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, “Why are you alone? Why isn’t anyone with you?”
2David answered Ahimelek the priest, “The king gave me a special job to do. He said to me, ‘I don’t want anyone to know what I’m sending you to do. So don’t say anything about it.’ I’ve 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.”
4But the priest answered David, “I don’t have any bread that isn’t holy. I only have some holy bread here. But it’s for men who haven’t slept with women recently.”
5David replied, “Well, we haven’t slept with women recently. That’s the way it is every time I lead my men out to battle. We keep ourselves holy even when we do jobs that aren’t holy. And that’s even more true today.” 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 Saul’s 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 Saul’s chief shepherd.
8David asked Ahimelek, “Don’t you have a spear or sword here? I haven’t brought my sword or any other weapon. That’s because the job the king gave me to do had to be done right away.”
9The priest replied, “The sword of Goliath, the Philistine, is here. You killed him in the Valley of Elah. His sword is wrapped in a cloth. It’s behind the sacred linen apron. If you want it, take it. It’s the only sword here.”
David said, “There isn’t any sword like it. Give it to me.”
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, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t he the one the Israelites sing about when they dance? They sing,
“ ‘Saul has killed thousands of men.
David has killed tens of thousands.’ ”
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, “Just look at the man! He’s out of his mind! Why are you bringing him to me? 15Don’t I have enough crazy people around me already? So why do you have to bring this fellow here? Just look at how he’s carrying on in front of me! Why do you have to bring this man into my house?”
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1 Samuel 21: NIrV
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1 Samuel 21
21
David helped at Nob
1 # 21.1 21:2 in Heb David came to Nob where Ahimelech was priest. Ahimelech was shaking in fear when he met David. “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?” he asked.
2David answered Ahimelech the priest, “The king has given me orders, but he instructed me, ‘Don’t let anyone know anything about the mission I’m sending you on or about your orders.’ As for my troops, I told them to meet me at an undisclosed location. 3Now what do you have here with you? Give me five loaves of bread or whatever you can find.”
4“I don’t have any regular bread on hand,” the priest answered David, “just holy bread—but only if your troops have abstained from sexual activity.”
5“Definitely,” David answered the priest. “Whenever I go out to war, women are off-limits; that’s our standard operating procedure. Even on regular missions, the men’s gear is#21.5 MT; LXX all the men are kept holy. That’s even more true today, with the mission holy along with the gear.”#21.5 Heb uncertain 6So the priest gave David holy bread, because there was no other bread except the bread of the presence, which is removed from the LORD’s presence and replaced by warm bread as soon as it is taken away.
7Now one of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained in the LORD’s presence. His name was Doeg. He was an Edomite and Saul’s head shepherd.
8David asked Ahimelech, “Do you have a spear or sword on hand? I didn’t bring my sword or gear with me because the king’s mission was urgent.”
9The priest said, “The sword of Goliath, the Philistine you killed in the Elah Valley, is here wrapped in a cloth behind a priestly vest.#21.9 DSS (4QSamb); MT behind the priestly vest (Heb ephod) If you want it, take it, because there are no other swords here.”
David said, “No sword is as good as that one! Give it to me!”
David pretends to be crazy
10So David got up and continued running from Saul. He went to Achish, Gath’s king. 11Achish’s servants said to him, “Isn’t that David, king of the land? He’s the one people sing about in their dances,
‘Saul has killed his thousands,
but David has killed his tens of thousands!’”
12David took these words very seriously and became very frightened of Achish, Gath’s king. 13So he changed the way he acted with them, pretending to be insane while he was with them.#21.13 Or in their hand; Heb uncertain He scratched marks on the doors of the city gates#21.13 Or with correction he spit on the doors of the city gate or he fell down at the doors of the city gate (cf LXX). and let spit run down his chin.
14“Can’t you see he’s crazy?” Achish asked his servants. “Why bring him to me? 15Am I short on insane people that you’ve brought this person to go crazy right in front of me? Do you really think I’m going to let this man enter my house?”
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