1 Samuel 27–31

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. ²And David arose, and he passed over with ^athe six hundred men that were with him ^bunto Achish, the son of Maoch, king of ^cGath. ³And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, even David ^dwith his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s wife. ⁴And it was told Saul that David was fled to Gath: and he sought no more again for him. ⁵And David said unto Achish, If ^eI 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 ^fthe royal city with thee? ⁶Then Achish gave him ^gZiklag that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day. ⁷And ^†the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was ^†a full year and four months.

^8*And David and ^hhis men went up, and invaded ⁱthe Geshurites, and the ^||Gezrites, and the ^jAmalekites: for those nations were of old the inhabitants of the land, ^kas thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt. ⁹And David smote the land, and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and ^lthe camels, and the apparel, and returned, and came to Achish. ¹⁰And Achish said, ^||Whither have ye made a road to day? And David said, Against the south of Judah, and against the south of ^mthe Jerahmeelites, and against the south of ⁿthe Kenites. ¹¹And David ^osaved 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. ¹²And Achish believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel ^†utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever.

28^*And ^ait 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. ²And 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.

³Now ^bSamuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in ^cRamah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away ^dthose that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land. ⁴And the Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and pitched in ^eShunem: and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in ^fGilboa. ⁵And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled. ⁶And when Saul inquired of the Lord, ^gthe Lord answered him not, neither by ^hdreams, nor by ⁱUrim, nor by prophets. ⁷Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman ^jthat hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman ^jthat hath a familiar spirit at ^kEn-dor. ⁸And Saul ^ldisguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, ^mdivine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee. ⁹And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath ⁿcut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die? ¹⁰And Saul sware to her by the Lord, saying, ^oAs the Lord liveth, there shall no ^ppunishment happen to thee for this thing. ¹¹Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. ¹²And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul. ¹³And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw ^qgods ascending out of the earth. ¹⁴And he said unto her, ^†What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with ^ra mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself.

¹⁵And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and ^sGod is departed from me, and ^tanswereth me no more, neither ^†by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. ¹⁶Then said Samuel, ^uWherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy? ¹⁷And the Lord hath done ^||to him, ^xas he spake by ^†me: for ^xthe Lord hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David: ^18yBecause thou obeyedst not the voice of the Lord, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the Lord done this thing unto thee this day. ¹⁹Moreover the Lord will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and ^zthy sons be with me: the Lord also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.

²⁰Then Saul ^†fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night. ²¹And the woman came unto Saul, and saw that he was sore troubled, and said unto him, Behold, thine handmaid hath obeyed thy voice, and ^aI have put my life in my hand, and have hearkened unto thy words which thou spakest unto me. ²²Now therefore, I pray thee, hearken thou also unto the voice of thine handmaid, and let me set a morsel of bread before thee; and eat, that thou mayest have strength, when thou goest on thy way. ²³But he refused, and said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the woman, compelled him; and he hearkened unto their voice. So he arose from the earth, and sat upon ^bthe bed. ²⁴And the woman had ^ca fat calf in the house; and she hasted, and killed it, and took ^dflour, and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread thereof: ²⁵And she brought it before Saul, and before his servants; and they did eat. Then they rose up, and went away that night.

29Now ^athe Philistines gathered together all their armies to ^bAphek: and the Israelites pitched by ^ca fountain which is in ^dJezreel. ²And ^ethe lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by thousands: but David and his men passed on in the rereward ^fwith Achish. ³Then said the princes of the Philistines, What do these Hebrews here? And Achish said unto the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, which hath been with me ^gthese days, or these years, and ^hI have found no fault in him since he ⁱfell unto me unto this day? ⁴And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, Make this fellow return, that he may go again to his place which ^jthou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest ^kin the battle he be an adversary to us: for wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master? should it not be with the heads of these men? ⁵Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, ^lSaul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands? ⁶Then Achish called David, and said unto him, Surely, ^mas the Lord liveth, thou hast been upright, and ⁿthy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is good in my sight: for ^oI have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day: nevertheless ^†ethe lords favour thee not. ⁷Wherefore now return, and ^pgo in peace, that thou ^†displease not ^ethe lords of the Philistines. ⁸And David said unto Achish, But what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant so long as I have been ^†with thee unto this day, that I may not go fight against the enemies of my lord the king? ⁹And Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou art good in my sight, ^qas an angel of God: notwithstanding ^rthe princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle. ¹⁰Wherefore now rise up early in the morning ^swith thy master’s servants that are come with thee: and as soon as ye be up early in the morning, and have light, depart. ¹¹So David and his men rose up early to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to ^tJezreel.

30And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to ^aZiklag on the third day, that the ^bAmalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; ²And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way. ³So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. ⁴Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. ⁵And David’s ^ctwo wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. ⁶And David was greatly distressed; ^dfor the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was ^†grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but ^eDavid encouraged himself in the Lord his God. ⁷And David said to ^fAbiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David. ⁸And ^gDavid inquired at the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this ^htroop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and…