1 Samuel

1 Samuel 21 ©

1 David cometh to Nob, and obtaineth of Ahimelech hallowed bread: Doeg is present. 8 David asketh for a sword, and receiveth the sword of Goliath. 10 He fleeth to Gath, where to save his life he feigneth himself mad.

1

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

2

And David csaid unto Ahimelech the priest, The king 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 servants to such and such a place.

3

Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is 2present.

4

And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is dhallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least efrom women.

5

And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is fin a *manner common, 3yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel.

6

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

7

Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, idetained before the LORD; and his name was jDoeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul.

j Ps. 52, title; 1-7; 120. ch. 22.9.
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 ksword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind 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 lfled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of mGath.

m Ps. 56, title. ch. 17.4.
11

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

n Ps. 56, title. ch. 18.7; 29.5.
12

And David plaid up these words in his heart, and qwas *sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath.

13

And he rchanged his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and 4scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard.

r Ps. 34, title. Pr. 29.25.
14

Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man 5is 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 in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?