1 Samuel 21

1 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?"

Then David went into Nob, to the priest Ahimelech. And Ahimelech was astonished that David had arrived. And he said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one is with you?”

2 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.'

And David said to the priest Ahimelech: “The king has instructed to me a word, and he said: ‘Let no one know the matter about which you have been sent by me, and what type of instructions I have given to you. For I have also summoned servants to one and another place.’

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

Now therefore, if you have anything at hand, even five loaves of bread, or whatever you may find, give it to me.”

4 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."

And the priest, responding to David, said to him: “I have no common bread at hand, but only holy bread. Are the young men clean, especially from women?”

5 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?"

And David responded to the priest, and said to him: “Indeed, as concerns being with women, we have abstained since yesterday and the day before, when we departed, and so the vessels of the young men have been holy. And although, this journey has been defiled, it will also be sanctified today as concerns the vessels.”

6 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.

Therefore, the priest gave to him sanctified bread. For there was no bread there, but only the bread of the Presence, which had been taken away from before the face of the Lord, so that fresh loaves might be set up.

7 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.

Now a certain man among the servants of Saul was there on that day, inside the tabernacle of the Lord. And his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the most powerful among the shepherds of Saul.

8 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."

Then David said to Ahimelech: “Do you have, here at hand, a spear or a sword? For I did not take my own sword, or my own weapons with me. For the word of the king was urgent.”

9 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."

And the priest said: “Behold, here is the sword of Goliath, the Philistine, whom you struck down in the Valley of Terebinth. It is wrapped up in a cloak behind the ephod. If you wish to take this, take it. For there is nothing else here except this.” And David said, “There is nothing else like this, so give it to me.”

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

And so, David rose up, and he fled on that day from the face of Saul. And he went to Achish, the king of Gath.

11 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?'"

And the servants of Achish, when they had seen David, said to him: “Is this not David, the king of the land? Were they not singing about him, while dancing, saying, ‘Saul has struck down a thousand, and David ten thousand?’”

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

Then David took these words to his heart, and he became exceedingly afraid before the face of Achish, the king of Gath.

13 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.

And he altered his mouth before them, and he slipped down between their hands. And he stumbled against the doors of the gate. And his spit flowed down his beard.

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

And Achish said to his servants: “You saw that the man is insane. Why did you bring him to me?

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

Or do we have need of those who are mad, so that you would bring in this one, to behave madly in my presence? How did this man get into my house?”