1 Samuel 27 - Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

David Lives With the Philistines

27 But David thought to himself, “Saul will catch me some day. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up looking for me in Israel. That way I will escape from Saul.”

2 So David and his 600 men left Israel and went to Achish son of Maoch. Achish was king of Gath. 3 David, his men, and their families lived in Gath with Achish. David had his two wives with him—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel. Abigail was the widow of Nabal. 4 People told Saul that David had run away to Gath, so Saul stopped looking for him.

5 David said to Achish, “If you are pleased with me, give me a place in one of the country towns. I am only your servant. I should live there, not here with you in this royal city.”

6 That day Achish gave David the town of Ziklag. And Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since. 7 David lived with the Philistines one year and four months.

David Fools King Achish

8 David and his men went to fight the Amalekites and Geshurites who lived in the area from Telem[a] near Shur all the way to Egypt. David’s men defeated them and took their wealth. 9 David defeated the people in that area. He took all their sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothes and brought them back to Achish. But David didn’t let any of those people live.

10 David did this many times. Each time Achish asked David where he fought and took those things. David said, “I fought against the southern part of Judah,” or “I fought against the southern part of Jerahmeel,” or “I fought against the southern part of the Kenizzites.”[b] 11 David never brought a man or woman alive to Gath. He thought, “If we let anyone live, they might tell Achish what I really did.”

David did this all the time he lived in the Philistine land. 12 Achish began to trust David and said to himself, “Now David’s own people hate him. The Israelites hate him very much. Now he will serve me forever.”

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 27:8 Telem This is found in copies of the ancient Greek version. The standard Hebrew text has “long ago.”
  2. 1 Samuel 27:10 Judah, Jerahmeel, Kenizzites All these places belonged to Israel. David made Achish think he had fought against his own people, the Israelites.

You Might Also Like:

1 Samuel 27 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

27 And David saith unto his heart, `Now am I consumed one day by the hand of Saul; there is nothing for me better than that I diligently escape unto the land of the Philistines, and Saul hath been despairing of me -- of seeking me any more in all the border of Israel, and I have escaped out of his h...
Read More

1 Samuel 27 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

27 And David said in his heart, Sometime I shall fall in one day in the hand of Saul (One day I shall fall by Saul’s hand); whether it is not better, that I flee, and be saved in the land of (the) Philistines, (so) that Saul despair, and cease to seek me in all the ends of Israel; therefore flee we ...
Read More

1 Samuel 27 - World English Bible (WEB)

27 David said in his heart, “I will now perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me any more in all the borders of Israel. So I will escape out of his hand.” 2 David arose, and...
Read More

1 Samuel 27 - The Voice (VOICE)

27 David was convinced that someday Saul would succeed—that whatever he might have said, he would track David down to kill him. So David decided his safest choice would be to escape to Philistia, because Saul could not pursue him outside Israel and he would be safe. 2 So David with his 600 men went...
Read More

1 Samuel 27 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

David Settles in Ziklag27 Then David said in his heart, “One day I’ll be swept away by the hand of Saul. There’s nothing better for me than to escape immediately to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me in all the territories of Israel, so I’ll escape from his hand.” ...
Read More

1 Samuel 27 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

David Serves King Achish of Gath27 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 escape to the land of the Philistines; then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape o...
Read More

1 Samuel 27 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

David Serves King Achish of Gath27 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 escape to the land of the Philistines; then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape o...
Read More

1 Samuel 27 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

David Serves King Achish of Gath27 David said in his heart, ‘I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul; there is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines; then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand....
Read More

1 Samuel 27 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

David Serves King Achish of Gath27 David said in his heart, “I shall certainly perish one day by the hand of Saul; there is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines; then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his...
Read More

1 Samuel 27 - New Living Translation (NLT)

David among the Philistines27 But David kept thinking to himself, “Someday Saul is going to get me. The best thing I can do is escape to the Philistines. Then Saul will stop hunting for me in Israelite territory, and I will finally be safe.” 2 So David took his 600 men and went over and joined Achis...
Read More

1 Samuel 27 - New Life Version (NLV)

David with the Philistines27 David said to himself, “Some day Saul will kill me. There is nothing better for me than to run to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will become tired of looking for me any more in the land of Israel. And I will get away from him.” 2 So David got up and crossed over...
Read More

1 Samuel 27 - New King James Version (NKJV)

David Allied with the Philistines27 And 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 [a]despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of Israel. So I shall esc...
Read More

1 Samuel 27 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

David among the Philistines27 But David thought to himself, ‘One of these days I shall be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.’ 2 So David and t...
Read More

1 Samuel 27 - New International Version (NIV)

David Among the Philistines27 But David thought to himself, “One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.” 2 So David and th...
Read More

1 Samuel 27 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

David Among the Philistines27 David thought, “Some day Saul will destroy me. So the best thing I can do is escape. I’ll go to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will stop looking for me everywhere in Israel. His hand won’t be able to reach me.” 2 So David and his 600 men left Israel. They went t...
Read More

1 Samuel 27 - New English Translation (NET)

David Aligns Himself with the Philistines27 David thought to himself,[a] “One of these days I’m going to be swept away by the hand of Saul! There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of searching for me through all the territory of Israel and...
Read More