1 Samuel 27

1 And David saith unto his heart, 'Now am I consumed one day by the hand of Saul; there is nothing for me better than that I diligently escape unto the land of the Philistines, and Saul hath been despairing of me — of seeking me any more in all the border of Israel, and I have escaped out of his hand.'

And David said to himself, Some day death will come to me by the hand of Saul: the only thing for me to do is to get away into the land of the Philistines; then Saul will give up hope of taking me in any part of the land of Israel: and so I may be able to get away from him.

2 And David riseth, and passeth over, he and six hundred men who [are] with him, unto Achish son of Maoch king of Gath;

So David and the six hundred men who were with him went over to Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath.

3 and David dwelleth with Achish in Gath, he and his men, each one with his household, [even] David and his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail wife of Nabal the Carmelitess.

And David and his men were living with Achish at Gath; every man had his family with him, and David had his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail of Carmel, who had been the wife of Nabal.

4 And it is declared to Saul that David hath fled to Gath, and he hath not added any more to seek him.

And Saul, hearing that David had gone to Gath, went after him no longer.

5 And David saith unto Achish, 'If, I pray thee, I have found grace in thine eyes, they give to me a place in one of the cities of the field, and I dwell there, yea, why doth thy servant dwell in the royal city with thee?'

Then David said to Achish, If now I have grace in your eyes, let me have a place in one of the smaller towns of your land, to be my living-place; for it is not right for your servant to be living with you in the king's town.

6 And Achish giveth to him in that day Ziklag, therefore hath Ziklag been to the kings of Judah till this day.

So Achish straight away gave him Ziklag: and for that reason Ziklag has been the property of the kings of Judah to this day.

7 And the number of the days which David hath dwelt in the field of the Philistines [is] days and four months;

And David was living in the land of the Philistines for the space of a year and four months.

8 and David goeth up and his men, and they push unto the Geshurite, and the Gerizite, and the Amalekite, (for they are inhabitants of the land from of old), as thou comest in to Shur and unto the land of Egypt,

And David and his men went up and made attacks on the Geshurites and the Girzites and the Amalekites; for these were the people who were living in the land from Telam on the way to Shur, as far as Egypt.

9 and David hath smitten the land, and doth not keep alive man and woman, and hath taken sheep, and oxen, and asses, and camels, and garments, and turneth back, and cometh in unto Achish.

And David again and again made attacks on the land till not a man or a woman was still living; and he took away the sheep and the oxen and the asses and the camels and the clothing; and he came back to Achish.

10 And Achish saith, 'Whither have ye pushed to-day?' and David saith, 'Against the south of Judah, and against the south of the Jerahmeelite, and unto the south of the Kenite.'

And every time Achish said, Where have you been fighting today? David said, Against the South of Judah and the South of the Jerahmeelites and the South of the Kenites.

11 Neither man nor woman doth David keep alive, to bring in [word] to Gath, saying, 'Lest they declare [it] against us, saying, Thus hath David done, and thus [is] his custom all the days that he hath dwelt in the fields of the Philistines.'

Not one living man or woman did David ever take back with him to Gath, fearing that they might give an account of what had taken place, and say, This is what David did, and so has he been doing all the time while he has been living in the land of the Philistines.

12 And Achish believeth in David, saying, 'He hath made himself utterly abhorred among his people, in Israel, and hath been to me for a servant age-during.'

And Achish had belief in what David said, saying, He has made himself hated by all his people Israel, and so he will be my servant for ever.