Then David came
to aNob
to Ahimelech
the priest
; and Ahimelech
bcame
trembling
to meet
David
and said
to him, "Why
are you alone
and no
one
with you?"
David said
to Ahimelech
the priest
, "The king
has commissioned
me with a matter
and has said
to me, ` aLet no
one
know
anything
about the matter
on which
I am sending
you and with which
I have commissioned
you; and I have directed
the young
men
to a certain
place
.'
"Now therefore, what
1do you have
on hand
? Give
2me five
loaves of bread
, or
whatever can be found
."
The priest answered
David
and said
, "There
is no
ordinary
bread
1on hand
, but there
is aconsecrated
bread
; if
only
the young
men
have bkept
themselves from women
."
David answered
the priest
and said
to him, " aSurely
women
have been kept
from us as previously
when I set
out and the bvessels
of the young
men
were holy
, though it was an ordinary
journey
; how
much
more
then today
will 1their vessels
be holy?"
So athe priest gave
him consecrated
bread; for there was no
bread
there
but the bbread
of the Presence
which was removed
from before
the LORD
, in order to put
hot
bread
in its place when
it was taken
away.
Now one of the servants
of Saul
was there
that day
, detained
before
the LORD
; and his name
was aDoeg
the Edomite
, the bchief
of Saul's
shepherds
.
David said
to Ahimelech
, "Now is there
not a spear
or
a sword
1on hand
? For I brought
neither
my sword
nor
my weapons
2with me, because
the king's
matter
was urgent
."
Then the priest said
, " aThe sword
of Goliath
the Philistine
, whom
you 1killed
bin the valley
of Elah
, behold
, it is wrapped
in a cloth
behind
the ephod
; if
you would take
it for yourself, take
it. For there
is no
other
except
it here
." And David
said
, "There
is none
like
it; give
it to me."
Then David arose
and fled
that day
from Saul
, and went
to aAchish
king
of Gath
.
But the aservants of Achish
said
to him, "Is this
not David
the king
of the land
? bDid they not sing
of this
one
as they danced
, saying
, `Saul
has slain
his thousands
, And David
his ten
thousands
'?"
David atook
these
words
1to heart
and greatly
feared
Achish
king
of Gath
.
So he adisguised his sanity
before
them, and acted
insanely
in their hands
, and scribbled
on the doors
of the gate
, and let his saliva
run
down
into his beard
.
Then Achish said
to his servants
, "Behold
, you see
the man
behaving
as a madman
. Why
do you bring
him to me?
"Do I lack madmen
, that you have brought
this
one
to act
the madman
in my presence
? Shall this
one
come
into my house
?"