1 Samuel 27
The Voice
27 David was convinced that someday Saul would succeed—that whatever he might have said, he would track David down to kill him. So David decided his safest choice would be to escape to Philistia, because Saul could not pursue him outside Israel and he would be safe. 2 So David with his 600 men went to King Achish, son of Maoch, in Gath. 3 David and his men stayed with King Achish in Gath. All their families and David’s two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal, were there also.
4 When Saul heard that David had gone to Gath and allied himself with the Philistines, he gave up his pursuit.
David (to King Achish): 5 If I have found favor with you, then give us someplace in one of the villages to live. Why should you share the royal city with me, your servant?
6 So Achish set aside Ziklag for them; and ever after, it belonged to the kings of Judah. 7 David lived in the land of the Philistines for a year and four months.
8 Now David and his men raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites (the inhabitants of the country of much earlier times from Shur and on toward Egypt). 9 David and his men invaded these areas, killing everyone, men and women, but bringing cattle, donkeys, sheep, camels, and garments of these territories back to the land of Achish.
Achish: 10 Whom did you raid today?
David (lying to him): Today we went out into the desert country in the south against Judah, the Jerahmeelites, and the Kenites.
11 The reason David never permitted survivors of his raids was because he could not risk one of them being brought alive to the Philistines in Gath and telling the truth—that David has done this or that. This was David’s practice during the entire time he lived in the land of the Philistines.
12 Because he did not know the truth, Achish trusted David. He thought David had made himself such an enemy of Israel that he would have to remain Achish’s servant for the rest of his life.
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.”
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
