1 Samuel 27

¹ And David thought in his heart, Now I shall perish one day at the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should slip away to escape to the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of Israel. Thus I shall escape out of his hand.

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

³ So David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, each man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s widowed wife.

⁴ And it was reported to Saul that David had fled to Gath; so he sought him no more.

⁵ And David said to Achish, If I have now found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the land, that I may dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?

⁶ So Achish gave him Ziklag that day. Therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day.

⁷ Now the number of days that David dwelt in the land of the Philistines was a year and four months.

⁸ And David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. For those nations were the inhabitants of the land from antiquity, as you come to Shur, as far as the land of Egypt.

⁹ And whenever David struck the land, he left neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing, and returned and came to Achish.

¹⁰ And Achish would say, Did you not make a raid today? And David would say, Against the southern area of Judah, or against the southern area of the Jerahmeelites, or against the southern area of the Kenites.

¹¹ And David would save alive neither man nor woman, to come to Gath; thinking, Lest they should report on us, saying, Thus has David done. And this was his manner all the days he dwelt in the land of the Philistines.

¹² And Achish believed David, thinking, He has made himself odious to be abhorrent to his people Israel; therefore he will be my servant forever.