1 Samuel 27 - New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995)

David Flees to the Philistines

27 Then David said [a]to himself, “Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul. (A)There is nothing better for me than [b]to 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.” 2 So David arose and crossed over, he and (B)the six hundred men who were with him, to (C)Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath. 3 And David lived with Achish at Gath, he and his men, (D)each with his household, even David with (E)his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s [c]widow. 4 Now it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath, so he no longer searched for him.

5 Then 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?” 6 So Achish gave him Ziklag that day; therefore (F)Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. 7 The number of days that David lived in the country of the Philistines was (G)a year and four months.

8 Now David and his men went up and raided (H)the Geshurites and the Girzites and (I)the Amalekites; for they were the inhabitants of the land from ancient times, as you come to (J)Shur even as far as the land of Egypt. 9 David [d]attacked the land and did not leave a man or a woman alive, and he (K)took away the sheep, the cattle, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing. Then he returned and came to Achish. 10 Now Achish said, “Where have you (L)made a raid today?” And David said, “Against the [e]Negev of Judah and against the [f]Negev of (M)the Jerahmeelites and against the [g]Negev of (N)the Kenites.” 11 David 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.’” 12 So Achish believed David, saying, “He has surely made himself odious among his people Israel; therefore he will become my servant forever.”

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 27:1 Lit in his heart
  2. 1 Samuel 27:1 Lit that I should surely escape
  3. 1 Samuel 27:3 Lit wife
  4. 1 Samuel 27:9 Lit smote
  5. 1 Samuel 27:10 I.e. South country
  6. 1 Samuel 27:10 I.e. South country
  7. 1 Samuel 27:10 I.e. South country

Cross references

  1. 1 Samuel 27:1 : 1 Sam 26:19
  2. 1 Samuel 27:2 : 1 Sam 25:13
  3. 1 Samuel 27:2 : 1 Sam 21:10; 1 Kin 2:39
  4. 1 Samuel 27:3 : 1 Sam 30:3; 2 Sam 2:3
  5. 1 Samuel 27:3 : 1 Sam 25:42, 43
  6. 1 Samuel 27:6 : Josh 15:31; 19:5; Neh 11:28
  7. 1 Samuel 27:7 : 1 Sam 29:3
  8. 1 Samuel 27:8 : Josh 13:2, 13
  9. 1 Samuel 27:8 : Ex 17:8; 1 Sam 15:7, 8
  10. 1 Samuel 27:8 : Ex 15:22
  11. 1 Samuel 27:9 : 1 Sam 15:3; Job 1:3
  12. 1 Samuel 27:10 : 1 Sam 23:27
  13. 1 Samuel 27:10 : 1 Sam 30:29; 1 Chr 2:9, 25
  14. 1 Samuel 27:10 : Judg 1:16; 4:11

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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...
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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 ...
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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...
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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...
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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.” ...
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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...
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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...
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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....
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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