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Scripture · Old Testament

1 Samuel 27:1

1 Samuel 27:1 is verse 1 of 1 Samuel chapter 27, shown here in the Berean Standard Bible.

Berean Standard Bible

David, however, said to himself, “One of these days now I will be swept away by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will stop searching for me all over Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.”

BSB source and public domain terms

King James Version

And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand.

World English Bible

David said in his heart, “I will now perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me any more in all the borders of Israel. So I will escape out of his hand.”

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1 Samuel 27:1–3 · Berean Standard Bible

1 David, however, said to himself, “One of these days now I will be swept away by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will stop searching for me all over Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.”

2 So David set out with his six hundred men and went to Achish son of Maoch, the king of Gath.

3 David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal.

Read all of 1 Samuel 27

Hebrew words

Data created by STEPBible.org based on work at Tyndale House Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

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Cross-references

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge lists these related verses. Scripture text comes from the Berean Standard Bible.

1 Samuel 16:1

Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have selected from his sons a king for Myself.”

1 Samuel 16:13

So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah.

1 Samuel 23:17

saying, “Do not be afraid, for my father Saul will never lay a hand on you. And you will be king over Israel, and I will be your second-in-command. Even my father Saul knows this is true.”

1 Samuel 25:30

When the LORD has done for my lord all the good He promised, and when He has appointed you ruler over Israel,

Psalms 116:11

In my alarm I said, “All men are liars!”

Proverbs 13:12

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

Isaiah 40:27

Why do you say, O Jacob, and why do you assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my claim is ignored by my God”?

Isaiah 40:28

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching out.

Isaiah 40:29

He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak.

Isaiah 40:30

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall.

Isaiah 40:31

But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.

Isaiah 51:12

“I, even I, am He who comforts you. Why should you be afraid of mortal man, of a son of man who withers like grass?

Matthew 14:31

Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and took hold of Peter. “You of little faith,” He said, “why did you doubt?”

Mark 4:40

“Why are you so afraid?” He asked. “Do you still have no faith?”

2 Corinthians 7:5

For when we arrived in Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were pressed from every direction—conflicts on the outside, fears within.

1 Samuel 22:5

Then the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold. Depart and go into the land of Judah.” So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.

Exodus 14:12

Did we not say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

Numbers 14:3

Why is the LORD bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?”

Proverbs 3:5

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;

Proverbs 3:6

in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

Isaiah 30:15

For the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said: “By repentance and rest you would be saved; your strength would lie in quiet confidence— but you were not willing.”

Isaiah 30:16

“No,” you say, “we will flee on horses.” Therefore you will flee! “We will ride swift horses,” but your pursuers will be faster.

Lamentations 3:26

It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

Lamentations 3:27

It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is still young.

1 Samuel 27:10

who would ask him, “What have you raided today?” And David would reply, “The Negev of Judah,” or “The Negev of Jerahmeel,” or “The Negev of the Kenites.”

1 Samuel 27:11

David did not leave a man or woman alive to be brought to Gath, for he said, “Otherwise they will report us, saying, ‘This is what David did.’” And this was David’s custom the whole time he lived in Philistine territory.

1 Samuel 21:10

That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath.

1 Samuel 21:11

But the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David, the king of the land? Did they not sing about him in their dances, saying: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?”

1 Samuel 21:12

Now David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath.

1 Samuel 21:13

So he changed his behavior before them and feigned madness in their hands; he scratched on the doors of the gate and let his saliva run down his beard.

1 Samuel 21:14

Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you can see that the man is insane! Why have you brought him to me?

1 Samuel 21:15

Am I in need of madmen, that you have brought this man to rave in my presence? Must this man come into my house?”

1 Samuel 28:1

Now in those days the Philistines gathered their forces for warfare against Israel. So Achish said to David, “You must understand that you and your men are to go out to battle with me.”

1 Samuel 28:2

David replied, “Then you will come to know what your servant can do.” “Very well,” said Achish. “I will make you my bodyguard for life.”

1 Samuel 29:2

As the Philistine leaders marched out their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men marched behind them with Achish.

1 Samuel 29:3

Then the commanders of the Philistines asked, “What about these Hebrews?” Achish replied, “Is this not David, the servant of King Saul of Israel? He has been with me all these days, even years, and from the day he defected until today I have found no fault in him.”

1 Samuel 29:4

But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with Achish and told him, “Send that man back and let him return to the place you assigned him. He must not go down with us into battle only to become our adversary during the war. What better way for him to regain the favor of his master than with the heads of our men?

1 Samuel 29:5

Is this not the David about whom they sing in their dances: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?”

1 Samuel 29:6

So Achish summoned David and told him, “As surely as the LORD lives, you have been upright in my sight, and it seems right that you should march in and out with me in the army, because I have found no fault in you from the day you came to me until this day. But you have no favor in the sight of the leaders.

1 Samuel 29:7

Therefore turn back now and go in peace, so that you will not do anything to displease the leaders of the Philistines.”

1 Samuel 29:8

“But what have I done?” David replied. “What have you found against your servant, from the day I came to you until today, to keep me from going along to fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”

1 Samuel 29:9

Achish replied, “I know that you are as pleasing in my sight as an angel of God. But the commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go into battle with us.’

1 Samuel 29:10

Now then, get up early in the morning, along with your master’s servants who came with you, and go as soon as it is light.”

1 Samuel 29:11

So David and his men got up early in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

1 Samuel 30:1

On the third day David and his men arrived in Ziklag, and the Amalekites had raided the Negev, attacked Ziklag, and burned it down.

1 Samuel 30:2

They had taken captive the women and all who were there, both young and old. They had not killed anyone, but had carried them off as they went on their way.

1 Samuel 30:3

When David and his men came to the city, they found it burned down and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive.

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