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?"

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?

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, 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.

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

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

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 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].

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 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.

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 YHWH, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.

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.

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

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.

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."

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.

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 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.

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

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.

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 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?

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

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

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 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.

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

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

[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.