1 Samuel 21:10-22:2

English Standard Version

David Flees to Gath

¹⁰ And David rose and fled that day from Saul and went to ^(A)Achish the king of Gath. ¹¹ And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is not this David the king of the land? ^(B)Did they not sing to one another of him in dances,

¹² And David ^(C)took these words to heart and was much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. ¹³ So he changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane in their hands and made marks on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard. ¹⁴ Then Achish said to his servants, “Behold, you see the man is mad. Why then have you brought him to me? ¹⁵ Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to behave as a madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?”

David at the Cave of Adullam

22 David departed from there and escaped to ^(D)the cave of ^(E)Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father's house heard it, they went down there to him. ^2 (F)And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul,^[a] gathered to him. And he became commander over them. And there were with him ^(G)about four hundred men.