1 Samuel 27:1 - Forerunner Commentary

1 Samuel 27:1

David Allied with the Philistines

1 And David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of Israel. So I shall escape out of his hand.”

2 Then David arose ^aand went over with the six hundred men who were with him ^bto Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath.

3 So David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, each man with his household, and David ^awith his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s widow.

4 And it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath; so he sought him no more.

5 Then David said to Achish, “If I have now found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?”

6 So Achish gave him Ziklag that day. Therefore ^aZiklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day.

7 Now¹ the time that David ^adwelt in the country of the Philistines was one full year and four months.

8 And David and his men went up and raided ^athe Geshurites, ^bthe Girzites, and the ^cAmalekites. For those nations were the inhabitants of the land from² of old, ^das you go to Shur, even as far as the land of Egypt.

9 Whenever David¹ attacked the land, he left neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the apparel, and returned and came to Achish.

10 Then Achish would say, “Where have you made a raid today?” And David would say, “Against the southern area of Judah, or against the southern area of ^athe Jerahmeelites, or against the southern area of ^bthe Kenites.”

11 David would save neither man nor woman alive, to bring news to Gath, saying, “Lest they should inform on us, saying, ‘Thus David did.’ ” And thus was his behavior all the time he dwelt in the country of the Philistines.

12 So Achish believed David, saying, “He has made his people Israel utterly abhor him; therefore he will be my servant forever.”

Verse Comparison: 1 Samuel 27:1

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American Standard Version
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 escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me any more in all the borders of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand.

Amplified® Bible
BUT 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 escape into the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of seeking me any more within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand.

Contemporary English Version
but he thought to himself, "One of these days, Saul is going to kill me. The only way to escape from him is to go to Philistia. Then I'll be outside of Israel, and Saul will give up trying to catch me."

Darby English Version
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.

Good News Bible
David 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."

King James Version
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 shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand.

New American Standard Bible
Then David said to himself, "Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape into the land of the Philistines. Saul then will despair of searching for me anymore in all the territory of Israel, and I will escape from his hand."

New International Version
But David thought to himself, "One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand."

New King James Version
And David said in his heart, 'Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of Israel. So I shall escape out of his hand.'

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
Then David said to himself, "Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul. I can do nothing better than to escape into the land of the Philistines. Saul then will despair of searching for me anymore in all the territory of Israel, and I will escape from his hand."

Revised Standard Version
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 escape to the land of the Philistines; then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand."

Young's Literal Translation
And David saith unto his heart, `Now am I consumed one day by the hand of Saul; there is nothing for me better than that I diligently escape unto the land of the Philistines, and Saul hath been despairing of me -- of seeking me any more in all the border of Israel, and I have escaped out of his hand.'

New English Translation
David thought to himself,¹ “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.”

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