1 Samuel 29:3
New International Version
The commanders of the Philistines asked, “What about these Hebrews?” Achish replied, “Is this not David, who was an officer of Saul king of Israel? He has already been with me for over a year, and from the day he left Saul until now, I have found no fault in him.”

New Living Translation
But the Philistine commanders demanded, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” And Achish told them, “This is David, the servant of King Saul of Israel. He’s been with me for years, and I’ve never found a single fault in him from the day he arrived until today.”

English Standard Version
the commanders of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul, king of Israel, who has been with me now for days and years, and since he deserted to me I have found no fault in him to this day.”

Berean Standard Bible
Then the commanders of the Philistines asked, “What about these Hebrews?” Achish replied, “Is this not David, the servant of King Saul of Israel? He has been with me all these days, even years, and from the day he defected until today I have found no fault in him.”

King James Bible
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?

New King James Version
Then the princes of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or these years? And to this day I have found no fault in him since he defected to me.

New American Standard Bible
Then the commanders of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or rather these years, and I have found nothing at all suspicious in him since the day he deserted to me to this day?”

NASB 1995
Then the commanders of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or rather these years, and I have found no fault in him from the day he deserted to me to this day?”

NASB 1977
Then the commanders of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or rather these years, and I have found no fault in him from the day he deserted to me to this day?”

Legacy Standard Bible
Then the commanders of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or rather these years, and I have found no fault in him from the day he deserted to me to this day?”

Amplified Bible
the Philistine commanders [having noticed David] said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” Achish said to the Philistine commanders, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul king of Israel, who has been with me these days and years, and I have found no fault in him from the day he deserted to me to this day?”

Christian Standard Bible
Then the Philistine commanders asked, “What are these Hebrews doing here? ” Achish answered the Philistine commanders, “That is David, servant of King Saul of Israel. He has been with me a considerable period of time. From the day he defected until today, I’ve found no fault with him.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Then the Philistine commanders asked, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” Achish answered the Philistine commanders, “That is David, servant of King Saul of Israel. He has been with me a considerable period of time. From the day he defected until today, I’ve found no fault with him.”

American Standard Version
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, who hath been with me these days, or rather these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell away unto me unto this day?

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And the Princes of the Philistines said to Akish: “Why are these passing through?” And Akish said to the Princes of the Philistines: “This is David the Servant of Shaul, King of Israel, who has been with us now season to season and some months, and I have not found anything in him from the day that he came to me and until today.”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And the lords of the Philistines said, Who are these that pass by? And Anchus said to the captains of the Philistines, Is not this David the servant of Saul king of Israel? He has been with us some time, even this second year, and I have not found any fault in him from the day that he attached himself to me even until this day.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the princes of the Philistines said to Achis: What mean these Hebrews? And Achis said to the princes of the Philistines: Do you not know David, who was the servant of Saul the king of Israel, and hath been with me many days, or years, and I have found no fault in him, since the day that he fled over to me until this day?

English Revised Version
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 away unto me unto this day?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The Philistine officers asked, "What are these Hebrews doing here?" Achish asked the Philistine officers, "Isn't this David, the servant of King Saul of Israel, who has been with me now for a year or two? I've found nothing wrong with him from the day he defected until now."

Good News Translation
The Philistine commanders saw them and asked, "What are these Hebrews doing here?" Achish answered, "This is David, an official of King Saul of Israel. He has been with me for quite some time now. He has done nothing I can find fault with since the day he came over to me."

International Standard Version
The Philistine leaders said, "What are these Hebrews doing here?" Achish asked the Philistine leaders, "Isn't this David, the servant of King Saul of Israel, who has been with me these days, or rather these years? I've found no fault in him from the day he deserted until now."

JPS Tanakh 1917
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, who hath been with me these days or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell away unto me unto this day?'

Literal Standard Version
And the heads of the Philistines say, “What [are] these Hebrews?” And Achish says to the heads of the Philistines, “Is this not David, servant of Saul king of Israel, who has been with me these days or these years, and I have not found anything in him [wrong] from the day of his falling away until this day?”

Majority Standard Bible
Then the commanders of the Philistines asked, “What about these Hebrews?” Achish replied, “Is this not David, the servant of King Saul of Israel? He has been with me all these days, even years, and from the day he defected until today I have found no fault in him.”

New American Bible
The Philistine commanders asked, “What are those Hebrews doing here?” Achish answered them: “Why, that is David, the officer of Saul, king of Israel. He has been with me for a year or two, and from the day he came over to me until now I have never found fault in him.”

NET Bible
The leaders of the Philistines asked, "What about these Hebrews?" Achish said to the leaders of the Philistines, "Isn't this David, the servant of King Saul of Israel, who has been with me for quite some time? I have found no fault with him from the day of his defection until the present time!"

New Revised Standard Version
the commanders of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of King Saul of Israel, who has been with me now for days and years? Since he deserted to me I have found no fault in him to this day.”

New Heart English Bible
Then the leaders of the Philistines said, "What about these Hebrews?" And Achish said to the leaders of the Philistines, "Isn't this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or rather these years, and I have found no fault in him since he defected to me until this day?"

Webster's Bible Translation
Then said the princes of the Philistines, What do these Hebrews here? And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who hath been with me these days, or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell to me to this day?

World English Bible
Then the princes of the Philistines said, “What about these Hebrews?” Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, “Isn’t this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or rather these years? I have found no fault in him since he fell away until today.”

Young's Literal Translation
And the heads of the Philistines say, 'What are these Hebrews?' and Achish saith unto the heads of the Philistines, 'Is not this David servant of Saul king of Israel, who hath been with me these days or these years, and I have not found in him anything wrong from the day of his falling away till this day.'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Philistines Reject David
2As the Philistine leaders marched out their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men marched behind them with Achish. 3Then the commanders of the Philistines asked, “What about these Hebrews?” Achish replied, “Is this not David, the servant of King Saul of Israel? He has been with me all these days, even years, and from the day he defected until today I have found no fault in him.” 4But 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?…

Cross References
1 Samuel 27:1
David, however, said to himself, "One of these days now I will be swept away by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will stop searching for me all over Israel, and I will slip out of his hand."

1 Samuel 27:7
And the time that David lived in Philistine territory amounted to a year and four months.

1 Samuel 29:6
So Achish summoned David and told him, "As surely as the LORD lives, you have been upright in my sight, and it seems right that you should march in and out with me in the army, because I have found no fault in you from the day you came to me until this day. But you have no favor in the sight of the leaders.

1 Chronicles 12:19
Some 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 12:20
When David went to Ziklag, these men of Manasseh defected to him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, chiefs of thousands in Manasseh.

Daniel 6:5
Finally these men said, "We will never find any charge against this Daniel, unless we find something against him concerning the law of his God."


Treasury of Scripture

Then said the princes of the Philistines, What do these Hebrews here? And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, which has been with me these days, or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell to me to this day?

these days

1 Samuel 27:7
And the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was a full year and four months.

found

1 Samuel 25:28
I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the LORD, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days.

Daniel 6:5
Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.

John 19:6
When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him.

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1 Samuel 29
1. David marching with the Philistines
3. is disallowed by their princes
6. Achish dismisses him, with commendations of his fidelity














(3) These days, or these years.--An indefinite expression of time. The versions have translated it in various ways. The English Version here is literal. The Syrlac singularly renders, "this time, and time, and months." The LXX. is not very easy to understand here, but it apparently took the expression as signifying "two years." Maurer would translate, "who has been with me alway, for days, or rather for years."



Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
The commanders
שָׂרֵ֣י (śā·rê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 8269: Chieftain, chief, ruler, official, captain, prince

of the Philistines
פְלִשְׁתִּ֔ים (p̄ə·liš·tîm)
Noun - proper - masculine plural
Strong's 6430: Philistines -- inhabitants of Philistia

asked,
וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ (way·yō·mə·rū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“What [about]
מָ֖ה (māh)
Interrogative
Strong's 4100: What?, what!, indefinitely what

these
הָאֵ֑לֶּה (hā·’êl·leh)
Article | Pronoun - common plural
Strong's 428: These, those

Hebrews?”
הָעִבְרִ֣ים (hā·‘iḇ·rîm)
Article | Noun - proper - masculine plural
Strong's 5680: Hebrews -- perhaps descendant of Eber, also another name for an Israelite

Achish
אָכִ֜ישׁ (’ā·ḵîš)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 397: Achish -- king of Gath

replied,
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“Is this
זֶ֨ה (zeh)
Pronoun - masculine singular
Strong's 2088: This, that

not
הֲלֽוֹא־ (hă·lō·w-)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

David,
דָוִ֜ד (ḏā·wiḏ)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 1732: David -- perhaps 'beloved one', a son of Jesse

the servant
עֶ֣בֶד ׀ (‘e·ḇeḏ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 5650: Slave, servant

of King
מֶֽלֶךְ־ (me·leḵ-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4428: A king

Saul
שָׁא֣וּל (šā·’ūl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 7586: Saul -- first king of Israel, also an Edomite and two Israelites

of Israel?
יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל (yiś·rā·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc

He
אֲשֶׁ֨ר (’ă·šer)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

has been
הָיָ֤ה (hā·yāh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

with me
אִתִּי֙ (’it·tî)
Preposition | first person common singular
Strong's 854: Nearness, near, with, by, at, among

all these
זֶ֤ה (zeh)
Pronoun - masculine singular
Strong's 2088: This, that

days,
יָמִים֙ (yā·mîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 3117: A day

even
אוֹ־ (’ōw-)
Conjunction
Strong's 176: Desire, if

years,
שָׁנִ֔ים (šā·nîm)
Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 8141: A year

and from
וְלֹֽא־ (wə·lō-)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

the day
מִיּ֥וֹם (mî·yō·wm)
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3117: A day

he defected
נָפְל֖וֹ (nā·p̄ə·lōw)
Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5307: To fall, lie

until today
עַד־ (‘aḏ-)
Preposition
Strong's 5704: As far as, even to, up to, until, while

I have found
מָצָ֤אתִי (mā·ṣā·ṯî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 4672: To come forth to, appear, exist, to attain, find, acquire, to occur, meet, be present

no fault
מְא֔וּמָה (mə·’ū·māh)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3972: A speck, point, nothing

in him.”
בוֹ֙ (ḇōw)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's 0: 0


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OT History: 1 Samuel 29:3 Then said the princes of the Philistines (1Sa iSam 1 Sam i sa)
1 Samuel 29:2
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