David Goes to Gath

¹⁰ That day David ran away from Saul. He went to Achish king of Gath. ¹¹ But the servants of Achish said to him, “This is David king of the Israelites. He’s the man the Israelite women sing about when they dance. They sing:

¹² David paid attention to these words. And he was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. ¹³ So he pretended to be insane in front of Achish and his servants. While he was with them, he acted like a madman. He made marks on the doors of the gate. He let spit run down his beard.

¹⁴ Achish said to his servants, “Look at the man! He’s insane! Why do you bring him to me? ¹⁵ I have enough madmen. I don’t need you to bring him here to act like this in front of me! Don’t leave him in my house!”