Achish Sends David Back to Ziklag
1The Philistines gathered their whole army together at Aphek. Israel’s army camped by the spring of water at Jezreel. 2The Philistine rulers marched out in groups of hundreds and thousands. David and his men were marching with Achish behind the others. 3The commanders of the Philistines asked, “Why are these Hebrews here?”
Achish replied, “That’s David, isn’t it? Wasn’t he an officer of Saul, the king of Israel? He has already been with me for more than a year. I haven’t found any fault in him. That’s been true from the day he left Saul until now.”
4But the Philistine commanders were angry with Achish. They said, “Send David back. Let him return to the town you gave him. He must not go with us into battle. If he does, he’ll turn against us during the fighting. In fact, he might even cut off the heads of our own men. What better way could he choose to win back his master’s favor? 5Isn’t David the one the Israelites sang about when they danced? They sang,
“ ‘Saul has killed thousands of men.
David has killed tens of thousands.’ ”
6So Achish called David over to him. He said, “You have been faithful to me. And that’s just as sure as the Lord is alive. I would be pleased to have you serve with me in the army. I haven’t found any fault in you. That’s been true from the day you came to me until today. But the Philistine rulers aren’t pleased to have you come along. 7So now go back home in peace. Don’t do anything that wouldn’t please the Philistine rulers.”
8“But what have I done?” asked David. “What have you found against me from the day I came to you until now? Why can’t I go and fight against your enemies? After all, you are my king and master.”
9Achish answered, “You have been as pleasing to me as an angel of God. But the Philistine commanders have said, ‘We don’t want David to go up with us into battle.’ 10So get up early in the morning. Take with you the men who used to serve Saul. Leave as soon as the sun begins to come up.”
11So David and his men got up early in the morning. They went back to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.
非利士人不信任大卫
1非利士人把全部军队聚集在亚弗，以色列军则在耶斯列水泉旁扎营。 2非利士首领统率以百人和千人为单位的士兵向前推进，大卫和他的部下跟着亚吉走在队伍的后面。 3非利士人的官长说：“这些希伯来人在这里做什么？”亚吉告诉他们说：“这是以色列王扫罗的臣仆大卫，他追随我有一段日子了，自从他投奔我以来，我没发现他有什么过错。” 4他们却生气地说：“请送这个人回到你安置他的地方，他不可和我们一起去打仗，免得他在战场上倒戈。他提着我们的脑袋去重投故主岂不是最好的方法吗？ 5以前妇女们跳舞歌唱‘扫罗杀死千千，大卫杀死万万’，歌颂的不就是这个大卫吗？”
6亚吉便叫大卫过来，对他说：“我凭永活的耶和华起誓，你一向忠心耿耿，自从你投奔我以来，我没发现你有什么过错，我很愿意你与我一同作战，只是众首领不赞成。 7你安心地回去吧，免得他们不悦。” 8大卫说：“我究竟做错了什么？自从仆人投奔你以来，你发现仆人有什么过错？为什么不让我为我主我王杀敌呢？” 9亚吉说：“你在我眼中就像上帝的天使一样好，只是非利士众官长反对你与我们一起出战。 10明天一早，你就和从扫罗手下投奔你的人启程回去吧。”
11于是，大卫和部下清早起来返回非利士，非利士军则前往耶斯列。
