Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Should this fellow come into my house?”
Parallel translations
- KJV 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?
- BSB Am I in need of madmen, that you have brought this man to rave in my presence? Must this man come into my house?”
- NKJV Have I need of madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?”
- NASB Do I lack insane people, that you have brought this one to behave like an insane person in my presence? Shall this one come into my house?”
- NLT We already have enough of them around here! Why should I let someone like this be my guest?”
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 refuses to keep David, scornfully asking whether he lacks madmen already.
Overview
With derision, Achish dismisses David as an unwanted madman who has no place in his house, allowing David to escape. What looked like a deadly trap becomes an open door of deliverance. The episode closes with David rescued, a testimony that the LORD guards His servant even in the midst of his fear and weakness.
Cross-references & the web
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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 21:15 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
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