1 Samuel 21:12

12 David took this to heart^[a] and became very afraid of King Achish of Gath,

1 Samuel 21:12 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 21:12

And David laid up these words in his heart
Pondered upon them, and thought them over in his mind, finding that he was known, and his character also, and considered with himself what might be the consequence of this:

and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath;
lest he should be set against him, and be prevailed upon by his servants to take away his life, or deliver him up into the hands of Saul.

1 Samuel 21:12 In-Context

10 David fled that day from Saul's presence and went to King Achish of Gath.

11 But Achish's servants said to him, "Isn't this David, the king of the land? Don't they sing about him during their dances: Saul has killed his thousands, but David his tens of thousands?"

12 David took this to heart and became very afraid of King Achish of Gath,

13 so he pretended to be insane in their presence. He acted like a madman around them,scribbling on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard.

14 "Look! You can see the man is crazy," Achish said to his servants. "Why did you bring him to me?

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit David placed these words in his heart