Kings I 21

1 And David comes to Nomba to Abimelech the priest: and Abimelech was amazed at meeting him, and said to him, Why [are] you alone, and nobody with you?

David fled from there and went to Nob [city to see] Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech trembled when he saw David [because he was afraid that something bad had happened]. He said to David, “Why are you alone? Why have no men come with you?”

2 And David said to the priest, The king gave me a command today, and said to me, Let no one know the matter on which I send you, an concerning which I have charged you: and I have charged my servants [to be] in the place that is called, The faithfulness of God, Phellani Maemoni.

David [deceived Ahimelech] by replying, “The king sent me. But he does not want anyone to know anything about what he sent me to do. I have told my men where [they should meet me].

3 And now if there are under your hand five loaves, give into my hand what is ready.

Now [I want to know], do you have any [food here for me to eat] [IDM]? Could you give me five loaves of bread, or whatever [other food] that you can find?”

4 And the priest answered David, and said, There are no common loaves under my hand, for I have none but holy loaves: if the young men have been kept at least from women, then they shall eat [them].

The priest answered David, “There is no ordinary bread here, but I have some of the sacred bread [that was placed before Yahweh]. Your men may eat it if they have not slept with [EUP] women [recently].”

5 And David answered the priest, and said to him, Yes, we have been kept from women for three days: when I came forth for the journey all the young men were purified; but this expedition is unclean, therefore it shall be sanctified this day because of my weapons.

David replied, “They have not been near women for many days. I do not allow my men to defile themselves by sleeping with women while they are preparing to fight in battles. They must continue to keep themselves acceptable to God when they are on ordinary trips, and [today they have kept themselves acceptable to God] because now we are doing something very special/important.”

6 So Abimelech the priest gave him the show bread; for there were no loaves there, but only the presence loaves which had been removed from the presence of the Lord, in order that hot bread should be set on, on the day on which he took them.

The only bread that the priest had was the sacred bread that had been placed in Yahweh’s presence [in the Sacred tent]. So the priest gave David some of that bread. On that day the priest had taken those loaves from the table and replaced them with (fresh/newly baked) loaves.

7 And there was there on that day one of Saul's servants detained before the Lord, and his name [was] Doec the Syrian, tending the mules of Saul.

It happened that Doeg, from the Edom people-group, was there on that day to make himself acceptable to Yahweh, [and he saw what Ahimelech did]. He was one of Saul’s officials and the leader of Saul’s shepherds.

8 And David said to Abimelech, See if there is here under your hand spear or sword, for I have not brought in my hand my sword or my weapons, for the word of the king was urgent.

David asked Ahimelech, “Do you have a spear or a sword [that I could use]? The king [appointed us to do] this task [and told us to leave] immediately, so I did not have time to bring any weapons.”

9 And the priest said, Behold the sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck in the valley of Ela; and it is wrapt in a cloth: if you will take it, take it for yourself, for there is no other except it here. And David said, Behold, there is none like it; give it me.

Ahimelech replied, “I have only the sword that belonged to Goliath [the giant] from the Philistia people-group whom you killed in Elah Valley. It is wrapped in a cloth, and is behind the sacred vest [in the Sacred Tent]. If you want it, take it, because I have no other [weapon] here.” David replied, “Truly, there is no other sword that is [as good] as that one! Give it to me.”

10 And he gave it him; and David arose, and fled in that day from he presence of Saul: and David came to Anchus king of Geth.

[So Ahimelech gave it to him], and David left there. He [and his men] and went to Gath [city in the Philistia region], to stay with King Achish.

11 And the servants of Anchus said to him, [Is] not this David the king of the land? Did not the dancing women begin the son to him, saying, Saul has struck his thousand, and David his ten thousands?

But the officers of King Achish [objected to David being there. They] said to King Achish, “This man is [RHQ] David, the king of Israel! He is the one [RHQ] whom [our enemies], the [Israeli] people, [honored by] dancing and singing, ‘Saul has killed thousands [of his enemies], but David has killed tens of thousands of them!’”

12 And David laid up the words in his heart, and was greatly afraid of Anchus king of Geth.

David heard what those men were saying, so he was afraid of [what] King Achish [might do to him].

13 And he changed his appearance before him, and feigned himself a false character in that day; and drummed upon the doors of the city, and used extravagant gestures with his hands, and fell against the doors of the gate, and his spittle ran down upon his beard.

So he pretended that he was insane. He started scratching on the gates [of the city] and allowing his saliva to run down his beard.

14 And Anchus said to his servants, Behold! you see the man [is] mad: why have you brought him in to me?

Then King Achish said to his men, “Look at this man! He is acting like an insane man! Why have you brought him to me?

15 [Am] I in lack of madmen, that you have brought him in to me to play the madman? He shall not come into the house.

Have you brought him because I do not have enough insane men here already [RHQ]? I do not want [RHQ] him to come into my house!”