1 Samuel Chapter 21

1 Samuel Chapter 21
1 Then came David to Nob, to
Ahimelech the priest, and Ahimelech
was astonied at the meeting of David,
and said unto him, Why art thou alone,
and no man with thee?
2 And David said to Ahimelech the
priest, The king hath commanded me a
certain thing, and hath said unto me, Let
no man know where about I send thee,
and what I have commanded thee: and I
have appointed my servants to such and
such places.
3 Now therefore if thou hast ought under
thine hand, give me five cakes of bread,
or what cometh to hand.
4 And the priest answered David, and
said, There is no common bread under
mine hand, but here is hallowed bread, if
the young men have kept themselves, at
least from women.
5 David then answered the priest, and
said unto him, Certainly women have
been separate from us these two or three
days since I came out: and the vessels of
the young men were holy, though the way
were profane, and how much more then
shall every one be sanctified this day in
the vessel?
6 So the priest gave him hallowed
bread: for there was no bread there,
save the show bread that was taken from
before the Lord, to put hot bread there,
the day that it was taken away.
7 (And there was the same day one of
the servants of Saul abiding before the
Lord, named Doeg the Edomite, the
chiefest of Saul's herdmen)
8 And David said unto Ahimelech, Is
there not here under thine hand a spear
or a sword? For I have neither brought
my sword nor mine harness 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 wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod:
if thou wilt take that to thee, take it: for
there is none other save that here: And
David said, There is none to that, give it
me.
10 And David arose and fled the same
day from the presence 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 unto him in
dances, saying, Saul hath slain his
thousand, and David his ten thousand?
12 And David considered these words,
and was sore afraid of Achish the king
of Gath.
13 And he changed his behavior 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 beside himself,
wherefore 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 he come into mine
house?