Chapter 21

And David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest; and Ahimelech trembled at meeting David, and said to him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee?

And David said to Ahimelech the priest, The king has commanded me a business, and has said to me, Let no man know anything of the business whereon I send thee, and what I have commanded thee; and I have directed the young men to such and such a place.

And now what is under thy hand? give me five loaves in my hand, or what may be found.

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

And David answered the priest and said to him, Yes indeed, 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 in a manner common, and the more so, because to-day [new] is hallowed in the vessels.

And the priest gave him holy [bread]; for there was no bread there but the shew-loaves that were taken from before Jehovah, to put on hot bread in the day when they were taken away.

(Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before Jehovah; and his name was Doeg, the Edomite, chief of the shepherds that [belonged] to Saul.)

And David said to Ahimelech, And is there not here under thy hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, for the king's business was urgent.

And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of terebinths, 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.

And David arose, and fled that day from before Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.

And the servants of Achish said to him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul has smitten his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

And David took to heart these words, and was much afraid of Achish the king of Gath.

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

And Achish said to his servants, Behold, ye see the man is mad: why did ye bring him to me?

have I lack of madmen, that ye have brought this one to rave in my presence? shall this [man] come into my house?