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1 Kingdoms (1 Samuel)

Chapter 27

¹ And David said in his heart, Now shall I be one day delivered [for death] into the hands of Saul; and there is no good thing for me unless I should escape into the land of the Philistines, and Saul should cease from seeking me through every coast of Israel: so I shall escape out of his hand. ² So David arose, and the six hundred men that were with him, and he went to Achish, son of Maoch, king of Gath. ³ And David dwelt with Achish, he and his men, each with his family; and David and both his wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. ⁴ And it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath; and he no longer sought after him.

ΚΑΙ εἶπε Δαυὶδ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ λέγων· νῦν προστεθήσομαι ἐν ἡμέρᾳ μιᾷ εἰς χεῖρας Σαούλ, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι μοι ἀγαθόν, ἐὰν μὴ σωθῶ εἰς γῆν ἀλλοφύλων καὶ ἀνῇ Σαοὺλ τοῦ ζητεῖν με εἰς πᾶν ὅριον Ἰσραήλ, καὶ σωθήσομαι ἐκ χειρὸς αὐτοῦ. καὶ ἀνέστη Δαυὶδ καὶ οἱ ἑξακόσιοι ἄνδρες οἱ μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐπορεύθη πρὸς Ἀγχοῦς υἱὸν Ἀμμὰχ βασιλέα Γέθ. καὶ ἐκάθισε Δαυὶδ μετὰ Ἀγχοῦς, αὐτὸς καὶ οἱ ἄνδρες αὐτοῦ, ἕκαστος καὶ ὁ οἶκος αὐτοῦ, καὶ Δαυὶδ καὶ ἀμφότεραι αἱ γυναῖκες αὐτοῦ, Ἀχινὰαχ Ἰεζραηλῖτις καὶ Ἀβιγαία ἡ γυνὴ Νάβαλ τοῦ Καρμηλίου. καὶ ἀνηγγέλη τῷ Σαοὺλ ὅτι πέφευγε Δαυὶδ εἰς Γέθ, καὶ οὐ προσέθετο ἔτι ζητεῖν αὐτόν.

1Kgdms 27:1-4

⁵ And David said to Achish, If now thy servant has found grace in thine eyes, let them give me, I pray thee, a place in one of the cities in the country, and I will dwell there: for why does thy servant dwell with thee in a royal city? ⁶ And he gave him Ziklag in that day: therefore Ziklag came into possession of the king of Judea to this day. ⁷ And the number of the days that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was four months.

καὶ εἶπε Δαυὶδ πρὸς Ἀγχοῦς· εἰ δή εὕρηκεν ὁ δοῦλός σου χάριν ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς σου, δότωσαν δή μοι τόπον ἐν μιᾷ τῶν πόλεων τῶν κατ᾿ ἀγρὸν καὶ καθήσομαι ἐκεῖ· καὶ ἱνατί κάθηται ὁ δοῦλός σου ἐν πόλει βασιλευομένη μετὰ σοῦ; καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ τὴν Σεκελάκ· διὰ τοῦτο ἐγενήθη Σεκελὰκ τῷ βασιλεῖ τῆς Ἰουδαίας ἕως τῆς ἡμέρας ταύτης. καὶ ἐγενήθη ὁ ἀριθμὸς τῶν ἡμερῶν, ὧν ἐκάθισε Δαυὶδ ἐν ἀγρῷ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων τέσσαρας μῆνας.

1Kgdms 27:5-7

⁸ And David and his men went up, and made an attack on all the Girzites and on the Amalekites: and behold, the land was inhabited (even the land from Gelampsur) by those who come from the fortified [cities] even to the land of Egypt. ⁹ And he smote the land, and saved neither man nor woman alive; and they took flocks, and herds, and asses, and camels, and raiment; and they returned and came to Achish. ¹⁰ And Achish said to David, On whom have ye made an attack today? And David said to Achish, On the south of Judea, and on the south of Jesmega, and on the south of the Kenite. ¹¹ And I have not saved man or woman alive to bring them to Gath, saying, Lest they carry a report to Gath against us, saying, These things David does. And this was his manner all the days that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines. ¹² So David had the full confidence of Achish, who said, He is thoroughly disgraced among his people in Israel, and he shall be my servant forever.

καὶ ἀνέβαινε Δαυὶδ καὶ οἱ ἄνδρες αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐπετίθεντο ἐπὶ πάντα τὸν Γεσιρὶ καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν Ἀμαληκίτην· καὶ ἰδοὺ ἡ γῆ κατῳκεῖτο ἀπὸ ἀνηκόντων ἡ ἀπὸ Γελαμψοὺρ τετειχισμένων καὶ ἕως γῆς Αἰγύπτου. καὶ ἔτυπτε τὴν γῆν καὶ οὐκ ἐζωογόνει ἄνδρα ἢ γυναῖκα καὶ ἐλάμβανον ποίμνια καὶ βουκόλια καὶ ὄνους καὶ καμήλους καὶ ἱματισμόν, καὶ ἀνέστρεψαν καὶ ἤρχοντο πρὸς Ἀγχοῦς. καὶ εἶπεν Ἀγχοῦς πρὸς Δαυίδ· ἐπὶ τίνα ἐπέθεσθε σήμερον; καὶ εἶπε Δαυὶδ πρὸς Ἀγχοῦς· κατὰ νότον τῆς Ἰουδαίας καὶ κατὰ νότον Ἰεσμεγὰ καὶ κατὰ νότον τοῦ Κενεζί. καὶ ἄνδρα καὶ γυναῖκα οὐκ ἐζωογόνησα τοῦ εἰσαγαγεῖν εἰς Γὲθ λέγων· μὴ ἀναγγείλωσιν εἰς Γὲθ καθ᾿ ἡμῶν λέγοντες· τάδε Δαυὶδ ποιεῖ, καὶ τόδε τὸ δικαίωμα αὐτοῦ πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας, ἃς ἐκάθητο Δαυὶδ ἐν ἀγρῷ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων. καὶ ἐπιστεύθη Δαυὶδ ἐν τῷ Ἀγχοῦς σφόδρα λέγων· ᾔσχυνται αἰσχυνόμενος ἐν τῷ λαῷ αὐτοῦ ἐν Ἰσραὴλ καὶ ἔσται μοι δοῦλος εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.

1Kgdms 27:8-12

Greek: Septuagint, public domain via eBible.org (grclxx). The English remains the primary text; the Greek is offered for study.

The Fathers on this passage

How the fathers, councils, and saints of the corpus read 1 Kingdoms (1 Samuel): Chapter 27. Drawn by meaning from across the tradition; follow any link to read it in full context.