| International Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1David told himself, "One of these days I'll perish by Saul's hand. There is nothing better for me to do than to escape to Philistine territory. Saul will give up searching for me anymore within the borders of Israel, so I'll escape from him." | 1David thought to himself, "One of these days I'm going to 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 despair of searching for me through all the territory of Israel and I will escape from his hand." |
| 2So David got up, and he and the 600 men who were with him went to Maoch's son Achish, the king of Gath. | 2So David left and crossed over to King Achish son of Maoch of Gath accompanied by his six hundred men. |
| 3David stayed with Achish in Gath along with his men, each of whom was with his household. David had his two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, who had been the wife of Nabal of Carmel. | 3David settled with Achish in Gath, along with his men and their families. David had with him his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the Carmelite, Nabal's widow. |
| 4Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, and he did not continue to search for him. | 4When Saul learned that David had fled to Gath, he did not mount a new search for him. |
| 5David told Achish, "If it pleases you, give me a place in one of the outlying towns, so I may live there. Why should your servant live with you in the royal city?" | 5David said to Achish, "If I have found favor with you, let me be given a place in one of the country towns so that I can live there. Why should your servant settle in the royal city with you?" |
| 6So that day Achish gave him Ziklag, and therefore, Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah until the present time. | 6So Achish gave him Ziklag on that day. (For that reason Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah until this very day.) |
| 7David lived in Philistine territory for a year and four months. | 7The length of time that David lived in the Philistine countryside was a year and four months. |
| 8David and his men went up and raided the descendants of Geshur, the descendants of Girzi, and the Amalekites, for they had been living in the land since ancient times, from the entrance of Shur all the way to the land of Egypt. | 8Then David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. (They had been living in that land for a long time, from the approach to Shur as far as the land of Egypt.) |
| 9David struck the land and did not leave a man or woman alive. He took sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothing, and then came back and went to Achish. | 9When David would attack a district, he would leave neither man nor woman alive. He would take sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothing and would then go back to Achish. |
| 10Achish said, "Where did you raid today?" David answered, "Against the Negev of Judah, against the Negev of the Jerahmeelites, and against the Negev of the Kenites." | 10When Achish would ask, "Where did you raid today?" David would say, "The Negev of Judah" or "The Negev of Jeharmeel" or "The Negev of the Kenites." |
| 11David did not leave a man or woman alive to bring to Gath. He told himself, "Otherwise, they'll say, 'This is what David is doing, and this has been his practice all the time he has lived in Philistine territory.'" | 11Neither man nor woman would David leave alive so as to bring them back to Gath. He was thinking, "This way they can't tell on us, saying, 'This is what David did.'" Such was his practice the entire time that he lived in the country of the Philistines. |
| 12Achish believed David, telling himself, "He has certainly made himself repulsive to his people in Israel. He will be my servant forever." | 12So Achish trusted David, thinking to himself, "He is really hated among his own people in Israel! From now on he will be my servant." |
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