21 And David cometh in to Nob, unto Ahimelech the priest, and Ahimelech trembleth at meeting David, and saith to him, `Wherefore [art] thou thyself alone, and no man with thee?'

² And David saith to Ahimelech the priest, `The king hath commanded me a matter, and he saith unto me, Let no man know anything of the matter about which I am sending thee, and which I have commanded thee; and the young men I have caused to know at such and such a place;

³ and now, what is there under thy hand? five loaves give into my hand, or that which is found.'

⁴ And the priest answereth David, and saith, `There is no common bread under my hand, but there is holy bread; if the youths have been kept only from women.'

⁵ And David answereth the priest, and saith to him, `Surely, if women have been restrained from us as heretofore in my going out, then the vessels of the young men are holy, and it [is] a common way: and also, surely to-day it is sanctified in the vessel.'

⁶ And the priest giveth to him the holy thing, for there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence which is turned aside from the presence of Jehovah to put hot bread in the day of its being taken away.

⁷ And there [is] a man of the servants of Saul on that day detained before Jehovah, and his name [is] Doeg the Edomite, chief of the shepherds whom Saul hath.

⁸ And David saith to Ahimelech, `And is there not here under thy hand spear or sword? for neither my sword nor my vessels have I taken in my hand, for the matter of the king was urgent.'

⁹ And the priest saith, `The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou didst smite in the valley of Elah, lo, it is wrapt in a garment behind the ephod, if it thou dost take to thyself, take; for there is none other save it in this [place].' And David saith, `There is none like it -- give it to me.'

¹⁰ And David riseth and fleeth on that day from the face of Saul, and cometh in unto Achish king of Gath;

¹¹ and the servants of Achish say unto him, `Is not this David king of the land? is it not of this one they sing in dances, saying, `Saul smote among his thousands, and David among his myriads?'

¹² And David layeth these words in his heart, and is exceedingly afraid of the face of Achish king of Gath,

¹³ and changeth his behaviour before their eyes, and feigneth himself mad in their hand, and scribbleth on the doors of the gate, and letteth down his spittle unto his beard.

¹⁴ And Achish saith unto his servants, `Lo, ye see a man acting as a madman; why do ye bring him in unto me?

¹⁵ A lack of madmen [have] I, that ye have brought in this one to act as a madman by me! doth this one come in unto my house?'

22 And David goeth thence, and is escaped unto the cave of Adullam, and his brethren hear, and all the house of his father, and go down unto him thither;

² and gather themselves unto him do every man in distress, and every man who hath an exactor, and every man bitter in soul, and he is over them for head, and there are with him about four hundred men.

³ And David goeth thence to Mizpeh of Moab, and saith unto the king of Moab, `Let, I pray thee, my father and my mother go out with you, till that I know what God doth for me;'

⁴ and he leadeth them before the king of Moab, and they dwell with him all the days of David's being in the fortress.

⁵ And Gad the prophet saith unto David, `Thou dost not abide in a fortress, go, and thou hast entered for thee the land of Judah;' and David goeth and entereth the forest of Hareth.

⁶ And Saul heareth that David hath become known, and the men who [are] with him, and Saul is abiding in Gibeah, under the grove in Ramah, and his spear [is] in his hand, and all his servants standing by him.

⁷ And Saul saith to his servants who are standing by him, `Hear, I pray you, ye Benjamites; also to all of you doth the son of Jesse give fields and vineyards! all of you he doth appoint heads of thousands and heads of hundreds!

⁸ for ye have conspired all of you against me, and there is none uncovering mine ear about my son's covenanting with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you grieving for me, and uncovering mine ear, that my son hath raised up my servant against me, to lie in wait as [at] this day.'

⁹ And answer doth Doeg the Edomite, who is set over the servants of Saul, and saith, `I have seen the son of Jesse coming in to Nob, unto Ahimelech son of Ahitub,

¹⁰ and he asketh for him at Jehovah, and provision hath given to him, and the sword of Goliath the Philistine hath given to him.

¹¹ And the king sendeth to call Ahimelech son of Ahitub, the priest, and all the house of his father, the priests, who [are] in Nob, and they come all of them unto the king;

¹² and Saul saith, `Hear, I pray thee, son of Ahitub;' and he saith, `Here [am] I, my lord.'

¹³ And Saul saith unto him, `Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, by thy giving to him bread and a sword, and to ask for him at God, to rise against me, to lie in wait, as [at] this day?'

¹⁴ And Ahimelech answereth the king and saith, `And who among all thy servants [is] as David -- faithful, and son-in-law of the king, and hath turned aside unto thy council, and is honoured in thy house?

¹⁵ To-day have I begun to ask for him at God? far be it from me! let not the king lay anything against his servant, against any of the house of my father, for thy servant hath known nothing of all this, less or more.'

¹⁶ And the king saith, `Thou dost surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all the house of thy father.'

¹⁷ And the king saith to runners, those standing by him, `Turn round, and put to death the priests of Jehovah, because their hand also [is] with David, and because they have known that he is fleeing, and have not uncovered mine ear;' and the servants of the king have not been willing to put forth their hand to come against the priests of Jehovah.

¹⁸ And the king saith to Doeg, `Turn round thou, and come against the priests;' and Doeg the Edomite turneth round, and cometh himself against the priests, and putteth to death in that day eighty and five men bearing a linen ephod,

¹⁹ and Nob, the city of the priests, he hath smitten by the mouth of the sword, from man even unto woman, from infant even unto suckling, and ox, and ass, and sheep, by the mouth of the sword.

²⁰ And there escapeth one son of Ahimelech, son of Ahitub, and his name [is] Abiathar, and he fleeth after David,

²¹ and Abiathar declareth to David that Saul hath slain the priests of Jehovah.

²² And David saith to Abiathar, `I have known on that day when Doeg the Edomite [is] there, that he doth certainly declare [it] to Saul; I have brought [it] round to every person of the house of thy father;

²³ dwell with me; fear not; for he who seeketh my life seeketh thy life; for a charge [art] thou with me.'