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1 Samuel 27:11

in 1 Samuel 27

David did not leave a man or woman alive to be brought to Gath, for he said, “Otherwise they will report us, saying, ‘This is what David did.’” And this was David’s custom the whole time he lived in Philistine territory.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And David saved neither man nor woman alive, to bring them to Gath, saying, Lest they should tell of us, saying, So did David, and so hath been his manner all the while he hath dwelt in the country of the Philistines.

KJV

And David saved neither man nor woman alive, to bring tidings to Gath, saying, Lest they should tell on us, saying, So did David, and so will be his manner all the while he dwelleth in the country of the Philistines.

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This verse in 1 Samuel 27

Commentary

8 notes on this verse
Tidings - The word is not in the original. The sense rather is “to bring them to Gath,” as captives and slaves. The prisoners taken would naturally have been part of the spoil, but David dared not to bring them to Gath lest his deceit should be discovered. Obviously these tribes were allies of the Philistines.

This site's exposition

Whither have ye made a road to day

on 1 Samuel 27:10-12

Achish asks Whither have ye made a road to day, and David names Judah, the Jerahmeelites and the Kenites, all of them Achish's own allies rather than the tribes actually struck. Wesley calls the answer ambiguous and beneath David's usual candor, and reads his later prayer at Psalm 119:29, remove from me the way of lying, as David's own reflection on this deceit; the narrative itself passes no verdict and simply records that Achish believed him. David spares no one who might carry the true report back to Gath, and Achish concludes that David has made his own people utterly abhor him and so will serve the Philistines forever, a trust the coming chapters will show was entirely misplaced.

This site's exposition

Otherwise they will report us

Albert Barnes reads the verse as bringing people to Gath as captives, who would have been part of the spoil. David left none alive to keep the report from reaching Achish. Barnes infers that the people David raided were allies of the Philistines, and the truth would have cost him his place in Philistine territory.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church2 voices

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Samuel · Written before 735.

proposed

David did not bring to life a man and a woman, etc. Christ forbids those converted to Him from living in sins. Just as first showing this to the teacher of His Church, He commands the multitudes of impure hearts, saying: Rise, Peter, kill and …

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Samuel · Written before 735.

proposed

Saying, Lest perhaps they speak, etc. Therefore, he did not bring to life, lest they speak against him. For the listener bears witness against his teacher, who, less perfectly educated either in believing or in acting, shows himself less extinguished by improper action or thought.

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

4 And it was told Saul that David was fled to Gath: and he sought no more again for him. 5 And David said unto Achish, If I have now found grace in thine eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may dwell there: for why should thy servant dwell in the royal city with thee?

quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

), not because he was ashamed of what he had done as a bad thing, but because he was afraid, if the Philistines knew it, they would be apprehensive of danger to themselves or their allies by harbouring him among them and would expel him from their coasts.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

And David saved neither man nor woman alive to bring tidings to Gath,....

The words behind it

23 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וְאִ֨ישׁand a man

    veishH376 →1663 times

  • וְאִשָּׁ֜הand a woman

    veishahH802 →781 times

  • לֹֽא־not

    lo'-H3808 →5168 times

  • יְחַיֶּ֣הhe let live

    yechaiyehH2421 →282 times

  • דָוִ֗דDavid

    davidH1732 →999 times

  • לְהָבִ֥יאto bring

    lehavi'H935 →2568 times

  • גַת֙Gath

    gatH1661 →32 times

  • לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying

    lemorH559 →5305 times

  • פֶּן־lest

    pen-H6435 →133 times

  • יַגִּ֥דוּthey should tell

    yagiduH5046 →370 times

  • עָלֵ֖ינוּon us

    ʾaleinuH5921 →5755 times

  • לֵאמֹ֑ר<to> saying

    lemorH559 →5305 times

  • כֹּֽה־thus

    koh-H3541 →577 times

  • עָשָׂ֤הhe has done

    ʾasahH6213 →2628 times

  • דָוִד֙David

    davidH1732 →999 times

  • וְכֹ֣הand [is] thus

    vekhohH3541 →577 times

  • מִשְׁפָּט֔וֹpractice his

    mishpatoH4941 →422 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • הַ֨יָּמִ֔יםthe days

    haiyamimH3117 →2304 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • יָשַׁ֖בhe has dwelt

    yashavH3427 →1079 times

  • בִּשְׂדֵ֥הin [the] region of

    bisdehH7704 →334 times

  • פְלִשְׁתִּֽים׃[the] Philistines

    felishtimH6430 →287 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

5 in all, six open

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Proverbs 29:25

    The fear of man is a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is set securely on high.

    it leads to

    • Psalms 118:8

      It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.

    • Luke 12:4

      I tell you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.

    • Proverbs 18:10

      The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

    • Psalms 91:14

      “Because he loves Me, I will deliver him; because he knows My name, I will protect him.

    • Proverbs 16:20

      Whoever heeds instruction will find success, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.

  • Through

    Proverbs 12:19

    Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.

    it leads to

    • Proverbs 19:9

      A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who pours out lies will perish.

    • Psalms 52:4–5

      You love every word that devours, O deceitful tongue.

    • Job 20:5

      the triumph of the wicked has been brief and the joy of the godless momentary?

About 1 Samuel

David Slays Goliath, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
David Slays Goliath, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
1 Samuel: the study guide →Read 1 Samuel 27 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Samuel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 1 Samuel 27 →