1 Samuel 27:4-12

4 And it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath, and he sought him no more.
5 And David said unto Achish, If I have now found grace in thine eyes, let me be given a place in one of the cities of the land that I may dwell there, for why should thy slave dwell in the royal city with thee?
6 Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day. Therefore, Ziklag pertains to the kings of Judah unto this day.
7 And the number of days that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was four months and some days.
8 And David and his men went up and invaded the Geshurites and the Gezrites and the Amalekites, for these had inhabited the land for a long time, from as thou goest unto Shur even unto the land of Egypt.
9 And David smote the land and left neither man nor woman alive and took away the sheep and the oxen and the asses and the camels and the apparel and returned and came to Achish.
10 And Achish would say, Where have ye raided today? And David would say, Against the south of Judah and towards the Negev of the Jerahmeelites or towards the Negev of the Kenites.
11 And David left neither man nor woman alive, to bring tidings to Gath, saying, Lest they should tell on us, saying, So did David. And this was his manner all the time he dwelt in the land of the Philistines.
12 And Achish believed David, saying, He is making himself abominable unto his people of Israel; therefore, he shall be my slave for ever.

1 Samuel 27:4-12 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 27

David, fearing he should perish by the hand of Saul at one time or another, went into the land of the Philistines, which Saul hearing of, sought no more after him, 1Sa 27:1-4; and finding favour in the eyes of the king of Gath, desired a place in his country might be given him to reside in; and accordingly Ziklag was given him, 1Sa 27:5-7; from whence he made excursions into the land of the Amalekites, and others, and utterly destroyed them; but imposed on the king of Gath, pretending he had made his road into the southern parts of Judah, 1Sa 27:8-12.

The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010