Since the reaction of David’s men is contrary to what the LORD had instructed David to do, the common Hebrew conjunction at the beginning of this verse is correctly translated But.

Behold: see page 18.

Here in Judah: Keilah was in the territory of Judah (see verse 1), but it was nearer to Philistine territory than to where David and his men had been staying. It is also possible that it was not under the control of the Israelites at the time these events took place.

How much more then …: Hebrew leaves implicit the verb “be afraid” in this phrase. Compare New Century Version, which restructures the last part of this verse, making two separate sentences of the rhetorical question: “We’re afraid here in Judah. We will be much more afraid if we go to Keilah, where the Philistine army is.” Contemporary English Version provides a slightly different model: “Look, even here in Judah we’re afraid of the Philistines. We will be terrified if we try to fight them at Keilah!”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .