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1 Samuel 27
Easy-to-Read Version
1 Samuel 27
Easy-to-Read Version
David Lives With the Philistines
27 But David thought to himself, “Saul will catch me some day. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up looking for me in Israel. That way I will escape from Saul.”
2 So David and his 600 men left Israel and went to Achish son of Maoch. Achish was king of Gath. 3 David, his men, and their families lived in Gath with Achish. David had his two wives with him—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel. Abigail was the widow of Nabal. 4 People told Saul that David had run away to Gath, so Saul stopped looking for him.
5 David said to Achish, “If you are pleased with me, give me a place in one of the country towns. I am only your servant. I should live there, not here with you in this royal city.”
6 That day Achish gave David the town of Ziklag. And Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since. 7 David lived with the Philistines one year and four months.
David Fools King Achish
8 David and his men went to fight the Amalekites and Geshurites who lived in the area from Telem[a] near Shur all the way to Egypt. David’s men defeated them and took their wealth. 9 David defeated the people in that area. He took all their sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothes and brought them back to Achish. But David didn’t let any of those people live.
10 David did this many times. Each time Achish asked David where he fought and took those things. David said, “I fought against the southern part of Judah,” or “I fought against the southern part of Jerahmeel,” or “I fought against the southern part of the Kenizzites.”[b] 11 David never brought a man or woman alive to Gath. He thought, “If we let anyone live, they might tell Achish what I really did.”
David did this all the time he lived in the Philistine land. 12 Achish began to trust David and said to himself, “Now David’s own people hate him. The Israelites hate him very much. Now he will serve me forever.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 27:8 Telem This is found in copies of the ancient Greek version. The standard Hebrew text has “long ago.”
- 1 Samuel 27:10 Judah, Jerahmeel, Kenizzites All these places belonged to Israel. David made Achish think he had fought against his own people, the Israelites.
1 Samuel 27
New King James Version
1 Samuel 27
New King James Version
David Allied with the Philistines
27 And David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines; and Saul will [a]despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of Israel. So I shall escape out of his hand.” 2 Then David arose (A)and went over with the six hundred men who were with him (B)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 (C)with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s widow. 4 And it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath; so he sought him no more.
5 Then David said to Achish, “If I have now found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, 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 (D)Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. 7 Now [b]the time that David (E)dwelt in the country of the Philistines was one full year and four months.
8 And David and his men went up and raided (F)the Geshurites, (G)the [c]Girzites, and the (H)Amalekites. For those nations were the inhabitants of the land from [d]of old, (I)as you go to Shur, even as far as the land of Egypt. 9 Whenever David [e]attacked the land, he left neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the apparel, and returned and came to Achish. 10 Then Achish would say, “Where have you made a raid today?” And David would say, “Against the southern area of Judah, or against the southern area of (J)the Jerahmeelites, or against the southern area of (K)the Kenites.” 11 David would save neither man nor woman alive, to bring news to Gath, saying, “Lest they should inform on us, saying, ‘Thus David did.’ ” And thus was his behavior all the time he dwelt in the country of the Philistines. 12 So Achish believed David, saying, “He has made his people Israel utterly abhor him; therefore he will be my servant forever.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 27:1 despair of searching for
- 1 Samuel 27:7 Lit. the number of days
- 1 Samuel 27:8 Or Gezrites
- 1 Samuel 27:8 ancient times
- 1 Samuel 27:9 Lit. struck
1 Samuel 27
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised
1 Samuel 27
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised
David Serves King Achish of Gath
27 David said in his heart, ‘I shall now perish one day 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 seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand.’ 2 So David set out and went over, he and the six hundred men who were with him, to King Achish son of Maoch of Gath. 3 David stayed with Achish at Gath, he and his troops, every man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail of Carmel, Nabal’s widow. 4 When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer sought for him.
5 Then David said to Achish, ‘If I have found favour in your sight, let a place be given me in one of the country towns, so that I may live there; for why should your servant live in the royal city with you?’ 6 So that day Achish gave him Ziklag; therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. 7 The length of time that David lived in the country of the Philistines was one year and four months.
8 Now David and his men went up and made raids on the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites; for these were the landed settlements from Telam[a] on the way to Shur and on to the land of Egypt. 9 David struck the land, leaving neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing, and came back to Achish. 10 When Achish asked, ‘Against whom[b] have you made a raid today?’ David would say, ‘Against the Negeb of Judah’, or ‘Against the Negeb of the Jerahmeelites’, or ‘Against the Negeb of the Kenites.’ 11 David left neither man nor woman alive to be brought back to Gath, thinking, ‘They might tell about us, and say, “David has done so and so.”’ Such was his practice all the time he lived in the country of the Philistines. 12 Achish trusted David, thinking, ‘He has made himself utterly abhorrent to his people Israel; therefore he shall always be my servant.’
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 27:8 Compare Gk 15.4: Heb from of old
- 1 Samuel 27:10 Q Ms Gk Vg: MT lacks whom
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)”
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
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New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.