King James Version

1 Samuel 21:11

And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

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Hebrew

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In the Hebrew text this line is 1 Samuel 21:12.

וַיֹּ֨אמְר֜וּvayomrvand sayאָמַרconjunction, verb, qal, sequential imperfect, 3rd person, masculine, plural — “and say”, the next action in the storyH559to say (used with great latitude)answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, [phrase] (at the, give) command(-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, [idiom] desire, determine, [idiom] expressly, [idiom] indeed, [idiom] intend, name, [id…עַבְדֵ֤יavdeservantעֶבֶדnoun, common, masculine, plural, construct — “servant”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH5650a servant[idiom] bondage, bondman, (bond-) servant, (man-) servant.אָכִישׁ֙akhishAchishאֲכִישׁnoun, proper name — “Achish”H397Akish, a Philistine kingAchish.אֵלָ֔יוelayvamongאֵלpreposition, suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, masculine, singular — “among”H413near, with or among; often in general, toabout, according to, after, against, among, as for, at, because(-fore, -side), both...and, by, concerning, for, from, [idiom] hath, in(-to), near, (out) of, over, through, to(-ward), under, unto, upon, whether, with(-in).הֲלוֹאhalono , -r,לֹאparticle, interrogative, particle, negative — “no , -r,”H3808not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles[idiom] before, [phrase] or else, ere, [phrase] except, ig(-norant), much, less, nay, neither, never, no((-ne), -r, (-thing)), ([idiom] as though...,(can-), for) not (out of), of nought, otherwise, out of, [phrase] surely, [phrase] as trul…זֶ֥הzehthe one...the otherזֶהpronoun, demonstrative, masculine, singular — “the one...the other”H2088the masculine demonstrative pronoun, this or thathe, [idiom] hence, [idiom] here, it(-self), [idiom] now, [idiom] of him, the one...the other, [idiom] than the other, ([idiom] out of) the (self) same, such (a one) that, these, this (hath, man), on this side...on that side, [idiom] thus,…דָוִ֖דdavidDavidדָּוִדnoun, proper name — “David”H1732David, the youngest son of JesseDavid.מֶ֣לֶךְmelekhkingמֶלֶךְnoun, common, masculine, singular, construct — “king”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH4428a kingking, royal.הָאָ֑רֶץhaaretsthe earthאֶרֶץdefinite article, noun, common, both genders, singular, absolute — “the earth”, the ordinary formH776the earth (at large, or partitively a land)[idiom] common, country, earth, field, ground, land, [idiom] natins, way, [phrase] wilderness, world.הֲל֣וֹאhalono , -r,לֹאparticle, interrogative, particle, negative — “no , -r,”H3808not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles[idiom] before, [phrase] or else, ere, [phrase] except, ig(-norant), much, less, nay, neither, never, no((-ne), -r, (-thing)), ([idiom] as though...,(can-), for) not (out of), of nought, otherwise, out of, [phrase] surely, [phrase] as trul…לָזֶ֗הlazehto the one...the otherזֶהpreposition, pronoun, demonstrative, masculine, singular — “to the one...the other”H2088the masculine demonstrative pronoun, this or thathe, [idiom] hence, [idiom] here, it(-self), [idiom] now, [idiom] of him, the one...the other, [idiom] than the other, ([idiom] out of) the (self) same, such (a one) that, these, this (hath, man), on this side...on that side, [idiom] thus,…יַעֲנ֤וּyaanvshoutעָנָהverb, qal, imperfect, 3rd person, masculine, plural — “shout”, an unfinished actionH6030properly, to eye or (generally) to heed, i.e. pay attention; by implication, to respond; by extension to begin to speak; specifically to sing, shout, testify, announcegive account, afflict (by mistake for H6031 (עָנָה)), (cause to, give) answer, bring low (by mistake for H6031 (עָנָה)), cry, hear, Leannoth, lift up, say, [idiom] scholar, (give a) shout, sing (together by course), speak, testify, utter,…בַמְּחֹלוֹת֙vamcholotin companyמְחֹלָהpreposition, with the article, noun, common, feminine, plural, absolute — “in company”, the ordinary formH4246a dancecompany, dances(-cing).לֵאמֹ֔רlemorto sayאָמַרpreposition, verb, qal, infinitive construct — “to say”, the to-form of the verbH559to say (used with great latitude)answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, [phrase] (at the, give) command(-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, [idiom] desire, determine, [idiom] expressly, [idiom] indeed, [idiom] intend, name, [id…הִכָּ֤הhikahstrikeנָכָהverb, hiphil, perfect, 3rd person, masculine, singular — “strike”, a completed actionH5221to strike (lightly or severely, literally or figuratively)beat, cast forth, clap, give (wounds), [idiom] go forward, [idiom] indeed, kill, make (slaughter), murderer, punish, slaughter, slay(-er, -ing), smite(-r, -ing), strike, be stricken, (give) stripes, [idiom] surely, wound.שָׁאוּל֙shaulShaulשָׁאוּלnoun, proper name — “Shaul”H7586Shaul, the name of an Edomite and two IsraelitesSaul, Shaul.באלפוvlfvin thousandאֶלֶףpreposition, adjective, cardinal, both genders, plural, construct, suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, masculine, singular — “in thousand”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH505hence (the ox's head being the first letter of the alphabet, and this eventually used as a numeral) a thousandthousand.בַּאֲלָפָ֔יוbaalafayvin thousandאֶלֶףpreposition, adjective, cardinal, both genders, plural, construct, suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, masculine, singular — “in thousand”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH505hence (the ox's head being the first letter of the alphabet, and this eventually used as a numeral) a thousandthousand.וְדָוִ֖דvedavidand Davidדָּוִדconjunction, noun, proper name — “and David”H1732David, the youngest son of JesseDavid.ברבבתוvrvvtvin manyרְבָבָהpreposition, noun, common, feminine, plural, construct, suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, masculine, singular — “in many”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH7233abundance (in number), i.e. (specifically) a myriad (whether definite or indefinite)many, million, [idiom] multiply, ten thousand.בְּרִבְבֹתָֽיוberivvotayvin manyרְבָבָהpreposition, noun, common, feminine, plural, construct, suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, masculine, singular — “in many”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH7233abundance (in number), i.e. (specifically) a myriad (whether definite or indefinite)many, million, [idiom] multiply, ten thousand.

Jewish translation (JPS 1917)

(21-12) And the servants of Achish said unto him: 'Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying: Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?'

Compare Public-Domain Translations

The King James Version remains the text of this page and the canonical URL.

American Standard Version (1901)

And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands?

Young’s Literal Translation

and the servants of Achish say unto him, 'Is not this David king of the land? is it not of this one they sing in dances, saying, 'Saul smote among his thousands, and David among his myriads?'

World English Bible

The servants of Achish said to him, “Isn’t this David the king of the land? Didn’t they sing to one another about him in dances, saying, ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?”

Darby Translation

And the servants of Achish said to him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul has smitten his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

Douay-Rheims

And the servants of Achis, when they saw David, said to him: Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing to him in their dances, saying: Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

Jewish Publication Society (1917)

Brenton’s Septuagint (1851), English

And the servants of Anchus said to him, Is not this David the king of the land? Did not the dancing women begin the song to him, saying, Saul has smitten his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

Septuagint (Brenton’s Greek, 1851)

Καὶ εἶπον οἱ παῖδες Ἀγχοῦς πρὸς αὐτὸν, οὐχὶ οὗτος Δαυὶδ ὁ βασιλεὺς τῆς γῆς; οὐχὶ τούτῳ ἐξῆρχον αἱ χορεύουσαι, λέγουσαι, ἐπάταξε Σαοὺλ ἐν χιλιάσιν αὐτοῦ, καὶ Δαυὶδ ἐν μυριάσιν αὐτοῦ;