1 Samuel 21
21
David at Nob
1David went to Ahimelek the priest at Nob. Ahimelek trembled with fear when he met him. He asked David, āWhy are you alone? Why isnāt anyone with you?ā
2David answered Ahimelek the priest, āThe king gave me a special job to do. He said to me, āI donāt want anyone to know what Iām sending you to do. So donāt say anything about it.ā Iāve told my men to meet me at a certain place. 3Do you have anything for us to eat? Give me five loaves of bread, or anything else you can find.ā
4But the priest answered David, āI donāt have any bread that isnāt holy. I only have some holy bread here. But itās for men who havenāt slept with women recently.ā
5David replied, āWell, we havenāt slept with women recently. Thatās the way it is every time I lead my men out to battle. We keep ourselves holy even when we do jobs that arenāt holy. And thatās even more true today.ā 6So the priest gave him the holy bread. It was the only bread he had. It had been removed from the table that was in front of the Lord. On the same day, hot bread had been put in its place.
7One of Saulās servants was there that day. He had been made to stay at the holy tent for a while. He was Doeg from Edom. Doeg was Saulās chief shepherd.
8David asked Ahimelek, āDonāt you have a spear or sword here? I havenāt brought my sword or any other weapon. Thatās because the job the king gave me to do had to be done right away.ā
9The priest replied, āThe sword of Goliath, the Philistine, is here. You killed him in the Valley of Elah. His sword is wrapped in a cloth. Itās behind the sacred linen apron. If you want it, take it. Itās the only sword here.ā
David said, āThere isnāt any sword like it. Give it to me.ā
David at Gath
10That day David ran away from Saul. He went to Achish, the king of Gath. 11But the servants of Achish spoke to him. They said, āIsnāt this David, the king of the land? Isnāt he the one the Israelites sing about when they dance? They sing,
āāāSaul has killed thousands of men.
David has killed tens of thousands.āāā
12David paid close attention to what the servants were saying. He became very much afraid of what Achish, the king of Gath, might do. 13So he pretended to be out of his mind when he was with them. As long as he was in Gath, he acted like a crazy person. He made marks on the doors of the city gate. He let spit run down his beard.
14Achish said to his servants, āJust look at the man! Heās out of his mind! Why are you bringing him to me? 15Donāt I have enough crazy people around me already? So why do you have to bring this fellow here? Just look at how heās carrying on in front of me! Why do you have to bring this man into my house?ā
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1 Samuel 21: NIrV
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1 Samuel 21
21
David at Nob
# In Hebrew texts 21:1-15 is numbered 21:2-16. 1David went to Nob, to Ahimelek the priest. Ahimelek trembled when he met him, and asked, āWhy are you alone? Why is no-one with you?ā
2David answered Ahimelek the priest, āThe king sent me on a mission and said to me, āNo-one is to know anything about the mission I am sending you on.ā As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place. 3Now then, what have you to hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find.ā
4But the priest answered David, āI donāt have any ordinary bread to hand; however, there is some consecrated bread here ā provided the men have kept themselves from women.ā
5David replied, āIndeed women have been kept from us, as usual whenever#21:5 Or from us in the past few days since I set out. The menās bodies are holy even on missions that are not holy. How much more so today!ā 6So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence that had been removed from before the Lord and replaced by hot bread on the day it was taken away.
7Now one of Saulās servants was there that day, detained before the Lord; he was Doeg the Edomite, Saulās chief shepherd.
8David asked Ahimelek, āDonāt you have a spear or sword here? I havenāt brought my sword or any other weapon, because the kingās mission was urgent.ā
9The priest replied, āThe sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here; it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want it, take it; there is no sword here but that one.ā
David said, āThere is none like it; give it to me.ā
David at Gath
10That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. 11But the servants of Achish said to him, āIsnāt this David, the king of the land? Isnāt he the one they sing about in their dances:
āāāSaul has slain his thousands,
and David his tens of thousandsā?ā
12David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. 13So he feigned insanity in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard.
14Achish said to his servants, āLook at the man! He is insane! Why bring him to me? 15Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house?ā
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The Holy Bible, New International VersionĀ® (Anglicised), NIVĀ®
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