1 Samuel 21

1 David went to the town of Nob to see Ahimelek the priest. Ahimelek was trembling in fear when he met him, and he asked, “Why are you here alone? Why isn't there anybody with you?”

Then came David to Nob, unto Ahimelech, the priest, —and Ahimelech trembled when he met David, and said unto him—Why art thou, alone, and, no man, with thee?

2 “The king has given me an assignment,” David replied. “He told me ‘Nobody must know anything about the assignment I have sent you to do.’ As for my men, I've told them where to meet me.

And David said unto Ahimelech the priest—The king, hath charged me with a matter, and hath said unto me—Let, no man, know aught of the business on which I am sending thee, and with which I have charged thee, —But, unto the young men, have I appointed, such and such a place.

3 So what do you have on hand to eat? Let me have five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find.”

Now, therefore, what is there under thy hand? Five loaves, give thou into my hand, —or, whatever can be found.

4 “There's no ordinary bread,” the priest told David, “but there's some holy bread, as long as your men have not slept with any women lately.”

And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under my hand, —but, hallowed bread, there is, if the young men have kept themselves, at least from women.

5 “We have not slept with any women,” David answered. “In fact that's the rule when I lead the troops on mission. They keep themselves pure even during ordinary missions, and all the more so right now.”

And David answered the priest and said to him—Of a truth, women, have been withheld from us, of late, through my coming out, and the wallets of the young men have become hallowed, —while [the bread], itself, is in a manner common, and the more so since, to-day, [there are other loaves] to be hallowed, in the vessel.

6 So the priest gave him the holy bread as they didn't have any other bread there except this “Bread of the Presence,” which had been removed from the presence of the Lord that day and replaced with fresh bread.

So the priest gave him hallowed [bread], —because there was there no bread, save the Presence-Bread, which had to be removed from before Yahweh, to put hot bread, on the day when it should be taken away.

7 One of Saul's servants happened to be there that day, trying to make himself right with the Lord. He was Doeg the Edomite, Saul's chief shepherd.

Now, in that very place, was a man of the servants of Saul, on that day, detained before Yahweh, whose name, was Doeg the Edomite, —chief of the shepherds that belonged unto Saul.

8 “Have you got a spear or sword here?” David asked Ahimelech. “I didn't bring my sword or any of my weapons with me, because what the king needed me to do was urgent.”

Then said David to Ahimelech, See whether there is here, under thy hand, a spear or a sword? for, neither my sword, nor my other weapons, did I take in my hand, for, the king’s business, was, urgent.

9 The priest replied, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine is here—the one you killed in the Valley of Elah. It's wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. You can take it if you want. It's the only one here.” “It's better than any other sword! Please give it to me,” David replied.

And the priest said: The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou didst smite in the vale of Elah, lo! that, is wrapped up in a cloth, behind the ephod, if, that, thou wilt take to thee, take it, for there is no other, save that, here. And David said—There is none, like it, give it me.

10 David ran away from Saul that day and went to Achish, king of Gath.

Then arose David, and fled, that day, from the face of Saul, —and came in unto Achish, king of Gath.

11 But Achish's officials asked the king, “Isn't this David, the king of that country? Didn't they sing about him in their dances, ‘Saul has killed his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?”

And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not, this, David, king of the land? Was it not, of this man, that they kept responding in the dances, saying, Saul, hath smitten his, thousands, but, David, his, tens of thousands?

12 David listened carefully to what they said and this made him very afraid of Achish, the king of Gath.

And David laid up these words in his heart, —and feared greatly, because of Achish king of Gath.

13 So he changed the way he acted toward them and pretended to be crazy. He scratched marks on the town gates and let his spit run down his beard.

So he feigned himself mad, in their sight, and raged in their hand, —and struck against the doors of the gate, and let his spittle run down upon his beard.

14 Achish told his officials, “Look, you can see the man is completely mad! Why did you bring him to me?

Then said Achish unto his servants, —Lo! ye can see, a madman playing his pranks, wherefore should ye bring him in, unto me?

15 Is it because I need more mad people that you've brought this man to go crazy right in front of me? Do you think I'm going to let him come into my house?”

Lacking of madmen, am I that ye should bring in this one to play his mad pranks, unto me? Shall, this, one enter my household?