1 Samuel
Chapter 27
1 David thought to himself, “I will one day die by Saul’s hand. The best thing I can do is quickly run away to the Philistine territory; then Saul will give up looking for me in Israel, and I will be safe from him.”
2 David got up and went with his six hundred men to Achish, son of Maoch, the king of Gath.
3 David lived with Achish in Gath, along with his men and their families, including David’s two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, who was Nabal’s widow, from Carmel.
4 Saul heard that David had escaped to Gath, so he stopped searching for him.
5 David said to Achish, “If you now favor me, please give me a place in one of the country towns where I can live. Why should I, your servant, live in the capital city with you?”
6 That day, Achish gave him Ziklag, so Ziklag belongs to the kings of Judah to this day.
7 David lived in the land of the Philistines for one year and four months.
8 David and his men went up and attacked the Geshurites, the Gezrites, and the Amalekites, because these people had lived in the area from Shur to Egypt since ancient times.
9 David attacked the land, killed everyone, took the sheep, cows, donkeys, camels, and clothes, then went back to Achish.
10 Achish asked, “Where did you go today?” David answered, “To the southern part of Judah, the southern area of the Jerahmeelites, and the southern territory of the Kenites.”
11 David did not let any man or woman live to go and report in Gath, thinking, “They might inform against us, saying, ‘This is what David does, and this will be his way as long as he stays in the land of the Philistines.’”
12 Achish trusted David, thinking, “He has made his people Israel completely hate him; so he will be my servant forever.”