1 Samuel 29:6

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.

1 Samuel 29:6 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 29:6

Then Achish called David
Being so near him, that he could call unto him himself, or he sent some person to him, to require his presence with him:

and said unto him, surely, [as] the Lord liveth;
or "Jehovah liveth"; an oath by the true God, of whom Achish might have some knowledge, as he also had of angels, from his conversation with David; though the Heathens had a notion of a supreme Being, and yet worshipped other gods, and whom they called Jove, from this name of Jehovah. Kimchi observes, that all confess a first cause; and therefore when he swore to David, he swore by him in whom David believed, perhaps out of complaisance to him, or that David might pay the greater regard to his oath:

thou hast been upright;
sincere, honest, faithful, and just in all his deportment; yet not so sincere as he thought him to be, witness the road he pretended he had taken against the south of Judah, ( 1 Samuel 27:1-12 ) ;

and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host [is] good in
sight;
his behaviour in the army, attending him as the keeper of his head, or captain of his bodyguard, was exceeding agreeable to him, and he could wish to have him continued:

for I have not found evil in thee, since the day of thy coming unto me
unto this day;
whatever he had done before to the Philistines, having greatly afflicted and distressed them in his wars with them, of which this seems to be an exception:

nevertheless, the lords favour thee not;
or thou art not acceptable to them, yea, very offensive and disagreeable.

1 Samuel 29:6 In-Context

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?

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. the lords...: Heb. thou art not good in the eyes of the lords
The King James Version is in the public domain.