Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is insane. Why then have you brought him to me?
Parallel translations
- KJV Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me?
- BSB Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you can see that the man is insane! Why have you brought him to me?
- NKJV Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is insane. Why have you brought him to me?
- NASB Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is behaving like an insane person. Why do you bring him to me?
- NLT Finally, King Achish said to his men, “Must you bring me a madman?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Achish dismisses David as a madman, asking why such a person was brought to him.
Overview
Convinced by David's act, Achish rebukes his servants for bringing a seemingly insane man before him. The ruse succeeds, and David's life is spared by the king's contempt rather than his mercy. God's providence works even through David's frightened cunning to preserve His anointed.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- Eccl 7:7Surely extortion makes the wise man foolish; and a bribe destroys the understanding.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 21:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.