1 but he thought to himself, “One of these days, Saul is going to kill me. The only way to escape from him is to go to Philistia. Then I'll be outside of Israel, and Saul will give up trying to catch me.”
2-3 David and his 600 men went across the border to stay in Gath with King Achish the son of Maoch. His men brought their families with them. David brought his wife Ahinoam whose hometown was Jezreel, and he also brought his wife Abigail who had been married to Nabal from Carmel. 4 When Saul found out that David had run off to Gath, he stopped trying to catch him.
5 One day, David was talking with Achish and said, “If you are happy with me, then let me live in one of the towns in the countryside. I'm not important enough to live here with you in the royal city.”
6 Achish gave David the town of Ziklag that same day, and Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since.
7 David was in Philistia for a year and four months. 8 The Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites lived in the area from Telam to Shur and on as far as Egypt, and David often attacked their towns. 9 Whenever David and his men attacked a town, they took the sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and the clothing, and killed everyone who lived there.
After he returned from a raid, David always went to see Achish, 10 who would ask, “Where did you attack today?”
David would answer, “Oh, we attacked some desert town that belonged to the Judah tribe.” Sometimes David would say, “Oh, we attacked a town in the desert where the Jerahmeel clan lives” or “We attacked a town in the desert where the Kenites live.” 11 That's why David killed everyone in the towns he attacked. He thought, “If I let any of them live, they might come to Gath and tell what I've really been doing.”
David made these raids all the time he was in Philistia. 12 But Achish trusted David and thought, “David's people must be furious with him. From now on he will have to take orders from me.”
Dāvids Gatas ķēniņa dienestā
1 Dāvids pie sevis domāja: “Kādu dienu Sauls mani iznīdēs! Vai nebūtu labāk, ja es bēgtu projām uz filistiešu zemi? Tad Saulam zudīs cerība mani atrast Israēla robežās un es būšu izsprucis no viņa rokām.” 2 Dāvids cēlās un kopā ar sešiem simtiem vīru, kas bija pie viņa, devās pāri pie Gatas ķēniņa Ahīša, Māoha dēla. 3 Dāvids un viņa vīri ar ģimenēm apmetās pie Ahīša Gatā – Dāvids ar abām sievām, jizreēlieti Ahīnoamu un karmelieti Abīgailu, Nābāla atraitni. 4 Kad Saulam pastāstīja, ka Dāvids aizbēdzis uz Gatu, viņš to vairs nemeklēja.
5 Dāvids teica Ahīšam: “Ja esmu guvis tavu vēlību, tad lai man ierāda vietu kādā lauku miestā, kur apmesties. Kāpēc lai tavs kalps dzīvotu kopā ar tevi ķēniņu pilsētā?” 6 Tajā pašā dienā Ahīšs atdeva viņam Ciklagu, tāpēc līdz šai dienai Ciklaga pieder Jūdas ķēniņiem.
7 Dāvids nodzīvoja filistiešu zemēs gadu un četrus mēnešus. 8 Un Dāvids ar saviem vīriem devās sirojumos pret gešūriešiem, geraziešiem un amālēkiešiem, kuri izsenis apdzīvoja šo zemi līdz Šūrai – līdz pat Ēģiptes zemei. 9 Kad Dāvids iebruka viņu zemē, viņš neatstāja dzīvu nevienu – ne vīrus, ne sievas. Viņš ņēma avis, vēršus, ēzeļus un kamieļus, kā arī drānas un atgriezās pie Ahīša. 10 Kad Ahīšs vaicāja: “Kur šoreiz sirojāt?” – Dāvids atbildēja: “Jūdas dienvidzemē,” vai: “Jerahmeēliešu dienvidzemē,” vai: “Kēniešu dienvidzemē.” 11 Viņš neatstāja dzīvus ne vīrus, ne sievas – nevienu neveda uz Gatu, domādams: “Ka tie neizstāsta par mums, sacīdami: tā Dāvids ir darījis!” Tā viņš rīkojās visu laiku, kamēr dzīvoja filistiešu zemēs. 12 Ahīšs uzticējās Dāvidam un domāja: “Viņš smirdēt sasmirdis savai tautai Israēlam! Nu viņš būs mans kalps uz mūžu.”
