1 Samuel 21:11

Complete Jewish Bible

The same day, David took flight from Sha'ul and went to Akhish king of Gat.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
But Achish’s servants said to him, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Don’t they sing about him during their dances:

Hebrew Names Version
The servants of Akhish said to him, "Isn't this David the king of the land? Didn't they sing one to another about him in dances, saying, 'Sha'ul has slain his thousands, David his ten thousands?'"

King James Version
And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

Lexham English Bible
The servants of Achish said to him, "Is not this David the king of the land? Is it not for this one that they sang in the dances, saying, ‘Saul killed his thousands, but David his ten thousands?'"

English Standard Version
And the servants of Achish said to him, "Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances, ‘Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands'?"

New Century Version
But the servants of Achish said to him, "This is David, the king of the Israelites. He's the man they dance and sing about, saying: ‘Saul has killed thousands of his enemies, but David has killed tens of thousands.'"

New English Translation
The servants of Achish said to him, "Isn't this David, the king of the land? Isn't he the one that they sing about when they dance, saying, ‘Saul struck down his thousands, But David his tens of thousands'?"

Amplified Bible
The servants of Achish said to him, "Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing in praise of this one as they danced, saying, 'Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands'?"

New American Standard Bible
But the servants of Achish said to him, "Is this not David, the king of the land? Did they not sing of this one as they danced, saying, 'Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands'?"

Geneva Bible (1587)
And the seruants of Achish said vnto him, Is not this Dauid the King of the land? did they not sing vnto him in daunces, saying, Saul hath slayne his thousand, and Dauid his ten thousande?

Legacy Standard Bible
But the servants of Achish said to him, "Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of this one as they danced, saying,‘Saul has struck his thousands,And David his ten thousands'?"

Contemporary English Version
The officers of King Achish were also there, and they asked Achish, "Isn't David a king back in his own country? Don't the Israelites dance and sing, ‘Saul has killed a thousand enemies; David has killed ten thousand enemies'?"

Darby Translation
And the servants of Achish said to him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul has smitten his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

Easy-to-Read Version
Achish's officers said, "Isn't this David, the king of the land of Israel? He is the one the Israelites sing about. They dance and sing this song about him: "Saul has killed thousands of enemies, but David has killed tens of thousands."

George Lamsa Translation
And the servants of Achish said to him, Is not this David, the king of the land of Israel? Did not the daughters of Israel sing to one another of him in dances, saying, Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands?

Good News Translation
The king's officials said to Achish, "Isn't this David, the king of his country? This is the man about whom the women sang, as they danced, ‘Saul has killed thousands, but David has killed tens of thousands.'"

Literal Translation
And the servants of Achish said to him, Is this not David the king of the land? Is it not of this one they sang in dances, saying, Saul killed his thousands, and David his myriads?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But Achis seruauntes sayde vnto him: This is Dauid the kynge of the londe, of whom they sunge in the daunse, and sayde: Saul hath smytten his thousande, but Dauid his ten thousande.

American Standard Version
And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands?

Bible in Basic English
And the servants of Achish said to him, Is not this David, the king of the land? did they not make songs about him in their dances, saying, Saul has put to death thousands, and David tens of thousands?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the seruauntes of Achis sayde vnto him: Is not this Dauid the king of the land? Dyd they not sing vnto him in daunses, saying: Saul hath slayne his thousand, and Dauid his ten thousand?

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.

King James Version (1611)
And the seruants of Achish sayd vnto him, Is not this Dauid the king of the land? Did they not sing one to another of him in daunces, saying, Saul hath slaine his thousands, and Dauid his ten thousands?

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the servants of Anchus said to him, Is not this David the king of the land? Did not the dancing women begin the son to him, saying, Saul has smitten his thousand, and David his ten thousands?

English Revised Version
And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

Berean Standard Bible
But the servants of Achish said to him, "Is this not David, the king of the land? Did they not sing about him in their dances, saying: 'Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands'?"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the seruauntis of Achis seiden to hym, whanne thei hadden seyn Dauid, Whether this is not Dauid, kyng of the lond? Whether thei sungen not to hym bi queeris, and seiden, Saul smoot a thousynde, and Dauid smoot ten thousynde?

Young's Literal Translation
and the servants of Achish say unto him, `Is not this David king of the land? is it not of this one they sing in dances, saying, `Saul smote among his thousands, and David among his myriads?'

Update Bible Version
And the slaves of Achish said to him, Isn't this David the king of the land? didn't they sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands?

Webster's Bible Translation
And the servants of Achish said to him, [Is] not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

World English Bible
The servants of Achish said to him, "Isn't this David the king of the land? Didn't they sing one to another about him in dances, saying, 'Saul has slain his thousands, David his ten thousands?'"

New King James Version
And the servants of Achish said to him, "Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of him to one another in dances, saying: 'Saul has slain his thousands,And David his ten thousands'?" 1 Samuel 18:7 ">[fn]

New Living Translation
But the officers of Achish were unhappy about his being there. "Isn't this David, the king of the land?" they asked. "Isn't he the one the people honor with dances, singing, ‘Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands'?"

New Life Bible
The servants of Achish said to him, "Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing to each other about him as they danced, saying, ‘Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands'?"

New Revised Standard
The servants of Achish said to him, "Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances, ‘Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands'?"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not, this, David, king of the land? Was it not, of this man, that they kept responding in the dances, saying, Saul, hath smitten his, thousands, but, David, his, tens of thousands?

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the servants of Achis, when they saw David, said to him: Is not this David, the king of the land? Did they not sing to him in their dances, saying: Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

Revised Standard Version
And the servants of A'chish said to him, "Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances, 'Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands'?"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
But the servants of Achish said to him, "Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of this one as they danced, saying, 'Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands'?"

Contextual Overview

¹⁰ The cohen said, "The sword of Golyat the P'lishti you killed in the Elah Valley, is over there behind the ritual vest, wrapped in a cloth. If you want it, take it; it's the only one here." David said, "There's nothing like it; give it to me." ¹¹ The same day, David took flight from Sha'ul and went to Akhish king of Gat. ¹² The servants of Akhish said to him, "Isn't this David, king of the land? Weren't they dancing and singing to each other, ‘Sha'ul has killed his thousands, but David his tens of thousands'?" ¹³ These remarks were not lost on David, and he became very much afraid of Akhish king of Gat. ¹⁴ So, as they were watching, he changed his behavior and acted like a madman when they had hold of him, scratching marks on the doors of the city gate and drooling down his beard. ¹⁵ Akhish said to his servants, "Here, you see that the man is meshugga; why bring him to me? Am I short of meshugga‘im? Is that why you've brought this one to go crazy on me? Must I have this one in my house?"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the servants: Psalms 56:1, *title

the king: 1 Samuel 16:1, 1 Samuel 18:7, 1 Samuel 18:8, 1 Samuel 29:5

Reciprocal: 1 Chronicles 14:8 - And when John 9:8 - Is not

Cross-References

Genesis 17:18
Avraham said to God, "If only Yishma‘el could live in your presence!"

Genesis 21:1
Adonai remembered Sarah as he had said, and Adonai did for Sarah what he had promised.

Genesis 21:2
Sarah conceived and bore Avraham a son in his old age, at the very time God had said to him.

2 Samuel 18:33
David took a census of the people who were with him and appointed over them commanders of thousands and of hundreds. Then David dispatched the people, a third of them under the command of Yo'av, a third under Avishai the son of Tz'ruyah, Yo'av's brother, and a third under Ittai the Gitti; and the king said to the people, "I will also go out with you, myself." But the people replied, "Don't go out; because if we flee, they won't care about us. Even if half of us die, they won't care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us; so it is better now that you stay in the city and be ready if we need help." The king answered them, "I will do whatever you think best." So the king stood at the side of the gate, while all the people went out by hundreds and by thousands. The king gave orders to Yo'av, Avishai and Ittai, "For my sake, deal gently with young Avshalom." All the people were listening when the king gave all the commanders this order concerning Avshalom. So the people went out into the field against Isra'el; the battle took place in the forest of Efrayim. The people of Isra'el were defeated there by David's servants; there was a terrible slaughter that day of 20,000 men. For the battle there was spread all over the countryside; the forest devoured more people that day than did the sword. Avshalom happened to meet some of David's servants. Avshalom was riding his mule, and as the mule walked under the thick branches of a big terebinth tree, his head got caught in the terebinth, so that he was left hanging between earth and sky, as the mule went on from under him. Someone saw it and told Yo'av, "I saw Avshalom hanging in a terebinth." Yo'av asked the man who told him, "Here now, you saw it; so why didn't you strike him to the ground then and there? I would have had to give you ten pieces of silver and a belt besides." The man replied to Yo'av, "Even if I were to get a thousand pieces of silver, I still wouldn't raise my hand against the son of the king! After all, while we were listening, the king ordered you, Avishai and Ittai, ‘Be careful that no one touches young Avshalom.' Or, if I had pretended that I didn't know, the king would have known otherwise anyway; and you wouldn't have interceded for me either." Yo'av said, "I can't waste time arguing with you!" He took three darts in his hand and rammed them through Avshalom's heart while he was still alive, hanging from the terebinth. Then Yo'av's ten young armor-bearers surrounded Avshalom, struck him and killed him. Yo'av sounded the shofar, and the people returned from pursuing Isra'el, because Yo'av held back the troops. They took Avshalom and threw him into a big pit in the forest and piled a big heap of stones over him. All Isra'el fled, each one to his tent. In his own lifetime Avshalom had taken and raised for himself the pillar which stands in the King's Valley; because he said, "I don't have a son to preserve the memory of my name." So he named the pillar after himself, and it's called Avshalom's Monument to this day. Then Achima‘atz the son of Tzadok said, "Let me run now and bring news to the king that Adonai has judged in his favor by releasing him from his enemies." Yo'av said to him, "You are not to be the one to bring the news today; you can convey news another day; but today you will not bring news, because the king's son is dead." Then Yo'av said to the Ethiopian, "Go, tell the king what you saw." The Ethiopian bowed to Yo'av, then ran off. But Achima‘atz the son of Tzadok said again to Yo'av, "Come what may, please let me also run after the Ethiopian." Yo'av answered, "Why do you want to run, my son? You won't receive any reward for bringing the news." "I don't care — whatever happens, I want to run." So he said to him, "Run." Then Achima‘atz ran by the road through the desert flats and outran the Ethiopian. David was sitting between the two gates. A watchman went up to the roof of the gate and out onto the wall, raised his eyes, looked, and saw there a man running by himself. The watchman cried out and told the king. The king said, "If he's alone, he has good news to tell." As he ran along and came close, the watchman saw another man running and called to the gatekeeper, "There's another man running by himself." The king said, "He too must have good news." The watchman said, "The first one runs like Achima‘atz the son of Tzadok." The king said, "He's a good man, he comes with good news." Achima‘atz called to the king, "Shalom," prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground and said, "Blessed be Adonai your God, who has handed over the men who rebelled against my lord the king." The king asked, "Is everything all right with young Avshalom?" Achima‘atz answered, "When Yo'av sent the king's servant and me your servant, I saw a big commotion; but I didn't know what it was." The king said, "Go, and stand over there." So he went and stood there. Then up came the Ethiopian, and the Ethiopian said, "There's good news for my lord the king, for Adonai has judged in your favor and rid you of all those who rebelled against you." The king asked the Ethiopian, "Is everything all right with young Avshalom?" The Ethiopian answered, "May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rebel against you in order to harm you be as that young man is."

Matthew 10:37
Whoever loves his father or mother more than he loves me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than he loves me is not worthy of me.

Hebrews 12:11
Now, all discipline , while it is happening, does indeed seem painful, not enjoyable; but for those who have been trained by it, it later produces its peaceful fruit, which is righteousness.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the servants of Achish said unto him,.... Who knew who David was, and perceiving that he was respected by Achish:

[is] not this David the king of the land? of the land of the Philistines; so some render the words, "the king of this land" q; which belongs unto him for his conquest of Goliath; for this was what was proposed by him, that whoever was the conqueror should possess the kingdom; and seeing it belongs to him, O Achish, why dost thou admit him to court? thou wilt be driven from the throne, and we shall be his servants, and not thine r: but rather they mean the king of the land of Israel, having heard that he was anointed king by Samuel, and was to succeed Saul; or rather, they called him so because he led out the armies of Israel as their general, and being victorious was more respected than even Saul was; for they had heard what the women sung in their songs as follows:

did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands? which are the burden of their song, 1 Samuel 18:7; and from whence the servants of Achish concluded, that he was in greater authority or honour, and in greater esteem than Saul their king was.

q מלך הארץ "rex hujus regionis", Vatablus. r Vid. Jarchium & Jesaiam in loc.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The king of the land - The Philistines gave him the title which their own lords bore.