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1 Samuel 27
New International Version
1 Samuel 27
New International Version
David Among the Philistines
27 But David thought to himself, “One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.”
2 So David and the six hundred men(A) with him left and went(B) over to Achish(C) son of Maok king of Gath. 3 David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives:(D) Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal. 4 When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him.
5 Then David said to Achish, “If I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be assigned to me in one of the country towns, that I may live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?”
6 So on that day Achish gave him Ziklag,(E) and it has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since. 7 David lived(F) in Philistine territory a year and four months.
8 Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites,(G) the Girzites and the Amalekites.(H) (From ancient times these peoples had lived in the land extending to Shur(I) and Egypt.) 9 Whenever David attacked an area, he did not leave a man or woman alive,(J) but took sheep and cattle, donkeys and camels, and clothes. Then he returned to Achish.
10 When Achish asked, “Where did you go raiding today?” David would say, “Against the Negev of Judah” or “Against the Negev of Jerahmeel(K)” or “Against the Negev of the Kenites.(L)” 11 He did not leave a man or woman alive to be brought to Gath, for he thought, “They might inform on us and say, ‘This is what David did.’” And such was his practice as long as he lived in Philistine territory. 12 Achish trusted David and said to himself, “He has become so obnoxious(M) to his people, the Israelites, that he will be my servant for life.(N)”
1 Samuel 27
English Standard Version
1 Samuel 27
English Standard Version
David Flees to the Philistines
27 Then David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand.” 2 So David arose and went over, he and (A)the six hundred men who were with him, (B)to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath. 3 And David lived with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, and David with (C)his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail of Carmel, Nabal's widow. 4 And when it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath, he no longer sought him.
5 Then David said to Achish, “If (D)I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be given me in one of the country towns, that I may dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?” 6 So that day Achish gave him (E)Ziklag. Therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. 7 (F)And the number of the days that David lived in the country of the Philistines was a year and four months.
8 Now David (G)and his men went up and made raids against (H)the Geshurites, (I)the Girzites, and (J)the Amalekites, for these were the inhabitants of the land from of old, (K)as far as Shur, to the land of Egypt. 9 And David would strike the land and would leave neither man nor woman alive, but would take away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the garments, and come back to Achish. 10 When Achish asked, “Where have you (L)made a raid today?” David would say, “Against the Negeb of Judah,” or, “Against the Negeb of (M)the Jerahmeelites,” or, “Against the Negeb of (N)the Kenites.” 11 And David would leave neither man nor woman alive to bring news to Gath, thinking, “lest they should tell about us and say, ‘So David has done.’” Such was his custom all the while he lived in the country of the Philistines. 12 And Achish trusted David, thinking, “He has made himself an utter stench to his people Israel; therefore he shall always be my servant.”
1 Samuel 27
New American Standard Bible
1 Samuel 27
New American Standard Bible
David Flees to the Philistines
27 Then David said to [a]himself, “Now I will [b]perish one day by the hand of Saul. (A)There is nothing better for me than to safely escape into the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of searching for me anymore in all the territory of Israel, and I will escape from his hand.” 2 So David set out and went over, he and (B)the six hundred men who were with him, to (C)Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath. 3 And David lived with Achish in Gath, he and his men, (D)each with his own household—David with (E)his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s [c]widow. 4 Now it was reported to Saul that David had fled to Gath, so he no longer searched for him.
5 Then David said to Achish, “If now I have found favor in your sight, have them give me a place in one of the cities in the country, so that I may live there; for why should your servant live in the royal city with you?” 6 So Achish gave him Ziklag that day; therefore (F)Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. 7 The number of days that David lived in the country of the Philistines was (G)a year and four months.
8 Now David and his men went up and attacked (H)the Geshurites, the Girzites, and (I)the Amalekites; for they were the inhabitants of the land from ancient times, as you come to (J)Shur even as far as the land of Egypt. 9 David [d]attacked the land and did not leave a man or a woman alive, and he (K)took the sheep, the cattle, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing. Then he returned and came to Achish. 10 Now Achish said, “[e]Where did you (L)carry out an attack today?” And David said, “Against the [f]Negev of Judah, against the [g]Negev of (M)the Jerahmeelites, and against the [h]Negev of (N)the Kenites.” 11 And David did not leave a man or a woman alive to bring to Gath, saying, “Otherwise they will tell about us, saying, ‘This is what David has done, and this has been his practice all the time that he has lived in the country of the Philistines.’” 12 So Achish believed David, saying, “He has undoubtedly made himself repulsive among his people Israel; therefore he will become my servant forever.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 27:1 Lit his heart
- 1 Samuel 27:1 Lit be carried away
- 1 Samuel 27:3 Lit wife
- 1 Samuel 27:9 Lit struck
- 1 Samuel 27:10 DSS indicate Against whom
- 1 Samuel 27:10 I.e., South country
- 1 Samuel 27:10 I.e., South country
- 1 Samuel 27:10 I.e., South country
1 Samuel 27
Common English Bible
1 Samuel 27
Common English Bible
David serves the Philistine Achish
27 David thought, One day I will be destroyed by Saul’s power. The best thing for me to do is to escape to Philistine territory. Then Saul will give up looking for me in Israelite territory, and I will escape his power. 2 So David set out with his six hundred soldiers and went to Achish, Maoch’s son and Gath’s king. 3 David and his soldiers stayed there at Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, Nabal’s widow from Carmel. 4 When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he didn’t pursue him anymore.
5 Then David said to Achish, “If you approve of me, please give me a place in one of the towns in the country so I can live there. Why should I, your servant, live in the capital city with you?” 6 So Achish gave the town of Ziklag to David at that time. That’s why Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah until now. 7 David lived in the Philistine countryside for a total of one year and four months.
8 David and his soldiers went out on raids against the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. They were the people who lived in the land from Telam[a] to Shur all the way to the land of Egypt. 9 When David attacked an area, he wouldn’t leave anyone alive, man or woman. He would take the sheep, the cattle, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothes and would then go back to Achish. 10 When Achish asked, “Where did you raid today?”[b] David would say, “The southern plain of Judah,” or “The southern plain of the Jerahmeelites,” or “The southern plain of the Kenites.” 11 David never spared a man or woman so they could be brought back alive to Gath. “Otherwise,” he said, “they might talk about us, and say, ‘David did this or that.’” So this was David’s practice during the entire time he lived in the Philistine countryside.
12 Achish trusted David, thinking, David has alienated himself so badly from his own people in Israel that he’ll serve me forever.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 27:8 LXX; MT from long ago
- 1 Samuel 27:10 DSS (4QSama), LXX
1 Samuel 27
Contemporary English Version
1 Samuel 27
Contemporary English Version
27 1 but he thought to himself, “One of these days, Saul is going to kill me. The only way to escape from him is to go to Philistia. Then I'll be outside of Israel, and Saul will give up trying to catch me.”
2-3 David and his 600 men went across the border to stay in Gath with King Achish the son of Maoch. His men brought their families with them. David brought his wife Ahinoam whose hometown was Jezreel, and he also brought his wife Abigail who had been married to Nabal from Carmel. 4 When Saul found out that David had run off to Gath, he stopped trying to catch him.
5 One day, David was talking with Achish and said, “If you are happy with me, then let me live in one of the towns in the countryside. I'm not important enough to live here with you in the royal city.”
6 Achish gave David the town of Ziklag that same day, and Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since.
7 David was in Philistia for a year and four months. 8 The Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites lived in the area from Telam to Shur[a] and on as far as Egypt, and David often attacked their towns. 9 Whenever David and his men attacked a town, they took the sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and the clothing, and killed everyone who lived there.
After he returned from a raid, David always went to see Achish, 10 who would ask, “Where did you attack today?”[b]
David would answer, “Oh, we attacked some desert town that belonged to the Judah tribe.” Sometimes David would say, “Oh, we attacked a town in the desert where the Jerahmeel clan lives” or “We attacked a town in the desert where the Kenites[c] live.” 11 That's why David killed everyone in the towns he attacked. He thought, “If I let any of them live, they might come to Gath and tell what I've really been doing.”
David made these raids all the time he was in Philistia. 12 But Achish trusted David and thought, “David's people must be furious with him. From now on he will have to take orders from me.”
Footnotes
- 27.8 lived … Shur: One ancient translation; Hebrew “had lived for a long time in Shur.”
- 27.10 Where … today: A few Hebrew manuscripts, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and three ancient translations; most Hebrew manuscripts “Didn't you make a raid today?”
- 27.10 Jerahmeel … Kenites: These were clans of the Judah tribe.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Common English Bible (CEB)
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.