1 Samuel 21
21
David Takes Consecrated Bread
1Then David went to #21:1 The city of the priests was located on Mt. Scopus about a mile northeast of Jerusalem.Nob to #21:1 Ahimelech was also known as Ahijah.Ahimelech the priest; and Ahimelech came trembling [in fear] to meet David and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one with you?” 2David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has commissioned me with a matter and has told me, ‘Let no one know anything about the matter for which I am sending you and with which I have commissioned you. I have directed the young men to a certain place.’ 3Now what [food] do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found.” 4The priest answered David, “There is no ordinary (unconsecrated) bread on hand, but there is #21:4 I.e. the bread of the Presence (showbread) was an offering dedicated to God and was to be eaten only by the priests. The ancient rabbis maintained that any law may be superseded to save life, and that David’s life was in danger from hunger.consecrated bread; [you may have it] if only the young men have kept themselves from women.” 5David answered the priest, “Be assured that #21:5 I.e. intimate contact with women.women have been kept from us in these three days since I set out, and the #21:5 Lit vessels, a euphemism for the human body.bodies of the young men were consecrated (ceremonially clean), although it was an ordinary (unconsecrated) journey; so how much more will their vessels be holy today?” 6So the priest gave him the consecrated bread; for there was no bread there except the bread of the #21:6 Lit Face.Presence which was removed from before the Lord in order to put hot bread in its place when it was taken away.
7Now one of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the Lord; his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s shepherds.
8David said to Ahimelech, “Do you not have a sword or spear here on hand? For I brought neither my sword nor my [other] weapons with me, because the king’s business was urgent.” 9Then the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you would take it for yourself, do so. For there is no other here except for it.” And David said, “There is none like that; give it to me.”
10Then David arose and fled from Saul that day, and went to Achish king of #21:10 This was a dangerous place to go since it was not only one of the Philistine’s five major cities, but also the former home of Goliath.Gath. 11The servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing in praise of this one as they danced, saying,
‘Saul has slain his thousands,
And David his ten thousands’?”
12David took these words to heart and was greatly afraid of Achish king of Gath. 13So [fearing for his life] he changed his behavior in their sight, and acted insanely in their hands, and he scribbled on the doors of the gate, and drooled on his beard. 14Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see that the man is insane. Why have you brought him to me? 15Do I lack madmen, that you bring this one to behave like a madman in my presence? Shall this one come into my house?”
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1 Samuel 21
21
David Runs from Saul
1 # 21:1 Verses 21:1-15 are numbered 21:2-16 in Hebrew text. David went to the town of Nob to see Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech trembled when he saw him. “Why are you alone?” he asked. “Why is no one with you?”
2“The king has sent me on a private matter,” David said. “He told me not to tell anyone why I am here. I have told my men where to meet me later. 3Now, what is there to eat? Give me five loaves of bread or anything else you have.”
4“We don’t have any regular bread,” the priest replied. “But there is the holy bread, which you can have if your young men have not slept with any women recently.”
5“Don’t worry,” David replied. “I never allow my men to be with women when we are on a campaign. And since they stay clean even on ordinary trips, how much more on this one!”
6Since there was no other food available, the priest gave him the holy bread—the Bread of the Presence that was placed before the Lord in the Tabernacle. It had just been replaced that day with fresh bread.
7Now Doeg the Edomite, Saul’s chief herdsman, was there that day, having been detained before the Lord.#21:7 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
8David asked Ahimelech, “Do you have a spear or sword? The king’s business was so urgent that I didn’t even have time to grab a weapon!”
9“I only have the sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah,” the priest replied. “It is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. Take that if you want it, for there is nothing else here.”
“There is nothing like it!” David replied. “Give it to me!”
10So David escaped from Saul and went to King Achish of Gath. 11But the officers of Achish were unhappy about his being there. “Isn’t this David, the king of the land?” they asked. “Isn’t he the one the people honor with dances, singing,
‘Saul has killed his thousands,
and David his ten thousands’?”
12David heard these comments and was very afraid of what King Achish of Gath might do to him. 13So he pretended to be insane, scratching on doors and drooling down his beard.
14Finally, King Achish said to his men, “Must you bring me a madman? 15We already have enough of them around here! Why should I let someone like this be my guest?”
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