God’s Word Translation
1 Samuel 27:1
1David said to himself, “One of these days Saul will sweep me away. The best thing for me to do is to make sure that I escape to Philistine territory. Then Saul will give up looking all over Israel for me, and I’ll escape from him.”
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
David said to himself, “One of these days Saul will sweep me away. The best thing for me to do is to make sure that I escape to Philistine territory. Then Saul will give up looking all over Israel for me, and I’ll escape from him.” 2So David went with his 600 men to King Achish of Gath, Moach’s son. 3David and his men stayed with Achish in Gath. Each one had his family, and David had his two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail (who had been Nabal’s wife) from Carmel.
Read all of 1 Samuel 271 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 asked Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul now that I have rejected him as king of Israel? Fill a flask with olive oil and go. I’m sending you to Jesse in Bethlehem because I’ve selected one of his sons to be king.”
- 1 Samuel 23:17“Don’t be afraid,” he told David, “my father Saul won’t find you. You will rule Israel, and I will be your second-in-command. Even my father Saul knows this.”
- 1 Samuel 25:30When the Lord does all the good he promised and makes you ruler of Israel,
- Psalms 116:11I also said when I was panic-stricken, “Everyone is undependable.”
- Proverbs 13:12Delayed hope makes one sick at heart, but a fulfilled longing is a tree of life.
- Isaiah 40:27Jacob, why do you complain? Israel, why do you say, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my rights are ignored by my God”?
- Isaiah 51:12I alone am the one who comforts you. Why, then, are you afraid of mortals, who must die, of humans, who are like grass?
- Mark 4:40He asked them, “Why are you such cowards? Don’t you have any faith yet?”
- 2 Corinthians 7:5Ever since we arrived in the province of Macedonia, we’ve had no rest. Instead, we suffer in a number of ways. Outwardly we have conflicts, and inwardly we have fears.
- 1 Samuel 22:5“Don’t live in your fortified camp,” the prophet Gad told David. “Go to the land of Judah.” So David went to the forest of Hereth.
- Exodus 14:12Didn’t we tell you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone! Let us go on serving the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”
- Numbers 14:3Why is the Lord bringing us to this land—just to have us die in battle? Our wives and children will be taken as prisoners of war! Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?”
- Proverbs 3:5Trust the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding.
- Isaiah 30:15This is what the Almighty Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: You can be saved by returning to me. You can have rest. You can be strong by being quiet and by trusting me. But you don’t want that.
- Lamentations 3:26“It is good to continue to hope and wait silently for the Lord to save us.
- 1 Samuel 27:10Achish would ask, “Whom did you raid today?” And David would answer, “the Negev in Judah,” or “the portion of the Negev where the descendants of Jerahmeel live,” or “the portion of the Negev 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
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries