1 Samuel 21
21
David Goes to See Ahimelech the Priest
1Then David left and Jonathan went back to the town. David went to the town named Nob#21:1 Nob A city near Ramah where many priests lived. See 1 Sam. 22:19. to see Ahimelech the priest.
Ahimelech went out to meet David. He was afraid of David and asked, “Why are you alone? Why isn’t anyone with you?”
2David answered him, “The king gave me a special order. He told me, ‘Don’t let anyone know about this mission. No one must know what I told you to do.’ I told my men where to meet me. 3Now, what food do you have with you? Give me five loaves of bread or whatever you have to eat.”
4The priest said to David, “I don’t have any ordinary bread here, but I do have some of the holy bread. Your officers can eat it if they have not had sexual relations with any women.”#21:4 Your officers … women This would make the men unclean and not able to eat any food that had been made holy by offering it to God. See Lev. 7:21; 15:1-33.
5David answered the priest, “We have not been with any women. My men keep their bodies#21:5 bodies Literally, “vessels” or “weapons.” holy every time we go out to fight, even on ordinary missions.#21:5 My men … missions See 2 Sam. 11:11 and the rules in Deut. 23:9-14. And this is especially true today.”
6There was no bread except the holy bread, so the priest gave David this bread. This was the bread that the priests put on the holy table before the Lord. Each day they took this bread away and put fresh bread in its place.
7One of Saul’s officers was there that day. He was Doeg the Edomite, the leader of Saul’s shepherds.#21:7 shepherds Or “messengers.” He had been kept there before the Lord.#21:7 kept there before the Lord This might mean that Doeg was there as part of a special promise to God or some other religious reason. Or it might mean he was being held there because of some crime, such as accidentally killing a man.
8David asked Ahimelech, “Do you have a spear or sword here? The king’s business is very important. I had to leave quickly, and I didn’t bring my sword or any other weapon.”
9The priest answered, “The only sword here is the sword of Goliath the Philistine. It is the sword you took from him when you killed him in the Valley of Elah. That sword is behind the ephod, wrapped in a cloth. You may take it if you want to.”
David said, “Goliath’s sword—there’s not another one like it. Give it to me.”
David Runs Away to the Enemy at Gath
10That day David ran away from Saul and went to King Achish of Gath. 11Achish’s officers said, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land of Israel? He is the one the Israelites sing about. They dance and sing this song about him:
“Saul has killed thousands of enemies,
but David has killed tens of thousands.”
12David paid close attention to what they said. He was afraid of King Achish of Gath, 13so he pretended to be crazy in front of Achish and his officers. While David was with them, he acted like a crazy man. He spat on the doors of the gate. He let spit fall down his beard.
14Achish said to his officers, “Look at the man! He is crazy. Why did you bring him to me? 15I have enough crazy men. I don’t need you to bring this man to my house to act crazy in front of me. Don’t let this man come into my house again.”
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
1 Samuel 21
21
David Flees from Saul
1 #
Mt 12.3–4; Mk 2.25–26; Lk 6.3 David went to the priest Ahimelech in Nob. Ahimelech came out trembling to meet him and asked, “Why did you come here all by yourself?”
2“I am here on the king's business,” David answered. “He told me not to let anyone know what he sent me to do. As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place. 3Now, then, what supplies have you got? Give me five loaves of bread or anything else you have.”
4The priest said, “I haven't any ordinary bread, only sacred bread; you can have it if your men haven't had sexual relations recently.”
5“Of course they haven't,” answered David. “My men always keep themselves ritually pure even when we go out on an ordinary mission; how much more this time when we are on a special mission!”
6 #
Lev 24.5–9
So the priest gave David the sacred bread, because the only bread he had was the loaves offered to God, which had been removed from the sacred table and replaced by fresh bread.
7(Saul's chief herdsman, Doeg, who was from Edom, happened to be there that day, because he had to fulfil a religious obligation.)
8David said to Ahimelech, “Have you got a spear or a sword you can give me? The king's orders made me leave in such a hurry that I didn't have time to get my sword or any other weapon.”
9 #
1 Sam 17.51
Ahimelech answered, “I have the sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah; it is behind the ephod, wrapped in a cloth. If you want it, take it — it's the only weapon here.”
“Give it to me,” David said. “There is not a better sword anywhere!”
10So David left, fleeing from Saul, and went to King Achish of Gath. 11#1 Sam 18.7; 29.5The king's officials said to Achish, “Isn't this David, the king of his country? This is the man about whom the women sang, as they danced, ‘Saul has killed thousands, but David has killed tens of thousands.’ ”
12 #
Ps 56 (Title) Their words made a deep impression on David, and he became very much afraid of King Achish. 13#Ps 34 (Title)So whenever they were around, David pretended to be insane and acted like a madman when they tried to restrain him; he would scribble on the city#21.13 city; or palace. gates and dribble down his beard. 14So Achish said to his officials, “Look! The man is mad! Why did you bring him to me? 15Haven't I got enough madmen already? Why bring another one to annoy me with his daft actions right here in my own house?”
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.