1 Samuel 21

1 Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was full of fear at meeting David, and said to him, Why are you by yourself, having no man with you?

Then David came to Nob to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech was shaking in fear when he met David, and said to him, "Why are you alone, and no one with you?"

2 And David said to Ahimelech the priest, The king has given me orders and has said to me, Say nothing to anyone about the business on which I am sending you and the orders I have given you: and a certain place has been fixed to which the young men are to go.

And David said to the priest, "The king has given me orders, and he instructed me, 'No one must know of the matter about which I send you, or about your orders; and I have arranged to meet the young men at a certain place.'

3 So now, if you have here five cakes of bread, give them into my hand, or whatever you have.

Now, if there are five loaves of bread under your control, give them into my hand, or whatever there is."

4 And the priest, answering David, said, I have no common bread here but there is holy bread; if only the young men have kept themselves from women.

And the priest answered David, and said, "There is no common bread in my control, but there is holy bread. If the young men have kept themselves from women, they may eat of it."

5 And David in answer said to the priest, Certainly women have been kept from us; and as has been done before when I have gone out the arms of the young men were made holy, even though it was a common journey; how much more today will their arms be made holy.

And David answered the priest, and said to him, "Truly women have been kept from us as always when I set out. All the young men are holy, even when it is an ordinary mission. So how much more today will their vessels be holy?"

6 So the priest gave him the holy bread: there was no other, only the holy bread which had been taken from before the Lord, so that new bread might be put in its place on the day when it was taken away.

So the priest gave him what had been consecrated, for there was no bread there but the show bread, that had been removed before the LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.

7 Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, kept back before the Lord; his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the strongest of Saul's runners.

Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the best of the herdsmen who belonged to Saul.

8 And David said to Ahimelech, Have you no sword or spear with you here? for I have come without my sword and other arms, because the king's business had to be done quickly.

David said to Ahimelech, "Isn't there here under your control spear or sword? For I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste."

9 And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you put to death in the valley of Elah, is here folded in a cloth at the back of the ephod: take that, if you will, for there is no other sword here. And David said, there is no other sword like that; give it to me.

The priest said, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, look, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind an ephod. If you will take that, take it; for there is no other except that here." David said, "There is none like that. Give it to me."

10 Then David got up and went in flight that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish, the king of Gath.

David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.

11 And the servants of Achish said to him, Is not this David, the king of the land? did they not make songs about him in their dances, saying, Saul has put to death thousands, and David tens of thousands?

The servants of Achish said to him, "Isn't this David the king of the land? Did they not sing one to another about him in dances, saying, 'Saul has slain his thousands, David his ten thousands?'"

12 And David took these words to heart, fearing Achish, the king of Gath.

David laid up these words in his heart, and was very afraid of Achish the king of Gath.

13 So changing his behaviour before them, he made it seem as if he was off his head, hammering on the doors of the town, and letting the water from his mouth go down his chin.

He changed his behavior before them, and pretended to be mad in their hands, and drummed on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle run down his beard.

14 Then Achish said to his servants, Look! the man is clearly off his head; why have you let him come before me?

Then Achish said to his servants, "Look, you see the man is mad. Why then have you brought him to me?

15 Are there not enough unbalanced men about me, that you have let this person come and do such tricks before me? is such a man to come into my house?

Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?"