¹And David said in his heart, “One of these days I will be eliminated by Saul. There is nothing better for me than to cleanly escape to the land of the Philistines, then Saul will desist from searching for me any more in every territory of Israel, and I will escape from his clutches.” ²So David arose, and he crossed over, as did the six hundred men who were with him, to Achish the son of Maoch, the king of Gath. ³And David resided with Achish in Gath, he and his men, each with his household, David and his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the former wife of Nabal, the Carmelitess. ⁴And it was reported to Saul that David had fled to Gath, and he did not search for him any more. ⁵And David said to Achish, “Would you, if I have found grace in your eyes, let me be given a place in one of the country towns, and I will stay there, for why should your servant stay in the royal city with you?” ⁶And Achish gave him Ziklag on that day, which is why Ziklag belongs to the kings of Judah as it is up to this day. ⁷And the number of days that David stayed in the country of the Philistines was for a year and four months. ⁸Then David and his men went up and invaded the Geshurites and the Gizrites, and the Amalekites, for they from ancient times had been the inhabitants of the land as you go to Shur as far as the land of Egypt. ⁹And David attacked the land, and he did not leave a man or a woman alive, and he took sheep and oxen and donkeys and camels and clothes, then he returned and went to Achish. ¹⁰And Achish said, “Whom did you raid today?” And David said, “The south of Judah and the south of the Jerahmeelites, and the south of the Kenites.” ¹¹And David did not leave a man or a woman alive to bring a report to Gath, and he said, “It is in order that they do not report on us and say, ‘This is what David did, and this has been his custom all the days that he has been living in the countryside of the Philistines.’ ” ¹²And Achish believed David, and he said, “He has acted utterly odiously with his own people – with Israel – and he will become my servant perpetually.”