Limitless Word
who would ask him, “What have you raided today?” And David would reply, “The Negev of Judah,” or “The Negev of Jerahmeel,” or “The Negev of the Kenites.”
1 Samuel 27:10 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Achish said, “Against whom have you made a raid today?” David said, “Against the South of Judah, against the South of the Jerahmeelites, and against the South of the Kenites.”
  • KJV And Achish said, Whither have ye made a road to day? And David said, Against the south of Judah, and against the south of the Jerahmeelites, and against the south of the Kenites.
  • NKJV Then Achish would say, “Where have you made a raid today?” And David would say, “Against the southern area of Judah, or against the southern area of the Jerahmeelites, or against the southern area of the Kenites.”
  • NASB Now Achish said, “Where did you carry out an attack today?” And David said, “Against the Negev of Judah, against the Negev of the Jerahmeelites, and against the Negev of the Kenites.”
  • NLT “Where did you make your raid today?” Achish would ask. And David would reply, “Against the south of Judah, the Jerahmeelites, and the Kenites.”

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

When Achish asks where he raided, David lies, claiming attacks on the southern regions of Judah and its allies. He deceives Achish into thinking he has turned against his own people.

Overview

David misleads Achish by naming Judah's own territories as his targets, hiding that he actually struck Israel's enemies. The deception secures Achish's trust but rests on falsehood. The episode honestly records David's compromised conduct, reminding readers that even God's chosen servants are flawed and in need of grace.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 19

  • Judg 1:16Now the descendants of Moses’ father-in-law, the Kenite, went up with the men of Judah from the City of Palms to the Wilderness of Judah in the Negev near Arad. They went to live among the people.
  • 1 Chr 2:9The sons who were born to Hezron: Jerahmeel, Ram, and Caleb.
  • 1 Chr 2:25The sons of Jerahmeel the firstborn of Hezron: Ram his firstborn, Bunah, Oren, Ozem, and Ahijah.
  • Gal 2:11–13When Cephas came to Antioch, however, I opposed him to his face, because he stood to be condemned.
  • Judg 4:11Now Heber the Kenite had moved away from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent by the great tree of Zaanannim, which was near Kedesh.
  • 1 Sam 30:29to those in Racal and in the cities of the Jerahmeelites and Kenites;
  • 2 Sam 17:20When Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house, they asked, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” “They have crossed over the brook,” she replied. The men searched but did not find them, so they returned to Jerusalem.
  • Prov 29:25The fear of man is a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is set securely on high.
  • Eph 4:25Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one another.
  • Gen 27:24Again he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” And he replied, “I am.”
  • Gen 27:19–20Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may bless me.”
  • Ps 119:29Remove me from the path of deceit and graciously grant me Your law.
  • Num 24:21Next he saw the Kenites and lifted up an oracle, saying: “Your dwelling place is secure, and your nest is set in a cliff.
  • Ps 119:163I hate and abhor falsehood, but Your law I love.
  • Judg 5:24Most blessed among women is Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, most blessed of tent-dwelling women.
  • Josh 2:4–6But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. So she said, “Yes, the men did come to me, but I did not know where they had come from.
  • 1 Sam 15:6And he warned the Kenites, “Since you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt, go on and get away from the Amalekites. Otherwise I will sweep you away with them.” So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.
  • 1 Sam 23:27Then a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Come quickly, for the Philistines have raided the land!”
  • 1 Sam 21:2“The king has given me a mission,” David replied. “He told me no one is to know about the mission or charge. And I have directed my young men to meet me at a certain place.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 1 Samuel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 1 Samuel 27:10YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 1 SamuelMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 27:10 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.