1 Samuel 27–31

Chapter 27

David Flees to the Philistines

¹Then David said ¹to himself, “Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul. ^aThere is nothing better for me than ²to 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.”

²So David arose and crossed over, he and ^athe six hundred men who were with him, to ^bAchish the son of Maoch, king of Gath.

³And David lived with Achish at Gath, he and his men, ^aeach with his household, even David with ^bhis two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s ¹widow.

⁴Now it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath, so he no longer searched for him.

⁵Then 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?”

⁶So Achish gave him Ziklag that day; therefore ^aZiklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day.

⁷The number of days that David lived in the country of the Philistines was ^aa year and four months.

⁸Now David and his men went up and raided ^athe Geshurites and the Girzites and ^bthe Amalekites; for they were the inhabitants of the land from ancient times, as you come to ^cShur even as far as the land of Egypt.

⁹David ¹attacked the land and did not leave a man or a woman alive, and he ^atook away the sheep, the cattle, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing. Then he returned and came to Achish.

¹⁰Now Achish said, “Where have you ^amade a raid today?” And David said, “Against the ¹Negev of Judah and against the Negev of ^bthe Jerahmeelites and against the Negev of ^cthe Kenites.”

¹¹David 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.’ ”

¹²So Achish believed David, saying, “He has surely made himself odious among his people Israel; therefore he will become my servant forever.”

Chapter 28

Saul and the Spirit Medium

¹Now it came about in those days that ^athe Philistines gathered their armed camps for war, to fight against Israel. And Achish said to David, “Know assuredly that you will go out with me in the camp, you and your men.”

²David said to Achish, “Very well, you shall know what your servant can do.” So Achish said to David, “Very well, I will make you ¹my bodyguard ^afor life.”

³Now ^aSamuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him and buried him ^bin Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed from the land those who ^cwere mediums and spiritists.

⁴So the Philistines gathered together and came and camped ^ain Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel together and they camped in ^bGilboa.

⁵When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly.

^6aWhen Saul inquired of the Lord, ^bthe Lord did not answer him, either by ^cdreams or by ^dUrim or by prophets.

⁷Then Saul said to his servants, “Seek for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, ^athere is a woman who is a medium at ^bEn-dor.”

⁸Then Saul ^adisguised himself by putting on other clothes, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said, “^bConjure up for me, please, and ^cbring up for me whom I shall ¹name to you.”

⁹But the woman said to him, “Behold, you know ^awhat Saul has done, how he has cut off those who are mediums and spiritists from the land. Why are you then laying a snare for my life to bring about my death?”

¹⁰Saul vowed to her by the Lord, saying, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.”

¹¹Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.”

¹²When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, “Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul.”

¹³The king said to her, “Do not be afraid; but what do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a ¹divine being coming up out of the earth.”

¹⁴He said to her, “What is his form?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and ^ahe is wrapped with a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and ^bhe bowed with his face to the ground and did homage.

¹⁵Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” And Saul answered, “I am greatly distressed; for the Philistines are waging war against me, and ^aGod has departed from me and ^bno longer answers me, either through prophets or by dreams; therefore I have called you, that you may make known to me what I should do.”

¹⁶Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has departed from you and has become your adversary?

¹⁷“The Lord has done ¹accordingly ^aas He spoke through me; for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, to David.

¹⁸“As ^ayou did not ¹obey the Lord and did not execute His fierce wrath on Amalek, so the Lord has done this thing to you this day.

¹⁹“Moreover the Lord will also give over Israel along with you into the hands of the Philistines, therefore tomorrow ^ayou and your sons will be with me. Indeed the Lord will give over the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines!”

²⁰Then Saul immediately fell full length upon the ground and was very afraid because of the words of Samuel; also there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no ¹food all day and all night.

²¹The woman came to Saul and saw that he was terrified, and said to him, “Behold, your maidservant has ¹obeyed you, and ^aI have ²taken my life in my hand and have listened to your words which you spoke to me.

²²“So now also, please listen to the voice of your maidservant, and let me set a piece of bread before you that you may eat and have strength when you go on your way.”

²³But he refused and said, “^aI will not eat.” ^bHowever, his servants together with the woman urged him, and he listened to ¹them. So he arose from the ground and sat on ^cthe bed.

²⁴The woman had a ^afattened calf in the house, and she quickly slaughtered it; and she ^btook flour, kneaded it and baked unleavened bread from it.

²⁵She brought it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they arose and went away that night.

Chapter 29

The Philistines Mistrust David

¹Now ^athe Philistines gathered together all their armies to ^bAphek, while the Israelites were camping by the spring which is in ^cJezreel.

²And the lords of the Philistines were proceeding on by hundreds and by thousands, and ^aDavid and his men were proceeding on in the rear with Achish.

³Then the commanders of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, ^awho has been with me these days, or rather these years, and ^bI have found no fault in him from the day he ¹deserted to me to this day?”

⁴But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him, and the commanders of the Philistines said to him, “Make the man go back, that he may return ^ato his place where you have assigned him, and do not let him go down to battle with us, ^bor in the battle he may become an adversary to us. For with what could this man make himself acceptable to his lord? Would it not be with the heads of ¹these men?

⁵“Is this not David, ^aof whom they sing in the dances, saying,

‘Saul has slain his thousands,

And David his ten thousands’?”

⁶Then Achish called David and said to him, “As the Lord lives, you have been upright, and ^ayour going out and your coming in with me in the army are pleasing in my sight; ^bfor I have not found evil in you from the day of your coming to me to this day. Nevertheless, you are not pleasing in the sight of the lords.

⁷“Now therefore return and go in peace, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines.”

⁸David said to Achish, “^aBut what have I done? And what have you found in your servant from the day when I came before you to this day, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”

⁹But Achish replied to David, “I know that you are pleasing in my sight, ^alike an angel of God; nevertheless ^bthe commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go up with us to the battle.’

¹⁰“Now then arise early in the morning ^awith the servants of your lord who have come with you, and as soon as you have arisen early in the morning and have light, depart.”

¹¹So David arose early, he and his men, to depart in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

Chapter 30

David’s Victory over the Amalekites

¹Then it happened when David and his men came to ^aZiklag on the third day, that ^bthe Amalekites had made a raid on the ¹Negev and on ^cZiklag, and had ²overthrown Ziklag and burned it with fire;

²and they took captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great, ^1awithout killing anyone, and carried them off and went their way.

³When David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken captive.

⁴Then David and the people who were with him ^alifted their voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep.

⁵Now ^aDavid’s two wives had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the ¹widow of Nabal the Carmelite.

⁶Moreover David was greatly distressed because ^athe people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were ¹embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But ^bDavid strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

⁷Then ^aDavid said to ^bAbiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Please bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David.

^8aDavid inquired of the Lord, saying, “^bShall I pursue this band? Shall I overtake them?” And He said to him, “Pursue, for you will surely overtake them, ^cand you will surely rescue all.”

⁹So David went, ^ahe and the six hundred men who were with…