# 1 Samuel 21.10-15 **Book:** [1 Samuel](/codex/1-samuel/) · NASB95 ## Immediate context (±2 verses) **ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/)) > 8. And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under thy hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste. 9. And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the vale of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it; for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it me. > > **10. And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11. And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands? 12. And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13. And he changed his behavior before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard. 14. Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad; wherefore then have ye brought him to me? 15. Do I lack madmen, that ye have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?** (1 Samuel 21:8-15, ASV) **WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/)) > 8. David said to Ahimelech, “Isn’t there here under your hand spear or sword? For I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.” 9. The priest said, “Behold, the sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah, is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you would like to take that, take it; for there is no other except that here.” David said, “There is none like that. Give it to me.” > > **10. David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11. The servants of Achish said to him, “Isn’t this David the king of the land? Didn’t they sing to one another about him in dances, saying, ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?’” 12. David laid up these words in his heart, and was very afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13. He changed his behavior before them, and pretended to be insane in their hands, and scribbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down on his beard. 14. Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is insane. Why then have you brought him to me? 15. Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Should this fellow come into my house?”** (1 Samuel 21:8-15, WEB) **KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/)) > 8. And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under thine hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste. 9. And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it: for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it me. > > **10. And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11. And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands? 12. And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13. And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard. scrabbled: or, made marks 14. Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me? is mad: or, playeth the mad man 15. Have I need of mad men, that ye have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?** (1 Samuel 21:8-15, KJV) **YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/)) > 8. And David saith to Ahimelech, 'And is there not here under thy hand spear or sword? for neither my sword nor my vessels have I taken in my hand, for the matter of the king was urgent.' 9. And the priest saith, 'The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou didst smite in the valley of Elah, lo, it is wrapped in a garment behind the ephod, if it thou dost take to thyself, take; for there is none other save it in this [place].' And David saith, 'There is none like it, give it to me.' > > **10. And David riseth and fleeth on that day from the face of Saul, and cometh in unto Achish king of Gath; 11. and the servants of Achish say unto him, 'Is not this David king of the land? is it not of this one they sing in dances, saying, 'Saul smote among his thousands, and David among his myriads?' 12. And David layeth these words in his heart, and is exceedingly afraid of the face of Achish king of Gath, 13. and changeth his behaviour before their eyes, and feigneth himself mad in their hand, and scribbleth on the doors of the gate, and letteth down his spittle unto his beard. 14. And Achish saith unto his servants, 'Lo, ye see a man acting as a madman; why do ye bring him in unto me? 15. A lack of madmen [have] I, that ye have brought in this one to act as a madman by me! doth this one come in unto my house?'** (1 Samuel 21:8-15, YLT) ## Setting - **Speaker:** _TBD_ - **Audience:** _TBD_ - **Location:** _TBD_ - **Time period:** _TBD_ ## Theological reading _Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added._ ## Key words _Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word._ - [H3824 - lebab](/codex/h3824-lebab/), *lebab*, Strong's H3824 - [H5650 - ebed](/codex/h5650-ebed/), *ebed*, Strong's H5650 - [H1697 - dabar](/codex/h1697-dabar/), *dabar*, Strong's H1697 ## Notes _Your annotations._ ## Why these four translations ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance. The four: - **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition. - **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English. - **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base. - **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff. See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.