1 Samuel 27

1 But David said to himself, “One of these days Saul is going to get me. I think I'd better run away to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up looking for me all over Israel and he won't catch me.”

David said in his heart, “I will now perish one day by Saul's hand; there is nothing better for me than to escape into the land of the Philistines; Saul will give up looking for me any more within all the borders of Israel; in this way I will escape out of his hand.”

2 So David and the six hundred men with him set off, crossed the border, and went to Achish, son of Maoch, the king of Gath.

David arose and passed over, he and the six hundred men who were with him, to Achish son of Maok, the king of Gath.

3 David and his men settled down with Achish in Gath. All the men had their families with them, and David had his two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail from Carmel, Nabal's widow.

David lived with Achish at Gath, he and his men, each man with his own household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite woman, and Abigail the Carmelite woman, Nabal's wife.

4 When Saul found out that David had run away to Gath, he didn't go on looking for him.

Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, so he looked for him no longer.

5 David said to Achish, “Please do me a favor: assign me somewhere in one of the towns in the countryside so I can live there. I, your servant, don't really deserve to live in the royal city with you.”

David said to Achish, “If I have found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in one of the cities in the country, that I may live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?”

6 Achish gave him Ziklag right away, and the town still belongs to the kings of Judah to this day.

So that day Achish gave him Ziklag; that is why Ziklag belongs to the kings of Judah to this very day.

7 David lived in the country of the Philistines for a year and four months.

The number of days that David lived in the land of the Philistines was a full year and four months.

8 During that time David and his men were raiding the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. These people had lived in the land as far as Shur and Egypt from ancient times.

David and his men attacked various places, making raids on the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites; for those nations were the inhabitants of the land, as you go to Shur, as far as the land of Egypt. They had been living there in the land from ancient times.

9 When David attacked a place, he did not leave anybody alive. He took the flocks and herds, the donkeys, camels, and clothing. Then he would go back to Achish.

David attacked the land and saved neither man nor woman alive; he took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing; he would return and come again to Achish.

10 When Achish asked him, “Where have you been raiding today?” David would reply, “In the desert of Judah,” or “the desert of Jerahmeel,” or “the desert of the Kenites.”

Achish would say, “Against whom have you made a raid today?” David would answer, “Against the south of Judah,” or “Against the south of the Jerahmeelites,” or “Against the south of the Kenites.”

11 David didn't leave anybody alive that could come to Gath because he thought, “They might tell on us and say, ‘David did this.’” This is what he did all the time he lived in the country of the Philistines.

David would keep neither man nor woman alive to bring them to Gath, saying, “So that they cannot say about us, 'David did such and such.'” This was what he did all the while he was living in the country of the Philistines.

12 Achish trusted David, and said to himself, “He's made himself so offensive to his people the Israelites that he'll have to serve me forever.”

Achish believed David, saying, “He has made his people Israel utterly abhor him; he will therefore be my servant forever.”