1 Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and
Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou
alone, and no man with thee?
2 And
David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business,
and hath said unto me, Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I
send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants
to such and such a place.
3 Now
therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is
present.
4 And
the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but
there is hallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least from
women.
5 And
David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth 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, yea, though it
were sanctified this day in the vessel.
6 So
the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there
but the shewbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the
day when it was taken away.
7 Now
a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the
LORD; and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of the
herdmen that belonged to
Saul.
8 And
David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under thine hand spear or
sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the
king's business required haste.
9 And
the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the
valley of Elah, 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.
10 And
David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of
Gath.
11 And
the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land?
did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his
thousands, and David his ten thousands?
12 And
David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king
of Gath.
13 And
he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands,
and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his
beard.
14 Then
said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have
ye brought him to me?
15 Have
I need of mad men, that ye have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence?
shall this fellow come
into my house?
