1 Samuel 21

1 And David comes to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest, and Ahimelech trembles at meeting David and says to him, “Why [are] you alone, and no man [is] with you?”

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?

2 And David says to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has commanded me [on] a matter, and he says to me, Let no man know anything of the matter about which I send you, and which I have commanded you; and [my] young men know [to go] to such and such a place.

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.

3 And now, what is there under your hand? Give five loaves into my hand, or that which is found.”

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

4 And the priest answers David and says, “There is no common bread under my hand, but there is holy bread; if only the youths have been kept from women.”

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.

5 And David answers the priest and says to him, “Surely, if women have been restrained from us as before in my going out, then the vessels of the young men are holy, and it [is] a common way; and also, surely it is sanctified today in the vessel.”

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.

6 And the priest gives the holy thing to him, for there was no bread there except the Bread of the Presentation, which is turned aside from the presence of YHWH to put hot bread [there] in the day of its being taken away.

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.

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

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.

8 And David says to Ahimelech, “And is there not spear or sword here under your hand? For I have taken neither my sword nor my vessels in my hand, for the matter of the king was urgent.”

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.

9 And the priest says, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck in the Valley of Elah, behold, it is wrapped in a garment behind the ephod, if you take it to yourself, take; for there is none other except it in this [place].” And David says, “There is none like it—give it to me.”

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.

10 And David rises and flees on that day from the face of Saul, and comes to Achish king of Gath;

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

11 and the servants of Achish say to him, “Is this not David, the king of the land? Is it not of this one [that] they sing in dances, saying, Saul struck among his thousands, and David among his myriads?”

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?

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

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

13 and changes his behavior before their eyes, and feigns himself mad in their hand, and scribbles on the doors of the gate, and lets down his spittle to his beard.

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.

14 And Achish says to his servants, “Behold, you see a man acting as a madman; why do you bring him to me?

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

15 Am I lacking madmen, that you have brought in this one to act as a madman before me? Does this one come into my house?”

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?