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?
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