1 Samuel 29:8

King James Version (KJV)

And David said unto Achish, But what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant so long as I have been with thee unto this day, that I may not go fight against the enemies of my lord the king?

Adam Clarke
Bible Commentary

David said - what have I done? - Dr. Chandler and others may say what they will to make David act a consistent part in this business; but it is most evident, whatever his intentions might be as to the part he was to take in the approaching battle, he did intend to persuade Achish that he would fight against Israel; and affects to feel his reputation injured by not being permitted on this occasion to show his fidelity to the king of Gath.

It was in the order of God's gracious providence that the Philistine lords refused to let David go with them to this battle. Had he gone, he had his choice of two sins - First, If he had fought for the Philistines, he would have fought against God and his country. Secondly If he had in the battle gone over to the Israelites, he would have deceived and become a traitor to the hospitable Achish. God, therefore, so ordered it in his mercy that he was not permitted to go to a battle in which he was sure to be disgraced, whatever side he took, or with what success soever he might be crowned.

Was this helpful?

Albert Barnes
Notes on the Whole Bible

See 1 Samuel 29:10 note.

Was this helpful?

Matthew Henry
Concise Bible Commentary

David scarcely ever had a greater deliverance than when dismissed from such insnaring service. God's people should always behave themselves so, as, if possible, to get the good word of all they have dealings with: and it is due to those who have acted well, to speak well of them.

Was this helpful?

SDA Bible Commentary (limited)
Volume 1-7

8. What have I done? David was thrilled at the unexpected turn of events that extricated him from his dilemma. However, in order not to betray his feelings, he directed this evasive question at the king as if to convey the impression that he was being wronged by this rude dismissal (see PP 691).

In a moment of discouragement, and not knowing which way to turn, David had taken steps that placed him in a dilemma from which he was totally unable to escape without outside help. If he deserted Achish and turned against the Philistines in battle, he would prove the truth of the Philistine lords’ accusations. If he fought against Israel, he would fight against the Lord’s anointed and help foreigners to subjugate his own native country (see PP 690). How merciful was the Lord in using the ill will and animosity of the Philistines to open the door for his release from disgrace, whichever way the battle turned!

David realized how much better it would have been had he remained in Judah. Had it not been that in his heart he wanted above everything else to be true to God, the Lord could not have wrought this deliverance for him. David’s sins were not so much conscious and willful departures from the path of right, as weakness of faith and errors in judgment. He was called upon to make quick decisions, and did not always wait for a divine answer, trusting, perhaps, that Heaven would endorse his ideas. With all his heart he must have wished he had conducted himself differently. Now he was face to face with a gracious host who believed in him, had befriended him, but finally, because of political pressure, had to discharge him. As David listened to the king’s reply of confidence and love, his heart must have burned with the shame of his own dissembling, and also thrilled anew with thanksgiving that, in spite of his sin, God had mercifully broken the snare in which he had been caught!

Was this helpful?

Cross References

But what have

that I may not

Saul, 1000 BCE

BibleTools.info

Bible Verse Explanations and Resources

1 Samuel 29:8