1 Samuel 27

David Allied with the Philistines

27And David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines; and Saul will ¹despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of Israel. So I shall escape out of his hand.” ²Then David arose ^aand went over with the six hundred men who were with him ^bto Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath. ³So David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, each man with his household, and David ^cwith his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s widow. ⁴And it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath; so he sought him no more.

⁵Then David said to Achish, “If I have now found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?” ⁶So Achish gave him Ziklag that day. Therefore ^dZiklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. ⁷Now ²the time that David ^edwelt in the country of the Philistines was one full year and four months.

⁸And David and his men went up and raided ^fthe Geshurites, ^gthe ³Girzites, and the ^hAmalekites. For those nations were the inhabitants of the land from ⁴of old, ⁱas you go to Shur, even as far as the land of Egypt. ⁹Whenever David ⁵attacked the land, he left neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the apparel, and returned and came to Achish. ¹⁰Then Achish would say, “Where have you made a raid today?” And David would say, “Against the southern area of Judah, or against the southern area of ^jthe Jerahmeelites, or against the southern area of ^kthe Kenites.” ¹¹David would save neither man nor woman alive, to bring news to Gath, saying, “Lest they should inform on us, saying, ‘Thus David did.’ ” And thus was his behavior all the time he dwelt in the country of the Philistines. ¹²So Achish believed David, saying, “He has made his people Israel utterly abhor him; therefore he will be my servant forever.”