David among the Philistines

1David said to himself, “One of these days Saul will kill me. The best thing for me to do is to escape to Philistia. Then Saul will give up looking for me in Israel, and I will be safe.” 2So David and his 600 men went over at once to Achish son of Maoch, king of Gath. 3David and his men settled there in Gath with their families. David had his two wives with him, Ahinoam from Jezreel, and Abigail, Nabal's widow, from Carmel. 4When Saul heard that David had fled to Gath, he gave up trying to find him.

5David said to Achish, “If you are my friend, let me have a small town to live in. There is no need, sir, for me to live with you in the capital city.” 6So Achish gave him the town of Ziklag, and for this reason Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since. 7David lived in Philistia for sixteen months.

8During that time David and his men would attack the people of Geshur, Girzi, and Amalek, who had been living in the region a very long time. He would raid their land as far as Shur, all the way down to Egypt, 9killing all the men and women and taking the sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and even the clothes. Then he would come back to Achish, 10who would ask him, “Where did you go on a raid this time?” and David would tell him that he had gone to the southern part of Judah or to the territory of the clan of Jerahmeel or to the territory where the Kenites lived. 11David would kill everyone, men and women, so that no one could go back to Gath and report what he and his men had really done. This is what David did the whole time he lived in Philistia. 12But Achish trusted David and said to himself, “He is hated so much by his own people the Israelites that he will have to serve me all his life.”