Go back: or “return.” The text does not specify where David is to return, but the context has already spoken of the place that Achish had assigned to him (verse 4), that is, the town of Ziklag. This is undoubtedly what is to be understood here. If the receptor language requires something to complete the sense of the verb “return,” it will probably be a good idea to say “go back home,” as in Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, Bible en français courant, and La Bible du Semeur.

Go peaceably: the Good News Translation translation of the Hebrew seems to be simply a parting greeting. But in the context, these words most likely mean that David and his men should leave without causing problems among the five lords. New American Bible expresses this meaning clearly, “Withdraw peaceably, now, and do nothing that might displease the Philistine lords.”

That you may not displease the lords of the Philistines: literally “and you do not do wrong [or, evil] in the eyes of the lords of the Philistines.” The wording of Revised Standard Version makes it sound as if the purpose of David’s returning is to avoid provoking the Philistine kings. But it is more likely that this should be understood as an additional command not to do anything at all to annoy them. It is worth noting that New Revised Standard Version drops the word that: “… and go peaceably; do nothing to displease the lords of the Philistines.”

The lords of the Philistines: see the comment on verse 2. Good News Translation substitutes the pronoun “them” for a better style in English.

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 .