Then ^athe Philistines gathered together all their camps to ^bAphek, while the Israelites were camping by the spring which is in ^cJezreel. 2 And the lords of the Philistines were proceeding on by hundreds and by thousands, and ^aDavid and his men were proceeding on in the rear with Achish. 3 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, ^awho has been with me these days, or rather these years, and ^bI have found no fault in him from the day he ¹deserted to me to this day?” 4 But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him, and the commanders of the Philistines said to him, “Make the man return, that he may return ^ato his place where you have assigned him, and do not let him go down to battle with us, ^bor in the battle he may become an adversary to us. For with what could this man make himself acceptable to his lord? Would it not be with the heads of ¹these men? 5 Is this not David, ^aof whom they sing in the dances, saying,‘Saul has struck his thousands,And David his ten thousands’?”

6 Then Achish called David and said to him, “As Yahweh lives, you have been upright, and ^ayour going out and your coming in with me in the camp are pleasing in my sight; ^bfor I have not found evil in you from the day of your coming to me to this day. Nevertheless, you are not pleasing in the sight of the lords. 7 So now, return and go in peace, that you may not do evil in the sight of the lords of the Philistines.” 8 And David said to Achish, “^aBut what have I done? And what have you found in your servant from the day when I came before you to this day, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” 9 But Achish answered and said to David, “I know that you are pleasing in my sight, ^alike an angel of God; nevertheless ^bthe commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go up with us to the battle.’ 10 So now, arise early in the morning ^awith the servants of your lord who have come with you, and as soon as you have arisen early in the morning and have light, go.” 11 So David arose early, he and his men, to go in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

Now ^athe Philistines gathered all their forces at ^bAphek, while Israel camped by the spring in ^cJezreel. 2 As the Philistine lords (governors) were proceeding on marching by hundreds and by thousands, and ^aDavid and his men were proceeding on in the rear with Achish the king of Gath, 3 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, ^awho has been with me these days and years, and ^bI have found no fault in him from the day he deserted to me to this day?” 4 But the Philistine commanders were angry with Achish and they said to him, “Make this man return, so that he may go back ^ato his place where you have assigned him, and do not let him go down to battle with us, ^bor in the battle he may turn and become our adversary. For how could David reconcile himself to his lord Saul? Would it not be with the heads of these Philistine men? 5 Is this not David, ^aof whom they used to sing in dances,‘Saul killed his thousands,And David his ten thousands’?”

6 Then Achish called David and said to him, “As the LORD lives, you have been upright (righteous) , and your ^1abehavior in the army is pleasing in my sight. For from the day you came to me to this day ^bI have found no evil in you. Nevertheless, ²the Philistine lords do not approve of you. 7 So return now and go in peace to your place, so that you do not displease the Philistine lords.” 8 David said to Achish, “^aBut what have I done? What have you found in your servant from the day when I first came before you to this day, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” 9 Achish answered David, “I know that you are blameless in my sight, like ^aan angel of God; nevertheless ^bthe commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go up with us to the battle.’ 10 So now, get up early in the morning ^awith your master’s servants who have come with you, and as soon as you are up in the morning and have light, leave.” 11 So David and his men got up early to leave in the morning, to return to the land of the Philistines. But the Philistines went up to Jezreel to fight against Israel.