New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 David said in his heart, "I shall now perish one day 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 seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand."
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And David said to himself, Some day death will come to me by the hand of Saul: the only thing for me to do is to get away into the land of the Philistines; then Saul will give up hope of taking me in any part of the land of Israel: and so I may be able to get away from him.
2 So David set out and went over, he and the six hundred men who were with him, to King Achish son of Maoch of Gath.
2
So David and the six hundred men who were with him went over to Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath.
3 David stayed with Achish at Gath, he and his troops, every man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail of Carmel, Nabal's widow.
3
And David and his men were living with Achish at Gath; every man had his family with him, and David had his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail of Carmel, who had been the wife of Nabal.
4 When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer sought for him.
4
And Saul, hearing that David had gone to Gath, went after him no longer.
5 Then David said to Achish, "If I have found favor in your sight, let a place be given me in one of the country towns, so that I may live there; for why should your servant live in the royal city with you?"
5
Then David said to Achish, If now I have grace in your eyes, let me have a place in one of the smaller towns of your land, to be my living-place; for it is not right for your servant to be living with you in the king's town.
6 So that day Achish gave him Ziklag; therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day.
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So Achish straight away gave him Ziklag: and for that reason Ziklag has been the property of the kings of Judah to this day.
7 The length of time that David lived in the country of the Philistines was one year and four months.
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And David was living in the land of the Philistines for the space of a year and four months.
8 Now David and his men went up and made raids on the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites; for these were the landed settlements from Telam on the way to Shur and on to the land of Egypt.
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And David and his men went up and made attacks on the Geshurites and the Girzites and the Amalekites; for these were the people who were living in the land from Telam on the way to Shur, as far as Egypt.
9 David struck the land, leaving neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing, and came back to Achish.
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And David again and again made attacks on the land till not a man or a woman was still living; and he took away the sheep and the oxen and the asses and the camels and the clothing; and he came back to Achish.
10 When Achish asked, "Against whom have you made a raid today?" David would say, "Against the Negeb of Judah," or "Against the Negeb of the Jerahmeelites," or, "Against the Negeb of the Kenites."
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And every time Achish said, Where have you been fighting today? David said, Against the South of Judah and the South of the Jerahmeelites and the South of the Kenites.
11 David left neither man nor woman alive to be brought back to Gath, thinking, "They might tell about us, and say, "David has done so and so.' " Such was his practice all the time he lived in the country of the Philistines.
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Not one living man or woman did David ever take back with him to Gath, fearing that they might give an account of what had taken place, and say, This is what David did, and so has he been doing all the time while he has been living in the land of the Philistines.
12 Achish trusted David, thinking, "He has made himself utterly abhorrent to his people Israel; therefore he shall always be my servant."
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And Achish had belief in what David said, saying, He has made himself hated by all his people Israel, and so he will be my servant for ever.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.