1 Samuela 27

1 Pea naʻe pehē ʻe Tevita ʻi hono loto, “Ko eni, ʻe ai ha ʻaho te u ʻauha ai nai ʻi he nima ʻo Saula: ʻoku ʻikai ha meʻa lelei hake kiate au, ka ko ʻeku hola ʻo hao ki he fonua ʻoe kau Filisitia; pea ʻe ʻosi ai ʻae mamahi ʻa Saula kiate au, ʻi he toe kumi kiate au ʻi he ngaahi potu fonua ʻo ʻIsileli: ko ia te u hao ai mei hono nima.”

But David thought, “Some day Saul will capture me [if I stay around here]. So the best thing that I can do is to escape and go to the Philistia area. If I do that, Saul will stop searching for me here in Israel, and I will be safe.”

2 Pea naʻe tuʻu ʻa Tevita, pea hoko atu ia mo e kau tangata ʻe toko onongeau naʻe ʻiate ia kia ʻAkisi, ko e foha ʻo Maoki ko e tuʻi ʻo Kati.

So David and his 600 men left Israel and went to see Maoch’s son Achish, who was king of Gath [city in the Philistia area].

3 Pea naʻe nofo ʻa Tevita mo ʻAkisi ʻi Kati, ʻaia mo hono kau tangata, ʻae tangata taki taha mo hono fale, ʻa Tevita mo hono ongo uaifi ʻe toko ua, ko ʻAhinoami ko e fefine Sesilili, mo ʻApikale ko e fefine Kameli, ʻaia naʻe mali mo Napale.

David and his men and their families started to live there in Gath, the city where king Achish lived. David’s two wives were with him—Ahinoam from Jezreel, and Nabal’s widow Abigail, from Carmel.

4 Pea naʻe tala kia Saula kuo hola ʻa Tevita ki Kati: pea naʻe ʻikai te ne toe kumi ia.

When someone told Saul that David had run away [and was living] in Gath, he stopped searching for David.

5 Pea naʻe pehē ʻe Tevita kia ʻAkisi, “Ko eni, kapau kuo u ʻilo ʻae ʻofa ʻi ho ʻao, tuku kenau foaki mai kiate au ha potu fonua ʻi ha kolo, pe ʻi ʻuta, koeʻuhi ke u nofo ki ai: he koeʻumaʻā ʻae nofo ʻa hoʻo tamaioʻeiki mo koe ʻi he kolo ʻae tuʻi?”

[One day] David said to Achish, “If you are pleased with us, give us a place in one of the small villages where we can stay. There is no need [RHQ] for us to stay in the city where you are the king.”

6 Pea naʻe foaki kiate ia ʻe ʻAkisi ʻa Sikilaki ʻi he ʻaho ko ia: ko ia naʻe toka ai ʻa Sikilaki ki he ngaahi tuʻi ʻo Siuta ʻo aʻu ki he ʻaho ni.

[Achish liked what David suggested]. So that day Achish gave to David Ziklag [town]. As a result, Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah since that time.

7 Pea ko hono lahi ʻoe ʻaho naʻe nofo ai ʻa Tevita ʻi he fonua ʻoe kakai Filisitia, ko e taʻu ʻe taha mo e māhina ʻe fā.

David [and his men] lived in the Philistia area for 16 months.

8 Pea naʻe ʻalu hake ʻa Tevita mo hono kau tangata, ʻo tauʻi ʻae kakai Kesuli, mo e kakai Kesili, mo e kakai ʻAmaleki; he ko kinautolu ko e kakai ʻi muʻa ʻoe fonua ʻi hoʻo ʻalu ki Sua, ʻo ʻalu atu ki he fonua ko ʻIsipite.

[During that time] David and his men raided the people who lived [in the areas] where the Geshur, Girzi, and Amalek people-groups lived. Those people had lived there a long time. That area extended [south] from Telam to the Shur [Desert] and to [the border of] Egypt.

9 Pea naʻe taaʻi ʻe Tevita ʻae fonua, pea naʻe ʻikai tuku ke moʻui ha tangata pe ko e fefine, pea naʻa ne fetuku ʻo ʻave ʻae fanga sipi, mo e fanga pulu, mo e fanga ʻasi, mo e fanga kāmeli, mo e ngaahi kofu, pea liu mai ʻo haʻu, pea hoko ia kia ʻAkisi.

Whenever David’s men attacked them, they killed all the men and women, and they took all the people’s sheep and cattle and donkeys and camels, and even their clothes. Then they would bring those things back home, [and David would go to talk] to Achish.

10 Pea pehē ʻe ʻAkisi, “Kuo mou tofa ʻae hala ki fē he ʻaho ni?” Pea pehē ʻe Tevita, “Ki he potu tonga ʻo Siuta, pea ki he potu tonga ʻoe kakai Selamili, pea ki he potu tonga ʻoe kakai Kena.”

Each time Achish would ask David, “Where did you go raiding today?” David [would lie to him]. Sometimes he would reply that they had gone to the southern part of Judah, and sometimes he would say that they had gone to Jerahmeel, or to the area where the Ken people-group lived.

11 Pea naʻe ʻikai fakamoʻui ʻe Tevita ha tangata ʻe tokotaha pe ha fefine, ke ʻomi ʻae ongoongo ki Kati, ʻo ne pehē, Telia naʻa nau haʻu ʻo talaʻi ʻakimautolu, ʻo pehē, naʻe fai pehē ʻe Tevita, pea ʻe pehē pe ʻene anga, lolotonga ʻene nofo ʻi he fonua ʻoe kakai Filisitia.

David’s men never brought back to Gath any man or woman who was left alive. David thought, “If [we do not kill everyone, some of] them [who are still alive] will go and tell Achish [the truth] about what we really did.” David did that all the time that he [and his men] lived in the Philistia area.

12 Pea naʻe tui ʻa ʻAkisi kia Tevita, ʻo ne pehē, “Kuo fakafehiʻa ʻaupito ʻe ia ʻa hono kakai ʻIsileli kiate ia; ko ia ʻe hoko ai ia ko ʻeku tamaioʻeiki ʻo taʻengata.”

So Achish believed [what] David [told him], and said to himself, “[Because of what David has done, ] his own people, the Israelis, must now hate him very much. So he will have to [stay here and] serve me forever.”