1 Samuel 27

1 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.

And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: [there is] nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me any more in any border of Israel; so shall I escape from his hand.

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

And David arose, and he passed over with the six hundred men that [were] with him to Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath.

3 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.

And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, [even] David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess Nabal's wife.

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

And it was told to Saul that David had fled to Gath: and he sought no more again for him.

5 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.

And David said to Achish, If I have now found grace in thy eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may dwell there: for why should thy servant dwell in the royal city with thee?

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

Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth to the kings of Judah to this day.

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

And the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was a full year and four months.

8 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.

And David and his men went up, and invaded the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites: for those [nations were] of old the inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to Shur, even to the land of Egypt.

9 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.

And David smote the land, and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the apparel, and returned, and came to Achish.

10 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.

And Achish said, Whither have ye made a road to-day? And David said, Against the south of Judah, and against the south of the Jerahmeelites, and against the south of the Kenites.

11 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.

And David saved neither man nor woman alive, to bring [tidings] to Gath, saying, Lest they should inform against us, saying, So did David, and so [will be] his manner all the while he dwelleth in the country of the Philistines.

12 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.

And Achish believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever.