1 Samuel 21
1 David fled from there and went to Nob [city to see] Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech trembled when he saw David [because he was afraid that something bad had happened]. He said to David, “Why are you alone? Why have no men come with you?”
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?”
2 David [deceived Ahimelech] by replying, “The king sent me. But he does not want anyone to know anything about what he sent me to do. I have told my men where [they should meet me].
“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.
3 Now [I want to know], do you have any [food here for me to eat] [IDM]? Could you give me five loaves of bread, or whatever [other food] that you can find?”
So what do you have on hand to eat? Let me have five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find.”
4 The priest answered David, “There is no ordinary bread here, but I have some of the sacred bread [that was placed before Yahweh]. Your men may eat it if they have not slept with [EUP] women [recently].”
“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.”
5 David replied, “They have not been near women for many days. I do not allow my men to defile themselves by sleeping with women while they are preparing to fight in battles. They must continue to keep themselves acceptable to God when they are on ordinary trips, and [today they have kept themselves acceptable to God] because now we are doing something very special/important.”
“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.”
6 The only bread that the priest had was the sacred bread that had been placed in Yahweh’s presence [in the Sacred tent]. So the priest gave David some of that bread. On that day the priest had taken those loaves from the table and replaced them with (fresh/newly baked) loaves.
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.
7 It happened that Doeg, from the Edom people-group, was there on that day to make himself acceptable to Yahweh, [and he saw what Ahimelech did]. He was one of Saul’s officials and the leader of Saul’s shepherds.
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.
8 David asked Ahimelech, “Do you have a spear or a sword [that I could use]? The king [appointed us to do] this task [and told us to leave] immediately, so I did not have time to bring any weapons.”
“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.”
9 Ahimelech replied, “I have only the sword that belonged to Goliath [the giant] from the Philistia people-group whom you killed in Elah Valley. It is wrapped in a cloth, and is behind the sacred vest [in the Sacred Tent]. If you want it, take it, because I have no other [weapon] here.” David replied, “Truly, there is no other sword that is [as good] as that one! Give it to me.”
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.
10 [So Ahimelech gave it to him], and David left there. He [and his men] and went to Gath [city in the Philistia region], to stay with King Achish.
David ran away from Saul that day and went to Achish, king of Gath.
11 But the officers of King Achish [objected to David being there. They] said to King Achish, “This man is [RHQ] David, the king of Israel! He is the one [RHQ] whom [our enemies], the [Israeli] people, [honored by] dancing and singing, ‘Saul has killed thousands [of his enemies], but David has killed tens of thousands of them!’”
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’?”
12 David heard what those men were saying, so he was afraid of [what] King Achish [might do to him].
David listened carefully to what they said and this made him very afraid of Achish, the king of Gath.
13 So he pretended that he was insane. He started scratching on the gates [of the city] and allowing his saliva to run down his beard.
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.
14 Then King Achish said to his men, “Look at this man! He is acting like an insane man! Why have you brought him to me?
Achish told his officials, “Look, you can see the man is completely mad! Why did you bring him to me?
15 Have you brought him because I do not have enough insane men here already [RHQ]? I do not want [RHQ] him to come into my house!”
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?”
