1. But David thought to himself, “Saul will catch me someday. The best thing I can do is escape to the land of the Philistines. Then he will give up looking for me in Israel. That way I can get away from him.”
2. So David and his 600 men left Israel. They went to Achish son of Maoch. Achish was king of Gath.
3. David, his men and their families made their home in Gath with Achish. David had his two wives with him. Their names were Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel. Abigail was the widow of Nabal.
4. Now Saul was told that David had run away to Gath. So he stopped looking for him.
5. Then David said to Achish, “If you are pleased with me, give me a place in one of the country towns. I can live there. I don’t need to live in the royal city with you.”
6. That day Achish gave David the town of Ziklag. That is why Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since.
7. David lived in the Philistine land a year and four months.
8. David and his men went to raid the people of Geshur, Girzi and Amalek. (These people had lived for a long time in the land that reached to Shur and Egypt.)
9. When David fought them, he killed all the men and women. He took sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels and clothes. Then he returned to Achish.
10. Many times Achish would ask David, “Where did you go raiding today?” And David would tell him that he had gone to the southern part of Judah. Or he would say he had gone to the territory of the Jerahmeelites or of the Kenites.
11. David never brought a man or woman alive to Gath. He thought, “If we bring anyone alive, he may tell Achish, ‘This is what David really did.’” David did this all the time he lived in the Philistine land.
12. Achish trusted David. He said to himself, “David’s own people, the Israelites, now hate David very much. So David will serve me forever.”