I Samuelis 27

1 Et ait David in corde suo: Aliquando incidam una die in manus Saul: nonne melius est ut fugiam, et salver in Terra Philisthinorum, ut desperet Saul, cessetque me quaerere in cunctis finibus Israel? fugiam ergo manus eius.

And David said to himself, Some day death will come to me by the hand of Saul: the only thing for me to do is to get away into the land of the Philistines; then Saul will give up hope of taking me in any part of the land of Israel: and so I may be able to get away from him.

2 Et surrexit David, et abiit ipse, et sexcenti viri cum eo, ad Achis filium Maoch regem Geth.

So David and the six hundred men who were with him went over to Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath.

3 Et habitavit David cum Achis in Geth, ipse et viri eius; et domus eius; et David, et duae uxores eius, Achinoam Iezrahelitis, et Abigail uxor Nabal Carmeli.

And David and his men were living with Achish at Gath; every man had his family with him, and David had his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail of Carmel, who had been the wife of Nabal.

4 Et nunciatum est Sauli quod fugisset David in Geth, et non addidit ultra quaerere eum.

And Saul, hearing that David had gone to Gath, went after him no longer.

5 Dixit autem David ad Achis: Si inveni gratiam in oculis tuis, detur mihi locus in una urbium regionis huius, ut habitem ibi: cur enim manet servus tuus in civitate regis tecum?

Then David said to Achish, If now I have grace in your eyes, let me have a place in one of the smaller towns of your land, to be my living-place; for it is not right for your servant to be living with you in the king's town.

6 Dedit itaque ei Achis in die illa Siceleg: propter quam causam facta est Siceleg regum Iuda, usque in diem hanc.

So Achish straight away gave him Ziklag: and for that reason Ziklag has been the property of the kings of Judah to this day.

7 Fuit autem numerus dierum, quibus habitavit David in regione Philisthinorum, quattuor mensium.

And David was living in the land of the Philistines for the space of a year and four months.

8 Et ascendit David, et viri eius, et agebant praedas de Gessuri, et de Gerzi, et de Amalecitis: hi enim pagi habitabantur in terra antiquitus, euntibus Sur usque ad Terram Aegypti.

And David and his men went up and made attacks on the Geshurites and the Girzites and the Amalekites; for these were the people who were living in the land from Telam on the way to Shur, as far as Egypt.

9 Et percutiebat David omnem terram, nec relinquebat viventem virum et mulierem: tollensque oves, et boves, et asinos, et camelos, et vestes, revertebatur, et veniebat ad Achis.

And David again and again made attacks on the land till not a man or a woman was still living; and he took away the sheep and the oxen and the asses and the camels and the clothing; and he came back to Achish.

10 Dicebat autem ei Achis: In quem irruisti hodie? Respondebat David: Contra meridiem Iudae, et contra meridiem Ierameel, et contra meridiem Ceni.

And every time Achish said, Where have you been fighting today? David said, Against the South of Judah and the South of the Jerahmeelites and the South of the Kenites.

11 Virum et mulierem non vivificabat David, nec adducebat in Geth, dicens: Ne forte loquantur adversum nos: Haec fecit David: et hoc erat decretum illi omnibus diebus quibus habitavit in regione Philisthinorum.

Not one living man or woman did David ever take back with him to Gath, fearing that they might give an account of what had taken place, and say, This is what David did, and so has he been doing all the time while he has been living in the land of the Philistines.

12 Credidit ergo Achis David, dicens: Multa mala operatus est contra populum suum Israel: erit igitur mihi servus sempiternus.

And Achish had belief in what David said, saying, He has made himself hated by all his people Israel, and so he will be my servant for ever.