1 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 speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me to seek me any more within all the limits of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand. 2 And David arose and passed over, he and the six hundred men that were with him, to Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath. 3 And David abode with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household; David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jizreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal's wife. 4 And it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath; and he sought no more for him. 5 And David said to Achish, If now I have found favour in thine eyes, let them give me a place in some country-town, that I may abide there; for why should thy servant abide in the royal city with thee? 6 And Achish gave him Ziklag that day; therefore Ziklag belongs to the kings of Judah to this day. 7 And the time that David abode in the country of the Philistines was a year and four months. 8 And David and his men went up and made a raid upon the Geshurites, and the Gerzites, and the Amalekites: for those were of old the inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to Shur, and as far as the land of Egypt. 9 And David smote the land, and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the apparel, and returned, and came to Achish. 10 So Achish said, Have ye not made a raid to-day? And David said, Against the south of Judah, and against the south of the Jerahmeelites, and against the south of the Kenites. 11 And David left neither man nor woman alive, to bring [them] to Gath, for he said, Lest they should tell of us, saying, So did David. And such was his custom as long as he abode in the country of the Philistines. 12 And Achish trusted David, saying, He has made himself utterly odious among his people Israel; and he shall be my servant for ever.
1 Samuel 27 Darby Translation
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Achish
King of Gath to whom David fled twice, first feigning madness and later living in his territory with Ziklag as his town, and who trusted David until the Philistine commanders sent…
Cited in the guide: 1 Samuel 21:10; 1 Samuel 21:12; 1 Samuel 27:2
Ahinoam
A woman of Jezreel whom David married; she went with him to Gath, was captured by the Amalekites at Ziklag and rescued, and bore his firstborn Amnon in Hebron.
Cited in the guide: 1 Samuel 25:43; 1 Samuel 27:3; 1 Samuel 30:5
David
The shepherd who became Israel's greatest king and a man after God's own heart.
Cited in the guide: 1 Sam. 16 - 1 Kings 2; 2 Sam. 7; 1 Chron. 2:15; Matt. 1:6
Maoch
Named as the father of Achish, the king of Gath.
Cited in the guide: 1 Samuel 27:2
Cross references (12)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Isaiah 40:27–31; Isaiah 51:12; 1 Samuel 23:17; 1 Samuel 28:1–2; 1 Samuel 16:13
- 2 1 Samuel 25:13; 1 Samuel 21:10; 1 Kings 2:39–40; 1 Samuel 30:8
- 3 1 Samuel 25:42–43; 1 Samuel 30:5; 1 Samuel 25:3; 1 Samuel 25:18–35; 1 Samuel 30:3
- 4 1 Samuel 26:21
- 5 Genesis 46:34; 2 Corinthians 6:17
- 6 Nehemiah 11:28; Joshua 15:31; 1 Samuel 19:5; 2 Samuel 1:1; 1 Samuel 30:1
- 7 1 Samuel 29:3
- 8 1 Samuel 15:7–8; Joshua 13:2; Joshua 13:13; Judges 1:29; Joshua 16:10
- 9 1 Samuel 15:3; 1 Samuel 15:7; Genesis 25:18; Deuteronomy 25:17–19; Joshua 6:21
- 10 Judges 1:16; 1 Chronicles 2:25; 1 Chronicles 2:9; Judges 4:11; 1 Samuel 30:29
- 11 Proverbs 29:25; Proverbs 12:19; 1 Samuel 22:22
- 12 Genesis 34:30; 1 Samuel 13:4
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences