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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.” 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. 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. And it was reported to Saul that David had fled to Gath, so he no longer searched for him.[d]

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?” So Achish gave him Ziklag on that day. (Therefore, Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah until this day.) The number of days that David lived in the countryside of the Philistines was one year and four months.

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. 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.” 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. 1 Samuel 27:1 Literally “said to his heart”
  2. 1 Samuel 27:3 Or “family”
  3. 1 Samuel 27:3 Literally “the Jezreelitess”
  4. 1 Samuel 27:4 Literally “he does Qere did not again to seek him longer”
  5. 1 Samuel 27:5 Literally “towns of the open field”
  6. 1 Samuel 27:5 Literally “the city of the king”
  7. 1 Samuel 27:8 Literally “as you come”
  8. 1 Samuel 27:8 Literally “up to”
  9. 1 Samuel 27:9 Hebrew “flock,” referring to either sheep or goats or both
  10. 1 Samuel 27:11 Hebrew “saying”
  11. 1 Samuel 27:12 Literally “Stinking he stink” = “he really stinks”
  12. 1 Samuel 28:1 Literally “And it happened”
  13. 1 Samuel 28:2 Literally “the keeper of my head”

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.” So David set out with his 600 men(B) and went to Achish son of Maoch,(C) the king of Gath. 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. When it was reported to Saul that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him.

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?” That day Achish gave Ziklag(F) to him, and it still belongs to the kings of Judah today. The time that David stayed in the Philistine territory amounted to a year and four months.(G)

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. 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.”

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. 1 Samuel 27:8 Alt Hb tradition reads Gezerites
  2. 1 Samuel 27:10 Some Hb mss, Syr, Tg; LXX, Vg, DSS read Against whom did you raid today?
  3. 1 Samuel 28:1 DSS, LXX read battle