David Flees to the Philistines

27 Then David said ^[a]to himself, “Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul. ^(A)There is nothing better for me than ^[b]to escape into the land of the Philistines. Saul then will despair of searching for me anymore in all the territory of Israel, and I will escape from his hand.” ² So David arose and crossed over, he and ^(B)the six hundred men who were with him, to ^(C)Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath. ³ And David lived with Achish at Gath, he and his men, ^(D)each with his household, even David with ^(E)his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s ^[c]widow. ⁴ Now it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath, so he no longer searched for him.

⁵ Then David said to Achish, “If now I have found favor in your sight, let them give me a place in one of the cities in the country, that I may live there; for why should your servant live in the royal city with you?” ⁶ So Achish gave him Ziklag that day; therefore ^(F)Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. ⁷ The number of days that David lived in the country of the Philistines was ^(G)a year and four months.

⁸ Now David and his men went up and raided ^(H)the Geshurites and the Girzites and ^(I)the Amalekites; for they were the inhabitants of the land from ancient times, as you come to ^(J)Shur even as far as the land of Egypt. ⁹ David ^[d]attacked the land and did not leave a man or a woman alive, and he ^(K)took away the sheep, the cattle, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing. Then he returned and came to Achish. ¹⁰ Now Achish said, “Where have you ^(L)made a raid today?” And David said, “Against the ^[e]Negev of Judah and against the ^[f]Negev of ^(M)the Jerahmeelites and against the ^[g]Negev of ^(N)the Kenites.” ¹¹ David did not leave a man or a woman alive to bring to Gath, saying, “Otherwise they will tell about us, saying, ‘So has David done and so has been his practice all the time he has lived in the country of the Philistines.’” ¹² So Achish believed David, saying, “He has surely made himself odious among his people Israel; therefore he will become my servant forever.”

Prayer for Deliverance from the Treacherous.

A Song of ^[a]Ascents.

Be Like Christ

2 Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any ^(A)fellowship of the Spirit, if any ^[a](B)affection and compassion, ^2 (C)make my joy complete ^[b]by ^(D)being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. ³ Do nothing ^[c]from ^[d](E)selfishness or ^(F)empty conceit, but with humility of mind ^(G)regard one another as more important than yourselves; ^4 (H)do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. ^5 (I)Have this attitude ^[e]in yourselves which was also in ^(J)Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, although He ^(K)existed in the ^(L)form of God, ^(M)did not regard equality with God a thing to be ^[f]grasped, ⁷ but ^[g](N)emptied Himself, taking the form of a ^(O)bond-servant, and ^(P)being made in the likeness of men. ⁸ Being found in appearance as a man, ^(Q)He humbled Himself by becoming ^(R)obedient to the point of death, even ^(S)death ^[h]on a cross. ^9 (T)For this reason also, God ^(U)highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him ^(V)the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus ^(W)every knee will bow, of ^(X)those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is ^(Y)Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

¹² So then, my beloved, ^(Z)just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your ^(AA)salvation with ^(AB)fear and trembling; ¹³ for it is ^(AC)God who is at work in you, both to will and to work ^(AD)for His good pleasure.

¹⁴ Do all things without ^(AE)grumbling or disputing; ¹⁵ so that you will ^[i]prove yourselves to be ^(AF)blameless and innocent, ^(AG)children of God above reproach in the midst of a ^(AH)crooked and perverse generation, among whom you ^[j](AI)appear as ^[k]lights in the world, ¹⁶ holding ^[l]fast the word of life, so that in ^(AJ)the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not ^(AK)run in vain nor ^(AL)toil in vain. ¹⁷ But even if I am being ^(AM)poured out as a drink offering upon ^(AN)the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. ¹⁸ You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.

Timothy and Epaphroditus

¹⁹ But I hope ^[m]in the Lord Jesus to ^(AO)send ^(AP)Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. ²⁰ For I have no one else ^(AQ)of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. ²¹ For they all ^(AR)seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. ²² But you know ^(AS)of his proven worth, that ^(AT)he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel ^(AU)like a child serving his father. ^23 (AV)Therefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I see how things go with me; ²⁴ and ^(AW)I trust in the Lord that I myself also will be coming shortly. ²⁵ But I thought it necessary to send to you ^(AX)Epaphroditus, my brother and ^(AY)fellow worker and ^(AZ)fellow soldier, who is also your ^[n](BA)messenger and ^(BB)minister to my need; ²⁶ because he was longing ^[o]for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. ²⁷ For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. ²⁸ Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you. ^29 (BC)Receive him then in the Lord with all joy, and ^(BD)hold men like him in high regard; ³⁰ because he came close to death ^[p](BE)for the work of Christ, risking his life to ^(BF)complete ^[q]what was deficient in your service to me.