Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV)But the Philistine commanders were furious at him and told him, “Send that man back to whatever place you’ve given him! There’s no way he’s joining us in the battle! What if he turned against us during the fight? What better way could he have to win back his master’s favour than by killing ourmen?
Key: khaki:verbs, red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
BrLXXΚαὶ ἐλυπήθησαν ἐπʼ αὐτῷ οἱ στρατηγοὶ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων, καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ, ἀπόστρεψον τὸν ἄνδρα, καὶ ἀποστραφήτω εἰς τὸν τόπον αὐτοῦ, οὗ κατέστησας αὐτὸν ἐκεῖ, καὶ μὴ ἐρχέσθω μεθʼ ἡμῶν εἰς τὸν πόλεμον, καὶ μὴ γινέσθω ἐπίβουλος τῆς παρεμβολῆς· καὶ ἐν τίνι διαλλαγήσεται οὗτος τῷ κυρίῳ αὐτοῦ; οὐχὶ ἐν ταῖς κεφαλαῖς τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἐκείνων; (Kai elupaʸthaʸsan epʼ autōi hoi strataʸgoi tōn allofulōn, kai legousin autōi, apostrepson ton andra, kai apostrafaʸtō eis ton topon autou, hou katestaʸsas auton ekei, kai maʸ erⱪesthō methʼ haʸmōn eis ton polemon, kai maʸ ginesthō epiboulos taʸs parembolaʸs; kai en tini diallagaʸsetai houtos tōi kuriōi autou; ouⱪi en tais kefalais tōn andrōn ekeinōn; )
BrTrAnd the captains of the Philistines were displeased at him, and they say to him, Send the man away, and let him return to his place, where thou didst set him; and let him not come with us to the war, and let him not be a [fn]traitor in the camp: and wherewith will he be reconciled to his master? will it not be with the heads of those men?
ULTBut the lords of the Philistines were angry with him. And the lords of the Philistines said to him, “Make the man return, that he may return to his place that you assigned him there. For he shall not go down with us into the battle, so he does not become an adversary for us in the battle. For by what shall this one make himself acceptable to his master? Is it not by the heads of these men?
USTBut the Philistine rulers became angry with Achish. They said to him, “You must send David and his men back to the city that you gave him! We do not want him to go with us into the battle. If he goes with us, we will have an enemy within our own army! He would make Saul happy with him again by killing our own soldiers!
BSB § 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?
OEBBut the commanders of the Philistines were enraged against him, and said, ‘Send back the man so that he may return to the place where you have stationed him. Don’t let him go down with us to battle – he might become an adversary to us. How could this fellow better ingratiate himself with his master than with the heads of our men?
WEBBEBut the princes of the Philistines were angry with him; and the princes of the Philistines said to him, “Make the man return, that he may go back to his place where you have appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become an adversary to us. For with what should this fellow reconcile himself to his lord? Should it not be with the heads of these men?
NETBut the leaders of the Philistines became angry with him and said to him, “Send the man back! Let him return to the place that you assigned him! Don’t let him go down with us into the battle, for he might become our adversary in the battle. What better way to please his lord than with the heads of these men?
LSVAnd the heads of the Philistines are angry against him, and the heads of the Philistines say to him, “Send back the man, and he turns back to his place to where you have appointed him, and does not go down with us into battle, and is not for an adversary to us in battle; and with what does this one reconcile himself to his lord—is it not with the heads of those men?
FBVBut the Philistine commanders got angry with Achish, and told him, “Send him back to the place he came from, to the town you assigned to him. He can't go with us into battle. What if he turns on us during the fighting? What a great way for him to please his master—by handing over the heads of our men!
T4TBut the Philistia army commanders were angry with Achish for allowing David’s army to be going with them. They said to him, “Send David and his men back to the city that you gave to him! We do not want him to go with us into the battle. If he goes with us, we will have an enemy in our own midst! He would please King Saul by killing our own soldiers [RHQ]!
LEBBut the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him and they said to him, “Send the man back so that he might return to his place where you have assigned him! But he will not go down with us into the battle, so that he does not become an adversary to us in the battle. By what could this fellow make himself favorable to his lord? Is it not with the heads of these men?
BBEBut the rulers of the Philistines were angry with him, and said to him, Make the man go back to the place you have given him; do not let him go down with us to the fight, or he may be turned against us and be false to us: for how will this man make peace with his lord? will it not be with the heads of these men?
JPSBut 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?
ASVBut 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?
DRABut the princes of the Philistines were angry with him, and they said to him: Let this man return, and abide in his place, which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest he be an adversary to us, when we shall begin to fight: for how can he otherwise appease his master, but with our heads?
YLTAnd 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?'
DrbyBut the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said to him, Make the man return, that he may go again to his place where thou hast appointed him, that he go not down with us to the battle, that in the battle he be not an adversary to us; for wherewith should this [fellow] reconcile himself to his master? should it not be with the heads of these men?
RVBut 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?
WbstrAnd the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said to him, Make this man 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 should be an adversary to us: for with what would he reconcile himself to his master? would it not be with the heads of these men?
KJB-1769And 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? (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/you 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? )
KJB-1611[fn]And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him, and the princes of the Philistines said vnto him, Make this fellow returne, that he may goe againe to his place which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go downe with vs to battel, lest in the battell he be an aduersary to vs: for wherewith should hee reconcile himselfe vnto his master? should it not be with the heads of these men? (Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation and footnotes)
BshpsAnd the princes of the Philistines were wroth with hym, and the princes of the Philistines sayde vnto hym: Make this felowe returne, that he may go againe to his place which thou hast appoynted hym, and let hym not go downe with vs to battayle, lest in the battayle he be an aduersarie to vs: For wherewith shoulde he obtayne the fauour of his maister? shoulde it not be with the heades of these men? (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/you 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 obtain the favour of his master? should it not be with the heads of these men?)
GnvaBut the princes of the Philistims were wroth with him, and the princes of the Philistims said vnto him, Sende this fellow backe, that he may goe againe to his place which thou hast appointed him, and let him not goe downe with vs to battell, least that in the battell he be an aduersarie to vs: for wherewith should he obteine the fauour of his master? shoulde it not be with the heades of these men? (But the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him, and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, Send this fellow back, that he may go again to his place which thou/you hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, least that in the battle he be an adversary to us: for wherewith should he obtain the favour of his master? should it not be with the heads of these men? )
CvdlNeuertheles the prynces of ye Philistynes were wroth at him, & sayde vnto him: Let the man turne backe agayne, & abyde in his place, which thou hast appoynted him, that he go not downe with vs to ye batayll, and become oure aduersary in ye felde. For wherin coulde he better do his lorde a pleasure, the in the heades of these men? (Nevertheless the princes of ye/you_all Philistines were wroth at him, and said unto him: Let the man turn back again, and abide in his place, which thou/you hast appointed him, that he go not down with us to ye/you_all batayll, and become our adversary in ye/you_all felde. For wherein could he better do his lord a pleasure, the in the heads of these men?)
WyclSotheli the princes of Filisteis weren wrooth ayens hym, and seiden to hym, The man turne ayen, and sitte in his place, in which thou hast ordened hym, and come he not down with vs in to batel, lest he be maad aduersarie to vs, whanne we han bigunne to fiyte; for hou mai he plese his lord in other maner, no but in oure heedis? (Truly the princes of Philistines were wrooth against him, and said to him, The man turn again, and sit in his place, in which thou/you hast ordained him, and come he not down with us in to battle, lest he be made adversary to us, when we have bigunne to fiyte; for how may he please his lord in other manner, no but in our heads?)
LuthAber die Fürsten der Philister wurden zornig auf ihn und sprachen zu ihm: Laß den Mann umkehren und an seinem Ort bleiben, da du ihn hin bestellet hast, daß er nicht mit uns hinabziehe zum Streit und unser Widersacher werde im Streit. Denn woran könnte er seinem Herrn baß Gefallen tun denn an den Köpfen dieser Männer? (But the prince(s)/ruler(s) the/of_the Philistines became angry on/in/to him/it and said to him: Let the man umkehren and at/to his place remain/stay, there you(sg) him/it there bestellet have, that he not with us/to_us/ourselves hinabziehe for_the battle and our Widersacher become in_the battle. Because worankönnte he his Lord baßGefallen do/put because at/to the headsn this men?)
ClVgIrati sunt autem adversus eum principes Philisthiim, et dixerunt ei: Revertatur vir iste, et sedeat in loco suo in quo constituisti eum, et non descendat nobiscum in prælium, ne fiat nobis adversarius, cum præliari cœperimus: quomodo enim aliter poterit placare dominum suum, nisi in capitibus nostris? (Irati are however against him leaders Philistines, and they_said to_him: Revertatur man iste, and sedeat in/into/on instead his_own in/into/on quo constituisti him, and not/no descendatnobiscum in/into/on battle, not fiat us adversarius, when/with præliaricœperimus: how because aliterpoteritplacaredominum his_own, except in/into/on capitibus ours? )
to/towards place_of,his which/who assigned,him there
It might seem that this expression contains extra information that would not be natural to express in your language. If so, you can shorten it. Alternate translation: [to his place that you assigned him]
By saying go down, the Philistine lords are marking travel for elevation, as was customary in this culture. Express this in a way that would be natural in your language. See how you translated the similar expression in [1:3](../01/03.md). Alternate translation: [he shall not go]
The Philistine lords are using the pronoun us to refer to themselves to and Achish, whom they are addressing, so use the inclusive form of that word if your language marks that distinction.
and,in/on/at/with,what reconcile_himself this to/towards lord_of,his am=not in/on/at/with,heads_of the,men the=those
The Philistine lords are using the question form for emphasis. If a speaker of your language would not use the question form for that purpose, you could translate this as a statement or as an exclamation. Alternate translation: [For this one would make himself acceptable to his master by the heads of these men!]
The Philistine lords are using one part of these men, their heads, to mean all of them in the act of potentially being killed by David and his men. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [by killing these men]
The Philistine lords could also be suggesting that David and his men would cut off the heads of Philistine soldiers and bring them to Saul. That would be a symbolic action proving loyalty to Saul and providing him with war trophies, just as David took Goliath’s head as a war trophy in [17:54](../17/54.md). If it would be helpful to your readers, you could explain the significance of this action. Alternate translation: [by killing these men and presenting their heads to him as war trophies]
The Bible makes it clear that David was specially chosen and raised up by God to be Israel’s next king (1 Samuel 16:1-13), but Scripture also makes it clear that David’s rise to power came about through several shrewd maneuvers on his part. Among these shrewd maneuvers were David’s clandestine attacks on hostile peoples to the south of Judah and his distribution of Amalekite plunder among the towns of southern Judah. These actions by David strengthened southern Judah against their enemies and no doubt cemented Judah’s loyalty to him as a champion for their well-being. It should be noted that the Bible affirms King Saul’s effectiveness at attacking Israel’s enemies (1 Samuel 14:47-52), especially the Philistines, but various character flaws and bad choices by Saul led to God’s selection of David as the one who would replace Saul as king (1 Samuel 13:1-23; 15:1-35). Because of this, Saul grew jealous of David and sought to kill him, forcing David to seek refuge among various towns throughout Judah and even in Philistia (1 Samuel 16-27). After seeking asylum in Gath for a time, David asked King Achish if he could move his family outside of the city, and Achish gave him the border town of Ziklag. Apparently Achish still tried to keep tabs on David’s activities, however, periodically asking him where he had recently raided. David would answer that he had been raiding the Negev of Judah, the Negev of the Jerahmeelites (see 1 Chronicles 2:42), or the Negev of the Kenites (Judges 1:16; see “Saul Attacks the Amalekites” map), which were inhabited by people loyal to Israel. In reality, however, David had been raiding the Amalekites (longtime enemies of Israel; see Genesis 14:7; Exodus 17; Numbers 13:29; 14:45; Deuteronomy 25:17-19), the Geshurites, and the Girzites. These peoples lived to the south of Israel’s territory and along the Way to Shur leading to Egypt. Soon after this King Achish mustered his men at Aphek to head to battle against the Israelites in the Jezreel Valley further north. As they set off for battle and the other Philistine rulers realized David and his men were accompanying them, the rulers protested and insisted that David would turn on them in battle. So Achish sent David home and continued on to Jezreel. When David and his men arrived at Ziklag, they found that Amalekites had burned the town and carried off their wives and children. David and his men set out to attack the Amalekites and recover their families. When they reached the Besor Brook, two hundred of the men were too exhausted to go on and stayed with the other equipment while the remaining four hundred men continued toward Amalek. Along the way, David’s men found an abandoned Egyptian slave of the Amalekites who had participated in the attack on Ziklag and on other locations in southern Judah. The man led David’s men to the Amalekite camp, and then they attacked the Amalekites and retrieved all the captives and plunder that had been taken. Only four hundred Amalekites were able to escape, fleeing on camels. David’s men then rejoined their fellow warriors at the Besor Brook and returned to Ziklag. David sent some of the plunder to the leaders of Ziklag as well as to other towns where David had roamed during the time when he was fleeing from Saul. Many of these towns were located in territory formerly inhabited by Amalekites (Numbers 13:29; 14:25, 43-45; Judges 1:16; see also Judges 12:15) and were likely among those attacked by the Amalekites and other hostile peoples to the south. After this, the Amalekites are only mentioned again in Scripture to note that David killed an Amalekite who himself had killed Saul (to fulfill what Saul requested of him), to note that Amalekite plunder was among the treasures that David dedicated to the Temple of the Lord (2 Samuel 8:9-12), and to recount how in the days of Hezekiah some Simeonites went to Mount Seir and destroyed the remnant of Amalekites that had survived (1 Chronicles 4:42-43).
