David and the Philistines 1 UEB David said in his heart, "I will now perish one day by Saul's hand; there is nothing better for me than to escape into the land of the Philistines; Saul will give up looking for me any more within all the borders of Israel; in this way I will escape out of his hand." BSB BSB: David, however, said to himself, “One of these days now I will 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 stop searching for me all over Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.”
2 UEB David arose and passed over, he and the six hundred men who were with him, to Achish son of Maok, the king of Gath. BSB BSB: So David set out with his six hundred men and went to Achish son of Maoch, the king of Gath.
3 UEB David lived with Achish at Gath, he and his men, each man with his own household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite woman, and Abigail the Carmelite woman, Nabal's wife. BSB BSB: David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal.
4 UEB Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, so he looked for him no longer. BSB BSB: And when Saul learned that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him.
5 UEB David said to Achish, "If I have found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in one of the cities in the country, that I may live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?" BSB BSB: Then David said to Achish, “If I have found favor in your eyes, let me be assigned a place in one of the outlying towns, so I can live there. For why should your servant live in the royal city with you?”
6 UEB So that day Achish gave him Ziklag; that is why Ziklag belongs to the kings of Judah to this very day. BSB BSB: That day Achish gave him Ziklag, and to this day it still belongs to the kings of Judah.
7 UEB The number of days that David lived in the land of the Philistines was a full year and four months. BSB BSB: And the time that David lived in Philistine territory amounted to a year and four months.
8 UEB David and his men attacked various places, making raids on the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites; for those nations were the inhabitants of the land, as you go to Shur, as far as the land of Egypt. They had been living there in the land from ancient times. BSB BSB: Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these people had inhabited the land extending to Shur and Egypt.)
9 UEB David attacked the land and saved neither man nor woman alive; he took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing; he would return and come again to Achish. BSB BSB: Whenever David attacked a territory, he did not leave a man or woman alive, but he took the flocks and herds, the donkeys, camels, and clothing. Then he would return to Achish,
10 UEB Achish would say, "Against whom have you made a raid today?" David would answer, "Against the south of Judah," or "Against the south of the Jerahmeelites," or "Against the south of the Kenites." BSB BSB: who would ask him, “What have you raided today?” And David would reply, “The Negev of Judah,” or “The Negev of Jerahmeel,” or “The Negev of the Kenites.”
11 UEB David would keep neither man nor woman alive to bring them to Gath, saying, "So that they cannot say about us, 'David did such and such.'" This was what he did all the while he was living in the country of the Philistines. BSB BSB: David did not leave a man or woman alive to be brought to Gath, for he said, “Otherwise they will report us, saying, ‘This is what David did.’” And this was David’s custom the whole time he lived in Philistine territory.
12 UEB Achish believed David, saying, "He has made his people Israel utterly abhor him; he will therefore be my servant forever." BSB BSB: So Achish trusted David, thinking, “Since he has made himself an utter stench to his people Israel, he will be my servant forever.”
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.