1 Samuel 29:5

5 [Is] this not David about whom they sing in the dances, saying, 'Saul has killed his thousands, but David his ten thousands'?"

1 Samuel 29:5 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 29:5

[Is] not this David, of whom they sang one to another in
dances
Long ago:

saying, Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands;
so that he is an old sworn enemy of ours; and the more valiant and victorious he has been, the less is he to be trusted, see ( 1 Samuel 18:7 ) ( 21:11 ) .

1 Samuel 29:5 In-Context

3 Then the commanders of [the] Philistines said, "What [are] these Hebrews [doing here]?" And Achish said to the commanders of [the] Philistines, "Is this not David, the servant of Saul, the king of Israel, who has been with me {for days and years}? I have not found anything [threatening] in him from the day of his desertion until this day!"

4 But 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?

5 [Is] this not David about whom they sing in the dances, saying, 'Saul has killed his thousands, but David his ten thousands'?"

6 So Achish called David and said to him, "{As Yahweh lives}, certainly you were honest, and {I am pleased to have you marching with me} in the campaign. For I have not found any wrong in you from the day you came to me until this day, but in the eyes of the rulers, you [are] not good.

7 So then, return and go in peace, so that you do not do {something that displeases} the rulers of [the] Philistines."