1 Samuel 21

1 So David got up and went away, and Jonathan went into the city. [a] 2 And David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech was startled at meeting him, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one with you?” [b] 3 And David said to the priest, “The king has given me an order today, and said to me, ‘Let no one know the matter I am sending you on, or what I have charged you with.’ And I have charged my young men to be at the place called The Faithfulness of God — phellani alemoni. [c] 4 And now, if there are five loaves under your hand, give me whatever there is.”

5 And the priest answered David and said, “There is no common bread under my hand; there is nothing here but holy bread. If the young men have kept themselves from women, they may eat it.” 6 And David answered the priest and said to him, “We have kept ourselves from women these three days. When I set out on the journey, all the young men were purified; and this journey is a common one, so it will be made holy today because of my weapons.” [d] 7 So Ahimelech the priest gave him the loaves of the setting-out, because there was no bread there but the loaves of the face, which had been taken away from before the Lord so that hot bread could be set out on the day he took them. [e] † † 8 Now one of Saul’s servants was there that day, held back before the Lord; and his name was Doeg the Syrian, who tended Saul’s mules. [f]

9 And David said to Ahimelech, “See whether there is a spear or a sword here under your hand, because I did not take my sword or my weapons in my hand — the king’s business was urgent.” 10 And the priest said, “Look — the sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the valley of Elah. It is wrapped in a cloth. If you will take it for yourself, take it, for there is no other here but that one.” And David said, “There is none like it. Give it to me.” 11 And he gave it to him. And David got up and fled that day from Saul; and David came to Achish king of Gath.

12 And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David, the king of the land? Is this not the one the dancing women sang of, leading off the song, ‘Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?” [g] 13 And David took these words to heart, and he was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. 14 So he changed the look of his face in front of him, and put on an act that day: he drummed on the doors of the city, he flung his hands about, he fell against the doors of the gate, and his spit ran down into his beard.

15 And Achish said to his servants, “Look at him — you can see the man is out of his senses. Why have you brought him in to me? [h] 16 Am I short of madmen, that you have brought this one to act the madman in front of me? He is not coming into my house.”