof us
לְשָׂטָ֖ןle.sa.Tan<into> an adversaryH7854
בַּמִּלְחָמָ֑הba.mil.cha.Mahin the battleH4421
וּבַמֶּ֗הu.va.Mehand <in> how?H4100
יִתְרַצֶּ֥הyit.ra.Tzehwill he make himself acceptableH7521
זֶה֙zehthis oneH2088
אֶל\־'el-toH413
אֲדֹנָ֔יו'a.do.Navmaster<s> hisH113
הֲל֕וֹאha.Lo'¿ notH3808
בְּרָאשֵׁ֖יbe.ra.Sheiby [the] heads ofH7218
הָאֲנָשִׁ֥יםha.'a.na.Shimthe menH582
הָהֵֽם\׃ha.Hem<the> thoseH1992

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

Cross references for 1 Samuel 29:4

  • 1 Samuel 14:21

    Moreover 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 Samuel 27:6

    Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day.

  • 1 Chronicles 12:19

    And 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 16:8

    And 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.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Make this fellow.The princes reasoned wisely, according to the common practice of mankind; and it was well for David that they were such good politicians: it was ordered by a gracious Providence that they refused to let David go with them to this battle, in which he must have been either an enemy to his country, or false to his friends and to his trust. Had he fought for the Philistines, he would have fought against God and his country; and had he in the battle gone over to the Israelites, he would have deceived and become a traitor to the hospitable Achish. God therefore delivered him from such disgrace; and by the same kind Providence he was sent back to rescue his wives, and the wives and children of his people, from captivity.
14:21; 1Ch 12:19; Lu 16:8

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

Context

  • 1 Samuel 29:3

    Then 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?

  • 1 Samuel 29:4

    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?

  • 1 Samuel 29:5

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

Read all of 1 Samuel 29

1 Samuel 29:4 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Entonces los príncipes de los Filisteos se enojaron contra él, y dijéronle: Envía á este hombre, que se vuelva al lugar que le señalaste, y no venga con nosotros á la batalla, no sea que en la batalla se nos vuelva enemigo: porque ¿con qué cosa volvería mejor á la gracia de su señor que con las cabezas de estos hombres?
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et les chefs des Philistins se mirent en colère contre lui, et les chefs des Philistins lui dirent: Renvoie cet homme, et qu’il retourne en son lieu, là où tu l’as établi, et qu’il ne descende pas avec nous à la bataille, afin qu’il ne soit pas notre adversaire dans la bataille; car comment celui-là se rendrait-il agréable à son seigneur, sinon avec les têtes de ces hommes-ci?
German
Elberfelder 1871
Aber die Fürsten der Philister wurden zornig über ihn, und die Fürsten der Philister sprachen zu ihm: Schicke den Mann zurück, daß er an seinen Ort zurückkehre, wohin du ihn bestellt hast, und daß er nicht mit uns in den Streit hinabziehe und uns nicht zum Widersacher werde im Streite; denn womit könnte der sich angenehm machen bei seinem Herrn? nicht mit den Köpfen dieser Männer?
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Irati sunt autem adversus eum principes Philisthiim, et dixerunt ei: Revertatur vir iste, et sedeat in loco suo in quo constituisti eum, et non descendat nobiscum in prælium, ne fiat nobis adversarius, cum præliari cœperimus: quomodo enim aliter poterit placare dominum suum, nisi in capitibus nostris?