David and the Holy Bread

21 Now David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And ^(A)Ahimelech was ^(B)afraid when he met David, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one is with you?”

² So David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has ordered me on some business, and said to me, ‘Do not let anyone know anything about the business on which I send you, or what I have commanded you.’ And I have directed my young men to such and such a place. ³ Now therefore, what have you on hand? Give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or whatever can be found.”

⁴ And the priest answered David and said, “There is no ^[a]common bread on hand; but there is ^(C)holy^[b] bread, ^(D)if the young men have at least kept themselves from women.”

⁵ Then David answered the priest, and said to him, “Truly, women have been kept from us about three days since I came out. And ^[c]the ^(E)vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in effect common, even though it was consecrated ^(F)in the vessel this day.”

⁶ So the priest ^(G)gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread ^(H)which had been taken from before the Lord, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day when it was taken away.

⁷ Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord. And his name was ^(I)Doeg, an Edomite, the chief of the herdsmen who belonged to Saul.

⁸ And David said to Ahimelech, “Is there not here on hand a spear or a sword? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.”

⁹ So the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in ^(J)the Valley of Elah, ^(K)there it is, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it. For there is no other except that one here.”

And David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”

David Flees to Gath

¹⁰ Then David arose and fled that day from before Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. ¹¹ And ^(L)the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of him to one another in dances, saying:

¹² Now David ^(N)took these words ^[d]to heart, and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. ¹³ So ^(O)he changed his behavior before them, pretended ^[e]madness in their hands, ^[f]scratched on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva fall down on his beard. ¹⁴ Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is insane. Why have you brought him to me? ¹⁵ Have I need of madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?”

David’s Four Hundred Men^(P)

22 David therefore departed from there and ^(Q)escaped ^(R)to the cave of Adullam. So when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. ^2 (S)And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was ^[g]discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them. And there were about ^(T)four hundred men with him.

³ Then David went from there to Mizpah of ^(U)Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and mother come here with you, till I know what God will do for me.” ⁴ So he brought them before the king of Moab, and they dwelt with him all the time that David was in the stronghold.

⁵ Now the prophet ^(V)Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold; depart, and go to the land of Judah.” So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth.

Saul Murders the Priests

⁶ When Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered—now Saul was staying in ^(W)Gibeah under a tamarisk tree in Ramah, with his spear in his hand, and all his servants standing about him— ⁷ then Saul said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, you Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse ^(X)give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds? ⁸ All of you have conspired against me, and there is no one who reveals to me that ^(Y)my son has made a covenant with the son of Jesse; and there is not one of you who is sorry for me or reveals to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as it is this day.”

⁹ Then answered ^(Z)Doeg the Edomite, who was set over the servants of Saul, and said, “I saw the son of Jesse going to Nob, to ^(AA)Ahimelech the son of ^(AB)Ahitub. ^10 (AC)And he inquired of the Lord for him, ^(AD)gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

¹¹ So the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests who were in Nob. And they all came to the king. ¹² And Saul said, “Hear now, son of Ahitub!”

He answered, “Here I am, my lord.”

¹³ Then Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword, and have inquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as it is this day?”

¹⁴ So Ahimelech answered the king and said, “And who among all your servants is as ^(AE)faithful as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, who goes at your bidding, and is honorable in your house? ¹⁵ Did I then begin to inquire of God for him? Far be it from me! Let not the king impute anything to his servant, or to any in the house of my father. For your servant knew nothing of all this, little or much.”

¹⁶ And the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all ^(AF)your father’s house!” ¹⁷ Then the king said to the guards who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled and did not tell it to me.” But the servants of the king ^(AG)would not lift their hands to strike the priests of the Lord. ¹⁸ And the king said to Doeg, “You turn and kill the priests!” So Doeg the Edomite turned and ^[h]struck the priests, and ^(AH)killed on that day eighty-five men who wore a linen ephod. ^19 (AI)Also Nob, the city of the priests, he struck with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and nursing infants, oxen and donkeys and sheep—with the edge of the sword.

^20 (AJ)Now one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, ^(AK)escaped and fled after David. ²¹ And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the Lord’s priests. ²² So David said to Abiathar, “I knew that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have caused the death of all the persons of your father’s ^[i]house. ²³ Stay with me; do not fear. ^(AL)For he who seeks my life seeks your life, but with me you shall be safe.”