David Flees to Achish of Gath
1David said to himself, “I will surely perish one day at the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape at once to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere within the borders of Israel, and I will escape his hand.” 2So David set out with the six hundred men who were with him and went over to Achish son of Maoch, king of Gath. 3David settled with Achish in Gath, he and his men, each with his household — David with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, formerly Nabal’s wife, of Carmel. 4When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him. 5David said to Achish, “If I have found favor in your eyes, let me have a place in one of the country towns to live in. Why should your servant live with you in the royal city?” 6So that day Achish gave him Ziklag, and that is why Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. 7David lived in Philistine territory for a year and four months. 8David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites — these were the people who had lived in that land from ancient times, all the way to Shur and the land of Egypt. 9David struck the land and left no man or woman alive, taking sheep, oxen, donkeys, camels, and clothing. Then he returned and came to Achish. 10Achish would ask, “Where did you raid today?” and David would say, “Against the Negev of Judah,” or “Against the Negev of the Jerahmeelites,” or “Against the Negev of the Kenites.” 11David let no man or woman live to be brought back to Gath, for he thought, “They might tell on us and say, ‘This is what David did.’” This was his practice the whole time he lived in Philistine territory. 12So Achish trusted David, thinking, “He has made himself utterly hated among his own people Israel, so he will be my servant forever.”
