David Serves King Achish of Gath

27 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.’ ² So David set out and went over, he and the six hundred men who were with him, to King Achish son of Maoch of Gath. ³ David stayed with Achish at Gath, he and his troops, every man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail of Carmel, Nabal’s widow. ⁴ When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer sought for him.

⁵ Then David said to Achish, ‘If I have found favour in your sight, let a place be given me in one of the country towns, so that I may live there; for why should your servant live in the royal city with you?’ ⁶ So that day Achish gave him Ziklag; therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. ⁷ The length of time that David lived in the country of the Philistines was one year and four months.

⁸ Now David and his men went up and made raids on the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites; for these were the landed settlements from Telam^[a] on the way to Shur and on to the land of Egypt. ⁹ David struck the land, leaving neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing, and came back to Achish. ¹⁰ When Achish asked, ‘Against whom^[b] have you made a raid today?’ David would say, ‘Against the Negeb of Judah’, or ‘Against the Negeb of the Jerahmeelites’, or ‘Against the Negeb of the Kenites.’ ¹¹ David left neither man nor woman alive to be brought back to Gath, thinking, ‘They might tell about us, and say, “David has done so and so.”’ Such was his practice all the time he lived in the country of the Philistines. ¹² Achish trusted David, thinking, ‘He has made himself utterly abhorrent to his people Israel; therefore he shall always be my servant.’

28 In those days the Philistines gathered their forces for war, to fight against Israel. Achish said to David, ‘You know, of course, that you and your men are to go out with me in the army.’ ² David said to Achish, ‘Very well, then you shall know what your servant can do.’ Achish said to David, ‘Very well, I will make you my bodyguard for life.’

The Philistines Reject David

29 Now the Philistines gathered all their forces at Aphek, while the Israelites were encamped by the fountain that is in Jezreel. ² As the lords of the Philistines were marching on by hundreds and by thousands, and David and his men were marching in the rear with Achish, ³ the commanders of the Philistines said, ‘What are these Hebrews doing here?’ Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, ‘Is this not David, the servant of King Saul of Israel, who has been with me now for days and years? Since he deserted to me I have found no fault in him to this day.’ ⁴ But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him; and the commanders of the Philistines said to him, ‘Send the man back, so that he may return to the place that you have assigned to him; he shall not go down with us to battle, or else he may become an adversary to us in the battle. For how could this fellow reconcile himself to his lord? Would it not be with the heads of the men here? ⁵ Is this not David, of whom they sing to one another in dances,

⁶ Then Achish called David and said to him, ‘As the Lord lives, you have been honest, and to me it seems right that you should march out and in with me in the campaign; for I have found nothing wrong in you from the day of your coming to me until today. Nevertheless the lords do not approve of you. ⁷ So go back now; and go peaceably; do nothing to displease the lords of the Philistines.’ ⁸ David said to Achish, ‘But what have I done? What have you found in your servant from the day I entered your service until now, that I should not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?’ ⁹ Achish replied to David, ‘I know that you are as blameless in my sight as an angel of God; nevertheless, the commanders of the Philistines have said, “He shall not go up with us to the battle.” ¹⁰ Now then rise early in the morning, you and the servants of your lord who came with you, and go to the place that I appointed for you. As for the evil report, do not take it to heart, for you have done well before me.^[a] Start early in the morning, and leave as soon as you have light.’ ¹¹ So David set out with his men early in the morning, to return to the land of the Philistines. But the Philistines went up to Jezreel.