1 NOW the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek: and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in Jezreel.
2 And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by thousands: but David and his men passed on in the rereward with Achish.
3 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?
4 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 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?
5 Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands?
6 Then Achish called David, and said unto him, Surely, as the Lord liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is good in my sight: for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day: nevertheless the lords favour thee not.
7 Wherefore now return, and go in peace, that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines.
8 And David said unto Achish, But what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant so long as I have been with thee unto this day, that I may not go fight against the enemies of my lord the king?
9 And Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou art good in my sight, as an angel of God: notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle.
10 Wherefore now rise up early in the morning with thy master’s servants that are come with thee: and as soon as ye be up early in the morning, and have light, depart.
11 So David and his men rose up early to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

1Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek: and the Israelites pitched by a fountaine which is in Iezreel.

2And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by thousands: but Dauid and his men passed on in the rere-ward with Achish.

3Then said the princes of the Philistines, What doe these Hebrewes here? And Achish said vnto the princes of the Philistines, Is not this Dauid the seruant of Saul the king of Israel, which hath bene with me these dayes, or these yeeres, and I haue found no fault in him since he fell vnto me, vnto this day?

4And 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?

5Is not this Dauid, of whom they sang one to another in daunces, saying, Saul slew his thousands, and Dauid his ten thousands?

6 Then Achish called Dauid, and said vnto him, Surely, as the Lord liueth, thou hast bene vpright, and thy going out and thy comming in with me in the hoste is good in my sight: for I haue not found euil in thee, since the day of thy comming vnto me vnto this day: neuertheles, the lords fauour thee not.

7Wherefore now returne and goe in peace, that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines.

8 And Dauid said vnto Achish, But what haue I done? and what hast thou found in thy seruant so long as I haue bene with thee vnto this day, that I may not goe fight against the enemies of my lord the king?

9And Achish answered, and said to Dauid, I know that thou art good in my sight, as an Angel of God: notwithstanding the Princes of the Philistines haue said, Hee shall not goe vp with vs to the battell.

10Wherfore now rise vp early in the morning, with thy masters seruants that are come with thee: and assoone as yee be vp early in the morning, and haue light, depart.

11So Dauid and his men rose vp early to depart in the morning, to returne into the land of the Philistines; and the Philistines went vp to Iezreel.

I == 1st Sam 4:1 ; 28:1

 

II == 1st Sam 28:1-2

 

 

III == 1st Sam 27:7 ; Dan 6:5

 

 

 

 

IV == 1st Sam 14:21 ; 1st Chr 12:19

 

 

 

 

 

 

V == 1st Sam 18:7 ; 21:11

 

VI == 1st Sam 29:2 ; 2nd Sam 3:25 ; 2nd Kings 19:27

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IX == 1st Sam 29:4 ; 2nd Sam 14:17 , 20 ; 19:27

 

 

 

 

 

 

XI == 2nd Sam 4:4

 

1 Now the Philistines had mustered all their forces in Aphek, and the Israelites were encamped at the spring of Harod near Jezreel.

2 As the Philistine lords were marching their groups of a hundred and a thousand, David and his men were marching in the rear guard with Achish.

3 The Philistine chiefs asked, "What are those Hebrews doing here?" And Achish answered them: "Why, that is David, the officer of Saul, king of Israel. He has been with me now for a year or two, and I have no fault to find with him from the day he came over to me until the present."

4 But the Philistine chiefs were angered at this and said to him: "Send that man back! Let him return to the place you picked out for him. He must not go down into battle with us, lest during the battle he become our enemy. For how else can he win back his master's favor, if not with the heads of these men of ours?

5 Is this not the David of whom they sing during their dances, 'Saul has slain his thousands, but David his ten thousands'?"

6 So Achish summoned David and said to him: "As the LORD lives, you are honest, and I should be pleased to have you active with me in the camp, for I have found nothing wrong with you from the day of your arrival to this day. But you are not welcome to the lords.

7 Withdraw peaceably, now, and do nothing that might displease the Philistine lords."

8 But David said to Achish: "What have I done? Or what have you against your servant from the first day I have been with you to this day, that I cannot go to fight against the enemies of my lord the king?"

9 "You know," Achish answered David, "that you are acceptable to me. But the Philistine chiefs have determined you are not to go up with us to battle.

10 So the first thing tomorrow, you and your lord's servants who came with you, go to the place I picked out for you. Do not decide to take umbrage at this; you are as acceptable to me as an angel of God. But make an early morning start, as soon as it grows light, and be on your way."

11 So David and his men left early in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. The Philistines, however, went on up to Jezreel.

v 1-5. This area was critical, because whoever owned the passes, had virtual control of all of southern Canaan. As Achish and his men approach the battle line, David finds himself in a very difficult situation. If he fought with the Philistines, he would be fighting against his own countrymen. If he went over to the Israelites, Saul would immediately kill him, and Achish would take revenge on all the families of David and his men at Ziklag. The other Philistines knew of David’s exploits against them, and would not risk him being a turncoat against them in the midst of battle.  The Lord was intervening in spite of David’s error, and they demanded that he be sent back.
The comment by the Philistines, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” can well be said by unbelievers about Christians in certain activities or places of entertainment.

v 6,7. Achish tried to soothe his remarks by telling David he had always been faithful to him, but the other Philistines demanded he be sent back.

v 8. David’s response reminds me of Shakespeare's “Me thinks thou dost protest too much”. He was no doubt relieved to get out of his dilemma, but it was politically expedient to fake his regret at not being allowed to go as Achish’s protector.

v 9-11. Achish reassured David of his confidence in him, but do to the other Philistines, he could not go up to battle. They would be moving out next morning, so David must arise earlier and get his men out of there. The Lord not only relieved David from fighting Israel, but was sending him back to an emergency at Ziklag, chapter 30. Truly, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord”, Ps. 37:23.