27David 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."H1732H559H3820H5595H259H3117H3027H7586H2896H3588H4422H4422H776H6430H7586H2976H1245H1366H3478H4422H30272So David set out and went over, he and the six hundred men who were with him, to King Achish son of Maoch of Gath.H1732H6965H5674H8337H3967H376H397H1121H4582H4428H16613David 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.H1732H3427H397H1661H582H376H1004H1732H8147H802H293H3159H26H3762H5037H8024When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer sought for him.H5046H7586H1732H1272H1661H1245H3254H32545Then 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?"H1732H559H397H4672H2580H5869H5414H4725H259H5892H7704H3427H5650H3427H4467H58926So that day Achish gave him Ziklag; therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day.H397H5414H6860H3117H6860H4428H3063H31177The length of time that David lived in the country of the Philistines was one year and four months.H4557H3117H1732H3427H7704H6430H3117H702H23208Now 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.H1732H582H5927H6584H1651H1511H6003H2007H5769H3427H776H935H7793H776H47149David 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.H1732H5221H776H376H802H2421H3947H6629H1241H2543H1581H899H7725H935H39710When 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."H397H559H408H6584H3117H1732H559H5045H3063H5045H3397H5045H701711David 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.H1732H2421H376H802H2421H935H1661H559H5046H559H6213H1732H4941H3117H3427H7704H643012Achish trusted David, thinking, "He has made himself utterly abhorrent to his people Israel; therefore he shall always be my servant."H397H539H1732H559H5971H3478H887H887H5650H5769