1 Samuel 29:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And David said to Achish, "But what have I done? What have you found in your servant from the day I entered your service until now, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?"

NIV: "But what have I done?" asked David. "What have you found against your servant from the day I came to you until now? Why can’t I go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?"

NASB: However, David said to Achish, 'But what have I done? And what have you found in your servant since the day that I came before you, to this day, that I cannot go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?'

CSB: "But what have I done?" David replied to Achish. "From the first day I entered your service until today, what have you found against your servant to keep me from going to fight against the enemies of my lord the king?"

NLT: What have I done to deserve this treatment?' David demanded. 'What have you ever found in your servant, that I can’t go and fight the enemies of my lord the king?'

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

NKJV: So David said to Achish, “But what have I done? And to this day what have you found in your servant as long as I have been with you, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”

First Samuel 29:6–11 records the Philistine king, Achish, sadly sending David home. David and his men have been under Achish's protection from Saul for over a year, and Achish has brought them to fight the Israelites with the other Philistine armies. Those other commanders, however, don't trust David, so Achish dismisses them (1 Samuel 29:1–5). When David and his men return, their city is burned, and their families are gone. Despite their fatigue, they overtake the Amalekites and rescue their wives and children (1 Samuel 30). Meanwhile, Saul and three of his sons die in battle (1 Samuel 31).

David, his men, and their families have been hiding from King Saul under the protection of Achish, Philistine king of Gath (1 Samuel 27:1–2). Achish so thoroughly trusts that David has rejected the Israelites that he plans to take David and his men into battle with him against the Israelites. The Philistine commanders reject this idea and tell Achish to send David back home. David protests, but Achish has no choice but to order David to return to the land of the Philistines to sit out the battle against Israel.

The Philistines are renewing their war against the Israelites (1 Samuel 28:1). Achish, king of Gath, insists that David and his men fight with him in the battle against Israel. The Philistine commanders wisely reject the idea of allowing these Israelites among their ranks in battle, no matter how much Achish trusts David. David protests, and Achish expresses his regret, but the king sends David and his men back home. They will arrive to find their families captured and their city burnt (1 Samuel 30:1).

First Samuel introduces the key figures who led Israel after the era of the judges. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel were originally part of a single text, split in certain translations shortly before the birth of Christ. Some of the Bible’s most famous characters are depicted in this book. These including the prophet Samuel, Israel’s first king, Saul, her greatest king, David, and other famous names such as Goliath and Jonathan. By the end of this book, Saul has fallen; the book of 2 Samuel begins with David’s ascension to the throne.