1 Samuel 27:1
in 1 Samuel 27David, 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.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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 escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me any more in all the borders of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand.
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.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 27
Commentary
4 notes on this verseon 1 Samuel 27:1-3
"When the Philistines held him in Gath"; this is recounted in the text of the book of Kings [Samuel]. David was terrorized by attacks of Saul and thought that he would be hidden in the city of Gath among the Philistines. But we have said …
This site's exposition
I shall now perish one day
on 1 Samuel 27:1-2
David's own verdict, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul, comes after Saul's spear missed him twice and a cave full of proof that the Lord had already delivered him. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown call the resolution wrong in more than one particular, and Blaikie reads the verse as the lapse of faith the chapter is built to expose, a shepherd who once trusted a sling now trusting Philistine borders instead. David crosses with six hundred men to Achish son of Maoch, the same Gath where he once feigned madness at chapter 21.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
I 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.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
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);
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Now I might perish one day. Perhaps he will ambush me and suddenly attack me. 1 Dovid did not trust Shaul and was convinced that he was laying a trap for him by asking him to remain.—Metzudas Dovid
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
29 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| דָּוִד֙ | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| לִבּ֔וֹ | libo | heart his | H3820 → | 595 times |
| עַתָּ֛ה | ʾatah | now | H6258 → | 433 times |
| אֶסָּפֶ֥ה | ʾesapeh | I will be swept away | H5595 → | 19 times |
| יוֹם־ | yom- | a day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| אֶחָ֖ד | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| בְּיַד־ | beyad- | by [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| שָׁא֑וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| אֵֽין־ | ʾein- | not | H369 → | 789 times |
| לִ֨י | li | [belongs] to <the> me | ||
| ט֜וֹב | tov | good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הִמָּלֵ֥ט | himalet | really <escape> | H4422 → | 95 times |
| אִמָּלֵ֣ט׀ | ʾimalet | I will escape | H4422 → | 95 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֶ֣רֶץ | ʾeretz | [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| פְּלִשְׁתִּ֗ים | pelishtim | [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| וְנוֹאַ֨שׁ | venoash | and he will desist | H2976 → | |
| מִמֶּ֤נִּי | mimeni | from me | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| שָׁאוּל֙ | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| לְבַקְשֵׁ֤נִי | levaksheni | to seek me | H1245 → | 225 times |
| עוֹד֙ | ʾod | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | in all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| גְּב֣וּל | gevul | [the] territory of | H1366 → | 240 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וְנִמְלַטְתִּ֖י | venimlati | and I will be delivered | H4422 → | 95 times |
| מִיָּדֽוֹ׃ | miyado | from hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
דָּוִד֙David
davidH1732 →999 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
לִבּ֔וֹheart his
liboH3820 →595 times
עַתָּ֛הnow
ʾatahH6258 →433 times
אֶסָּפֶ֥הI will be swept away
ʾesapehH5595 →19 times
יוֹם־a day
yom-H3117 →2304 times
אֶחָ֖דone
ʾechadH259 →971 times
בְּיַד־by [the] hand of
beyad-H3027 →1618 times
שָׁא֑וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
אֵֽין־not
ʾein-H369 →789 times
לִ֨י[belongs] to <the> me
li
ט֜וֹבgood
tovH2896 →538 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
הִמָּלֵ֥טreally <escape>
himaletH4422 →95 times
אִמָּלֵ֣ט׀I will escape
ʾimaletH4422 →95 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֶ֣רֶץ[the] land of
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
פְּלִשְׁתִּ֗ים[the] Philistines
pelishtimH6430 →287 times
וְנוֹאַ֨שׁand he will desist
venoashH2976 →
מִמֶּ֤נִּיfrom me
mimeniH4480 →1188 times
שָׁאוּל֙Saul
shaulH7586 →402 times
לְבַקְשֵׁ֤נִיto seek me
levaksheniH1245 →225 times
עוֹד֙again
ʾodH5750 →490 times
בְּכָל־in all
bekholH3605 →5413 times
גְּב֣וּל[the] territory of
gevulH1366 →240 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וְנִמְלַטְתִּ֖יand I will be delivered
venimlatiH4422 →95 times
מִיָּדֽוֹ׃from hand his
miyadoH3027 →1618 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 51:12“I, even I, am He who comforts you. Why should you be afraid of mortal man, of a son of man who withers like grass?
it leads to
- Psalms 118:6
The LORD is on my side; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
- 1 Peter 1:24
For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,
- Isaiah 2:22
Put no more trust in man, who has only the breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?
- John 14:26–27
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.
- John 14:18
I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
- Psalms 118:6
Through
1 Samuel 16:13So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 10:6
Then the Spirit of the LORD will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be transformed into a different person.
- Hebrews 1:9
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You above Your companions with the oil of joy.”
- John 3:34
For the One whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.
- 1 Samuel 10:6
About 1 Samuel

Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonUnited MonarchyDavidSecond king of united Israel, shepherd-turned-monarch, ancestor of the Messiah, and traditional author of many Psalms.
- PersonUnited monarchySaulIsrael's first king, head and shoulders above the people; began in humility, ended in rejection — sparing what God devoted, consul…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Cassiodorus, EXPOSITION OF THE PSALMS 55.1; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and W. G. Blaikie, The First Book of Samuel (Expositor's Bible).
