1 Samuel 27:1

1 Samuel 27:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)But David thought to himself, “One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then David said in his heart, "Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should 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."
• New King James Version (NKJV)And David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of Israel. So I shall escape out of his hand.”

Context of 1 Samuel 27:1

Then David thought, ‘I am sure that Saul will catch me one day. Then he will kill me. I must go to the country of the Philistines so that I will be safe from Saul. That is the best thing that I can do. When I am no longer in the land of Israel, Saul will stop looking for me here. I will escape from him.’ 2So David and his 600 men went across the border of Israel to Gath town. Maoch's son Achish was the king there. 3David and his men lived in Gath with King Achish. They had their families with them. David's two wives were with him: Ahinoam from Jezreel, and Abigail from Carmel. Abigail was Nabal's widow.

1 Samuel 27:1 word by word

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר דָּוִד֙ אֶל־לִבּ֔וֹ עַתָּ֛ה אֶסָּפֶ֥ה יוֹם־אֶחָ֖ד בְּיַד־שָׁא֑וּל אֵֽין־לִ֨י ט֜וֹב כִּ֣י הִמָּלֵ֥ט אִמָּלֵ֣ט׀ אֶל־אֶ֣רֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּ֗ים וְנוֹאַ֨שׁ מִמֶּ֤נִּי שָׁאוּל֙ לְבַקְשֵׁ֤נִי עוֹד֙ בְּכָל־גְּב֣וּל יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְנִמְלַטְתִּ֖י מִיָּדֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Davidדָּוִדdâvid dâvîyd · DavidH1732
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• in his heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820
• I shall now perishסָפָהsâphâh · to snatchH5595
• oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
• dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• by the handיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
• of Saulשָׁאוּלshâ'ûl · SaulH7586
• nothing betterטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
• for me than thatכִּיkîy · forH3588
• I should speedilyמָלַטmâlaţ · to escapeH4422
• into the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• of the Philistinesפְּלִשְׁתִּיpelishtîy · PhilistineH6430
• shall despairיָאַשׁyâ'ash · to despairH2976
• of me, to seekבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
• me any more in any coastגְּבוּלgebûl gebûl · border: boundaryH1366
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 27:1

• 1 Samuel 16:1The Lord said to Samuel, ‘Stop being sad about Saul. I have decided that he will no longer be the king of Israel. Fill your horn with olive oil and go. I am sending you to a man whose name is Jesse. He lives in Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to become king.’
• 1 Samuel 23:17Jonathan said to David, ‘Do not be afraid. My father will never be able to hurt you. You will be the next king to rule over Israel. I will be your most important officer. My father Saul also knows that is true.’
• 1 Samuel 25:30The Lord will surely do for you all the good things that he has promised to do. He will make you the ruler of the Israelites.
• Psalms 116:11I was confused and I said, ‘Everybody tells lies.’
• Proverbs 13:12When you do not receive the things that you hope for, it makes you sad. But when you receive what you have always wanted, you are very happy.
• Isaiah 40:27You Israelites, descendants of Jacob, say, ‘The Lord does not know about our troubles. He does not bring justice to us.’ Why do you say that?
• Isaiah 51:12‘I am the Lord who comforts you. You do not need to be afraid of people who are only human. Remember that they will all die one day, like grass that only lives for a short time.
• Mark 4:40Jesus said to his disciples, ‘You should not be afraid like that. You should trust me.’
• 2 Corinthians 7:5When we arrived in Macedonia, our bodies did not rest at all. We had many kinds of trouble. All round us, people quarrelled with us. Inside us, we were afraid.
• 1 Samuel 22:5The prophet Gad said to David, ‘Do not stay and hide here. Go to the land of Judah.’ So David left his safe place and he went to Hereth forest.
• Exodus 14:12We said to you in Egypt, “Leave us alone. Let us work for the Egyptians.” It would have been better for us to be their slaves than to die here in the desert!’
• Numbers 14:3Why has the Lord brought us into this land? Its people will kill us all with swords. They will take our wives and our children for themselves. We think that it would be better for us to return to Egypt.’
• Proverbs 3:5Trust in the Lord completely. Do not think that you understand things well enough for yourself.
• Isaiah 30:15The Almighty Lord, Israel's Holy God says this: ‘Turn back to me and wait for me to help you. Be quiet and trust in me. Then you will be safe and you will be strong again.’ But you do not want to trust in God.
• Lamentations 3:26It is good when people continue to hope. It is good when they quietly wait for the Lord, because he will save them.
• 1 Samuel 27:10Achish would ask David, ‘Which place did you go and attack today?’ Sometimes David would say, ‘We robbed the people of a town in Judah's desert.’ Or David might say, ‘We attacked a town in the desert where the people of Jerahmeel's clan live.’ Or he might say, ‘We attacked a town in the desert where the Kenites live.’

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 27:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul - This was a very hasty conclusion: God had so often interposed in behalf of his life, that he was authorized to believe the reverse. God had hitherto confounded all Saul's stratagems, and it was not at all likely that he would now abandon him: there was now no additional reason why he should withdraw from David his helping hand.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1David retires to Gath. (1-7) David deceives Achish. (8-12) Verses 1-7 Unbelief is a sin that easily besets even good men, when without are fightings, and within are fears; and it is a hard matter to get over them. Lord, increase our faith! We may blush to think that the word of a Philistine should go further than the word of an Israelite, and that the city of Gath should be a place of refuge for a good man, when the cities of Israel refuse him a safe…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-12David fled to the Philistines to get away from Saul for good. Rather than killing Saul, David chose the dangerous life of a fugitive.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-41Sa 27:1-4. Saul Hearing That David Was Fled to Gath, Seeks No More for Him. 1. David said in his heart, ... there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines--This resolution of David's was, in every respect, wrong: (1) It was removing him from the place where the divine oracle intimated him to remain (1Sa 22:5); (2) It was rushing into the idolatrous land, for driving him into which he had denounced an…Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• David
• Israel
• Philistines
• Saul
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Paul, Saul
• Abimelech
• Achish
• Judah, Territory of

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 27

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings