1 Samuel 27
International Standard Version
David Escapes to Philistine Territory
27 David told himself, “One of these days I’ll perish by Saul’s hand. There is nothing better for me to do than to escape to Philistine territory. Saul will give up searching for me anymore within the borders of Israel, so I’ll escape from him.” 2 So David got up, and he and the 600 men who were with him went to Maoch’s son Achish, the king of Gath. 3 David stayed with Achish in Gath along with his men, each of whom was with his household. David had his two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, who had been the wife of Nabal of Carmel. 4 Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, and he did not continue to search for him.
Achish Gives Ziklag to David
5 David told Achish, “If it pleases you, give me a place in one of the outlying towns,[a] so I may live there. Why should your servant live with you in the royal city?” 6 So that day Achish gave him Ziklag, and therefore, Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah until the present time. 7 David lived in Philistine territory for a year and four months.
David’s Raids on the Land
8 David and his men went up and raided the descendants of Geshur, the descendants of Girzi, and the Amalekites, for they had been living in the land since ancient times, from the entrance of[b] Shur all the way to the land of Egypt. 9 David struck the land and did not leave a man or woman alive. He took sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothing, and then came back and went to Achish.
10 Achish said, “Where did you raid today?”
David answered, “Against the Negev[c] of Judah, against the Negev[d] of the Jerahmeelites, and against the Negev[e] of the Kenites.” 11 David did not leave a man or woman alive to bring to Gath. He told himself,[f] “Otherwise, they’ll say, ‘This is what David is doing, and this has been his practice all the time he has lived in Philistine territory.’”
12 Achish believed David, telling himself,[g] “He has certainly made himself repulsive to his people in Israel. He will be my servant forever.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 27:5 Lit. one of the towns of the field
- 1 Samuel 27:8 Lit. times, where you enter
- 1 Samuel 27:10 I.e. southern region of Israel; cf. Josh 10:40
- 1 Samuel 27:10 Or the southern region
- 1 Samuel 27:10 Or the southern region
- 1 Samuel 27:11 The Heb. lacks himself
- 1 Samuel 27:12 The Heb. lacks himself
1 Samuel 27
New English Translation
David Aligns Himself with the Philistines
27 David thought to himself,[a] “One of these days I’m going to be swept away by the hand of Saul! There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of searching for me through all the territory of Israel and I will escape from his hand.”
2 So David left and crossed over to King Achish son of Maoch of Gath accompanied by his 600 men. 3 David settled with Achish in Gath, along with his men and their families.[b] David had with him his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the Carmelite, Nabal’s widow. 4 When Saul learned that David had fled to Gath, he did not mount a new search for him.
5 David said to Achish, “If I have found favor with you, let me be given a place in one of the country towns so that I can live there. Why should your servant settle in the royal city with you?” 6 So Achish gave him Ziklag on that day. (For that reason Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah until this very day.) 7 The length of time[c] that David lived in the Philistine countryside was a year[d] and four months.
8 Then David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. (They had been living in that land for a long time, from the approach[e] to Shur as far as the land of Egypt.) 9 When David would attack a district,[f] he would leave neither man nor woman alive. He would take sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothing and would then go back to Achish. 10 When Achish would ask, “Where[g] did you raid today?” David would say, “The Negev of Judah” or “The Negev of Jerahmeel” or “The Negev of the Kenites.” 11 Neither man nor woman would David leave alive so as to bring them back to Gath. He was thinking, “This way they can’t tell on us, saying, ‘This is what David did.’” Such was his practice the entire time[h] that he lived in the country of the Philistines. 12 So Achish trusted David, thinking to himself,[i] “He is really hated[j] among his own people in[k] Israel! From now on[l] he will be my servant.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 27:1 tn Heb “said to his heart.”
- 1 Samuel 27:3 tn Heb “a man and his house.”
- 1 Samuel 27:7 tn Heb “the number of the days.”
- 1 Samuel 27:7 tn Heb “days.” The plural of the word “day” is sometimes used idiomatically to refer specifically to a year. In addition to this occurrence in v. 7 see also 1 Sam 1:3, 21; 2:19; 20:6; Lev 25:29; Judg 17:10.
- 1 Samuel 27:8 tn Heb “from where you come.”
- 1 Samuel 27:9 tn Heb “the land.”
- 1 Samuel 27:10 tc The translation follows the LXX (ἐπι τίνα, epi tina) and Vulgate (in quem) which assume אֶל מִי (ʾel mi, “to whom”) rather than the MT אַל (ʾal, “not”). The MT makes no sense here. Another possibility is that the text originally had אַן (ʾan, “where”), which has been distorted in the MT to אַל. Cf. the Syriac Peshitta and the Targum, which have “where.”
- 1 Samuel 27:11 tn Heb “all the days.”
- 1 Samuel 27:12 tn Heb “saying.”
- 1 Samuel 27:12 tn Heb “he really stinks.” The expression is used figuratively here to describe the rejection and ostracism that David had experienced as a result of Saul’s hatred of him.
- 1 Samuel 27:12 tc Many medieval Hebrew mss lack the preposition “in.”
- 1 Samuel 27:12 tn Heb “permanently.”
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