1 Samuel 27:9 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And David would strike the land and would leave neither man nor woman alive, but would take away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the garments, and come back to Achish.

NIV: Whenever David attacked an area, he did not leave a man or woman alive, but took sheep and cattle, donkeys and camels, and clothes. Then he returned to Achish.

NASB: David attacked the land and did not leave a man or a woman alive, and he took the sheep, the cattle, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing. Then he returned and came to Achish.

CSB: Whenever David attacked the land, he did not leave a single person alive, either man or woman, but he took flocks, herds, donkeys, camels, and clothing. Then he came back to Achish,

NLT: David did not leave one person alive in the villages he attacked. He took the sheep, goats, cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothing before returning home to see King Achish.

KJV: And David smote the land, and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the apparel, and returned, and came to Achish.

NKJV: Whenever David attacked the land, he left neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the apparel, and returned and came to Achish.

First Samuel 27:8–12 shows David's success when finally free to fight Israel's enemies. Since he and his men saved Keilah, they have spent all their time fleeing from Saul and his army (1 Samuel 23:1–14). They've finally found peace with the Philistine king Achish. From the city Achish has given them (1 Samuel 27:1–7), David's troops destroy the tribes God had told Joshua to. When they return, they tell Achish their victims are Israelites in Judah. Achish trusts them so much, he invites them to fight Saul with him. Fortunately, the other Philistine kings don't approve (1 Samuel 29).

David takes his people to safety. Convinced that Saul will eventually kill him, David asks the king of the Philistine city of Gath to provide protection for him, his men, and their families. Achish agrees and eventually gives David the town of Ziklag. From there, David and his men conduct raids on Israel's enemies and bring the king some of the plunder. David tells the king he has been attacking the people of Israel and their allies, and Achish believes the lie, growing to trust David fully. Even better, Saul stops hunting them.

After being hunted by King Saul (1 Samuel 24—26), David finds safety with the Philistines. Saul will never stop trying to kill him, but King Achish of Gath is willing to give David and his people a city of their own. Achish trusts David so much he brings David and his men to fight the Israelites. David goes willingly, but the other Philistine kings refuse to fight with the man who killed so many of them. David's unit returns to find their city burned and their wives and children taken. While they rescue their families, Saul and Jonathan die in battle with the Philistines (1 Samuel 29—31).

First Samuel introduces the key figures who led Israel after the era of the judges. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel were originally part of a single text, split in certain translations shortly before the birth of Christ. Some of the Bible’s most famous characters are depicted in this book. These including the prophet Samuel, Israel’s first king, Saul, her greatest king, David, and other famous names such as Goliath and Jonathan. By the end of this book, Saul has fallen; the book of 2 Samuel begins with David’s ascension to the throne.