And there fell some of Manasseh to David, when he came with the Philistines against Saul to battle: but they helped them not: for the lords of the Philistines upon advisement sent him away, saying, He will fall to his master Saul to the jeopardy of our heads.

And there were some of Manasses that went over to David, when he came with the Philistines against Saul to fight: but he did not fight with them: because the lords of the Philistines taking counsel sent him back, saying: With the danger of our heads he will return to his master Saul.

And there fell some of Manasseh to David, when he came with the Philistines against Saul to battle: but they helped them not; for the lords of the Philistines upon deliberation sent him away, saying, He will fall to his master Saul at the peril of our heads.

And of Manasseh there have fallen unto David in his coming with the Philistines against Israel to battle, and they helped them not, for by counsel the princes of the Philistines sent him away, saying, 'With our heads he doth fall unto his master Saul.',

And there fell some of Manasseh to David, when he came with the Philistines against Saul to battle: but they helped them not: for the lords of the Philistines on advisement sent him away, saying, He will fall to his master Saul to the jeopardy of our heads.

And some of the men of Manasseh came over to David, when he went with the Philistines to the war against Saul, but he gave them no help: for the lords of the Philistines, after discussion, sent him away, saying, He will go back to his master Saul, at the price of our lives.

Then the spirit clothed Amasai, who was chief of the captains: Thine are we, David, And on thy side, thou son of Jesse; Peace, peace be unto thee, And peace be to thy helpers; For thy God helpeth thee. Then David received them, and made them captains of the band.

Moreover, some from Manasseh crossed over to David, when he went forth with the Philistines against Saul, so that he might fight. But he did not fight with them. For the leaders of the Philistines, taking counsel, sent him back, saying, "To the peril of our own heads, he will return to his lord, Saul."

And there fell [some] of Manasseh to David, when he came with the Philistines against Saul to battle: but they (f) helped them not: for the lords of the Philistines upon advisement sent him away, saying, He will fall to his master Saul to [the jeopardy of] our heads.
(f) They came only to help David, and not to help the Philistines, who were enemies of their country.

And there fell some of Manasseh to David,.... Of the tribe of Manasseh; they took his part, and on his side, and joined him:
when he came with the Philistines against Saul to battle; which was a strong proof of their cordial attachment to him:
but they helped them not: the Philistines; neither David nor his men, nor the Manassites that joined them:
for the lords of the Philistines, upon advisement; counsel taken among themselves: sent him away; that is, David and his men:
saying, he will fall to his master Saul, to the jeopardy of our heads; meaning, that he would go off with his troops to Saul, and betray them into his hands, and with their heads make his peace with him, see 1-Samuel 29:4.

there fell some of Manasseh--The period of their accession is fixed as the time when David came with the Philistines against Saul to battle.
but they helped them not--(See on 1-Samuel 29:4).

The Manassites who went over to David before the last battle of the Philistines against Saul. - על גפל, to fall to one, is used specially of deserters in war who desert their lord and go over to the enemy: cf. 2-Kings 25:11; 1-Samuel 29:3. אל יפּול, in the last clause of the verse, is a synonymous expression. The Manassites went over "when David went with the Philistines against Israel to the war, and (yet) helped them not; for upon advisement (בּעצה, cf. Proverbs 20:18), the lords of the Philistines had sent him away, saying, 'For our heads, he will fall away to his master Saul.' " 1-Samuel 29:2-11 contains the historical commentary on this event. When the lords of the Philistines collected their forces to march against Saul, David, who had found refuge with King Achish, was compelled to join the host of that prince with his band. But when the other Philistine princes saw the Hebrews, they demanded that they should be sent out of the army, as they feared that David might turn upon them during the battle, and so win favour by his treachery with Saul his lord. See the commentary on 1-Samuel 29:1-11. בּראשׁנוּ, for our heads, i.e., for the price of them, giving them as a price to obtain a friendly reception from Saul (cf. 1-Samuel 29:4). In consequence of this remonstrance, Achish requested David to return with his warriors to Ziklag. On this return march ("as he went to Ziklag," cf. with בּלכתּו the ללכת of 1-Samuel 29:11), and consequently before the battle in which Saul lost his life (Berth.), and not after Saul's great misfortune, as Ewald thinks, the Manassites whose names follow went over to David. The seven named in 1-Chronicles 12:20 were "heads of the thousands of Manasseh," i.e., of the great families into which the tribe of Manasseh was divided, and as such were leaders of the Manassite forces in war: cf. Numbers 31:14 with Exodus 18:25, and the commentary on the latter passage.