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1 Samuel 27:1-28:2
Lexham English Bible
1 Samuel 27:1-28:2
Lexham English Bible
David Returns to Achish
27 Then David thought to himself,[a] “Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul! There is nothing better for me but that I must certainly escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will desist from searching for me further in all of the territories of Israel, and so I will escape from his hand.” 2 So David got up and crossed over, he and the six hundred men who were with him, to Achish the son of Maoch, the king of Gath. 3 David settled with Achish in Gath, he and his men, each with his household.[b] David took along his two wives Ahinoam from Jezreel[c] and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. 4 And it was reported to Saul that David had fled to Gath, so he no longer searched for him.[d]
5 Then David said to Achish, “Please, if I have found favor in your eyes, then let them give me a place in one of the country towns[e] that I can live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city[f] with you?” 6 So Achish gave him Ziklag on that day. (Therefore, Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah until this day.) 7 The number of days that David lived in the countryside of the Philistines was one year and four months.
8 Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites and the Girzites and the Amalekites, for they had been living in the land for a long time in the direction of[g] Shur and as far as[h] the land of Egypt. 9 So David struck the land and did not leave a man or a woman alive; he took the sheep,[i] the cattle, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing. Then he returned and came to Achish. 10 And Achish said, “Against whom have you raided today?” David said, “Against the Negev of Judah and against the Negev of the Jerahmeelites and against the Negev of the Kenites.” 11 And David did not leave alive a man or a woman to bring them back to Gath, thinking,[j] “So that they will not report about us, saying, ‘David did thus and so.’” Thus was his practice all the days that he lived in the countryside of the Philistines. 12 And Achish trusted David, saying, “He has made himself utterly hated[k] among his people in Israel, and he will be my servant forever.”
28 Now[l] in those days the Philistines gathered their forces for war to fight against Israel. So Achish said to David, “Certainly you realize that you must go out with me in the army, you and your men.” 2 David said to Achish, “Very well, you will know what your servant can do.” Achish said to David, “Very well, I will make you my bodyguard[m] for life.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 27:1 Literally “said to his heart”
- 1 Samuel 27:3 Or “family”
- 1 Samuel 27:3 Literally “the Jezreelitess”
- 1 Samuel 27:4 Literally “he does Qere did not again to seek him longer”
- 1 Samuel 27:5 Literally “towns of the open field”
- 1 Samuel 27:5 Literally “the city of the king”
- 1 Samuel 27:8 Literally “as you come”
- 1 Samuel 27:8 Literally “up to”
- 1 Samuel 27:9 Hebrew “flock,” referring to either sheep or goats or both
- 1 Samuel 27:11 Hebrew “saying”
- 1 Samuel 27:12 Literally “Stinking he stink” = “he really stinks”
- 1 Samuel 28:1 Literally “And it happened”
- 1 Samuel 28:2 Literally “the keeper of my head”
1 Samuel 27:1-28:2
Holman Christian Standard Bible
1 Samuel 27:1-28:2
Holman Christian Standard Bible
David Flees to Ziklag
27 David said to himself, “One of these days I’ll be swept away by Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape immediately to the land of the Philistines.(A) Then Saul will stop searching for me everywhere in Israel, and I’ll escape from him.” 2 So David set out with his 600 men(B) and went to Achish son of Maoch,(C) the king of Gath. 3 David and his men stayed with Achish in Gath. Each man had his family with him,(D) and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel,(E) Nabal’s widow. 4 When it was reported to Saul that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him.
5 Now David said to Achish, “If I have found favor with you, let me be given a place in one of the outlying towns, so I can live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?” 6 That day Achish gave Ziklag(F) to him, and it still belongs to the kings of Judah today. 7 The time that David stayed in the Philistine territory amounted to a year and four months.(G)
8 David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites,(H) the Girzites,[a] and the Amalekites.(I) From ancient times they had been the inhabitants of the region through Shur(J) as far as the land of Egypt. 9 Whenever David attacked the land, he did not leave a single person alive, either man or woman, but he took flocks, herds, donkeys, camels, and clothing.(K) Then he came back to Achish, 10 who inquired, “Where did you raid today?”[b](L)
David replied, “The south country of Judah,” “The south country of the Jerahmeelites,”(M) or “Against the south country of the Kenites.”(N)
11 David did not let a man or woman live to be brought to Gath, for he said, “Or they will inform on us and say, ‘This is what David did.’” This was David’s custom during the whole time he stayed in the Philistine territory. 12 So Achish trusted David, thinking, “Since he has made himself detestable to his people Israel, he will be my servant forever.”
Saul and the Medium
28 At that time, the Philistines(O) brought their military units together into one army to fight against Israel. So Achish said to David, “You know, of course, that you and your men must march out in the army[c] with me.”
2 David replied to Achish, “Good, you will find out what your servant can do.”
So Achish said to David, “Very well, I will appoint you as my permanent bodyguard.”(P)
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 27:8 Alt Hb tradition reads Gezerites
- 1 Samuel 27:10 Some Hb mss, Syr, Tg; LXX, Vg, DSS read Against whom did you raid today?
- 1 Samuel 28:1 DSS, LXX read battle
1 Samuel 27:1-28:2
New International Version
1 Samuel 27:1-28:2
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)”
28 In those days the Philistines gathered(O) their forces to fight against Israel. Achish said to David, “You must understand that you and your men will accompany me in the army.”
2 David said, “Then you will see for yourself what your servant can do.”
Achish replied, “Very well, I will make you my bodyguard(P) for life.”
1 Samuel 27:1-28:2
King James Version
1 Samuel 27:1-28:2
King James Version
27 And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand.
2 And David arose, and he passed over with the six hundred men that were with him unto Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath.
3 And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal's wife.
4 And it was told Saul that David was fled to Gath: and he sought no more again for him.
5 And David said unto Achish, If I have now found grace in thine eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may dwell there: for why should thy servant dwell in the royal city with thee?
6 Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day.
7 And the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was a full year and four months.
8 And David and his men went up, and invaded the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites: for those nations were of old the inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt.
9 And David smote the land, and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the apparel, and returned, and came to Achish.
10 And Achish said, Whither have ye made a road to day? And David said, Against the south of Judah, and against the south of the Jerahmeelites, and against the south of the Kenites.
11 And David saved neither man nor woman alive, to bring tidings to Gath, saying, Lest they should tell on us, saying, So did David, and so will be his manner all the while he dwelleth in the country of the Philistines.
12 And Achish believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever.
28 And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines gathered their armies together for warfare, to fight with Israel. And Achish said unto David, Know thou assuredly, that thou shalt go out with me to battle, thou and thy men.
2 And David said to Achish, Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do. And Achish said to David, Therefore will I make thee keeper of mine head for ever.
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Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
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