One Year Bible.

David and the Philistines

¹David, however, said to himself, “One of these days now I will be swept away by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will stop searching for me all over Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.”

²So David set out with his six hundred men and went to Achish son of Maoch, the king of Gath. ³David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal. ⁴And when Saul learned that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him.

⁵Then David said to Achish, “If I have found favor in your eyes, let me be assigned a place in one of the outlying towns, so I can live there. For why should your servant live in the royal city with you?”

⁶That day Achish gave him Ziklag, and to this day it still belongs to the kings of Judah. ⁷And the time that David lived in Philistine territory amounted to a year and four months.

⁸Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these people had inhabited the land extending to Shur and Egypt.) ⁹Whenever David attacked a territory, he did not leave a man or woman alive, but he took the flocks and herds, the donkeys, camels, and clothing.

Then he would return to Achish, ¹⁰who would ask him, “What have you raided today?”

And David would reply, “The Negev of Judah,” or “The Negev of Jerahmeel,” or “The Negev of the Kenites.”

¹¹David did not leave a man or woman alive to be brought to Gath, for he said, “Otherwise they will report us, saying, ‘This is what David did.’” And this was David’s custom the whole time he lived in Philistine territory.

¹²So Achish trusted David, thinking, “Since he has made himself an utter stench to his people Israel, he will be my servant forever.”

Come Quickly to Me

¹A Psalm of David.

I call upon You, O LORD; come quickly to me.

Hear my voice when I call to You.

²May my prayer be set before You like incense;

my uplifted hands, like the evening offering.

³Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth;

keep watch at the door of my lips.

⁴Do not let my heart be drawn to any evil thing

or take part in works of wickedness

with men who do iniquity;

let me not feast on their delicacies.

⁵Let the righteous man strike me;

let his rebuke be an act of loving devotion.

It is oil for my head; let me not refuse it.

For my prayer is ever against the deeds of the wicked.

⁶When their rulers are thrown down from the cliffs,

the people will listen to my words,

for they are pleasant.

⁷As when one plows and breaks up the soil,

so our bones have been scattered at the mouth of Sheol.

⁸But my eyes are fixed on You,

O GOD the Lord.

In You I seek refuge;

do not leave my soul defenseless.

⁹Keep me from the snares they have laid for me,

and from the lures of evildoers.

¹⁰Let the wicked fall into their own nets,

while I pass by in safety.

Eliphaz: Can a Man Be of Use to God?

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

²“Can a man be of use to God?

Can even a wise man benefit Him?

³Does it delight the Almighty that you are righteous?

Does He profit if your ways are blameless?

⁴Is it for your reverence that He rebukes you

and enters into judgment against you?

⁵Is not your wickedness great?

Are not your iniquities endless?

⁶For you needlessly demanded security from your brothers

and deprived the naked of their clothing.

⁷You gave no water to the weary

and withheld food from the famished,

⁸while the land belonged to a mighty man,

and a man of honor lived on it.

⁹You sent widows away empty-handed,

and the strength of the fatherless was crushed.

¹⁰Therefore snares surround you,

and sudden peril terrifies you;

¹¹it is so dark you cannot see,

and a flood of water covers you.

¹²Is not God as high as the heavens?

Look at the highest stars, how lofty they are!

¹³Yet you say: ‘What does God know?

Does He judge through thick darkness?

¹⁴Thick clouds veil Him so He does not see us

as He traverses the vault of heaven.’

¹⁵Will you stay on the ancient path

that wicked men have trod?

¹⁶They were snatched away before their time,

and their foundations were swept away by a flood.

¹⁷They said to God, ‘Depart from us.

What can the Almighty do to us?’

¹⁸But it was He who filled their houses with good things;

so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked.

¹⁹The righteous see it and are glad;

the innocent mock them:

²⁰‘Surely our foes are destroyed,

and fire has consumed their excess.’

²¹Reconcile now and be at peace with Him;

thereby good will come to you.

²²Receive instruction from His mouth,

and lay up His words in your heart.

²³If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored.

If you remove injustice from your tents

²⁴and consign your gold to the dust

and the gold of Ophir to the stones of the ravines,

²⁵then the Almighty will be your gold

and the finest silver for you.

²⁶Surely then you will delight in the Almighty

and lift up your face to God.

²⁷You will pray to Him, and He will hear you,

and you will fulfill your vows.

²⁸Your decisions will be carried out,

and light will shine on your ways.

²⁹When men are brought low and you say, ‘Lift them up!’

then He will save the lowly.

³⁰He will deliver even one who is not innocent,

rescuing him through the cleanness of your hands.”