1 Samuel 29:4
BSB · Public Domain (CC0)“But 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?”
A short, plain-language explanation of 1 Samuel 29:4 goes here — the kind of answer a reader (or an AI assistant) can quote in one breath. Original meaning coming soon.
“But 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?”
Berean Standard Bible · Public Domain (CC0)“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?”
King James Version · Public Domain“But 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?”
American Standard Version · Public Domain“And 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?'”
Young's Literal Translation · Public DomainOther passages that echo 1 Samuel 29:4 — 6 related verses from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Exodus 1:10Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase even more; and if a war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.”
- 1 Samuel 14:21And the Hebrews who had previously gone up into the surrounding camps of the Philistines now went over to the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan.
- 1 Samuel 27:6That day Achish gave him Ziklag, and to this day it still belongs to the kings of Judah.
- 1 Chronicles 12:19Some from Manasseh defected to David when he went with the Philistines to fight against Saul. (They did not help the Philistines because the Philistine rulers consulted and sent David away, saying, “It will cost us our heads if he defects to his master Saul.”)
- 1 Chronicles 12:20When David went to Ziklag, these men of Manasseh defected to him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, chiefs of thousands in Manasseh.
- Luke 16:8The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the sons of light.
Cross-reference data: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain) via OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).