THE FIRST BOOK OF
SAMUEL,

1 Samuel 21 ©

David, fleeing from Saul, comes to Nob to Ahimelech the priest, v. 1, etc. He feigns as if he had been sent by Saul to dispatch some secret business, 2. He asks bread, 3. Ahimelech gives him the show-bread loaves, 4. Doeg sees this, 7. David asks for weapon, 8. Ahimelech gives him Goliath’s sword, 9. David flees and comes to Achish, 10. He is not welcome to the princes of Achish, 11. David is in great fear, 12. He changes his behavior, and demeans himself, as if he were a fool, 13. Achish takes it ill that they had brought a fool to him, 14.

1

THEN came David to 1Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech 2was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou 3alone, and no man with thee?

2

And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The 4king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my 5servants 6to such and such a place.

3

Now therefore 7what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present.

4

And the priest answered David, and said, There is no 8common bread under mine hand, 9but there is 10hallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least 11from women.12

5

And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about 13these three days, since I came out, and the 14vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is 15in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the 16vessel.

6

So the priest gavea him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put 17hot bread in the 18day when it was taken away.

7

Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, 19detained 20before the LORD; and his name was Doeg, an 21Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul.

8

¶And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under thine hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste.

9

And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth 22behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it: for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it me.

10

¶And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to 23Achish the king of Gath.24

11

And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David 25the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saulb hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

12

And David laid up these words in his heart, and 26was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath.

13

And he changed 27his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad 28in their hands, and 29scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard.

14

Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me?

15

Have I need of mad men, that ye have brought this fellow to play the mad man 30in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?