大卫逃亡

21 大卫来到挪伯的祭司亚希米勒那里。亚希米勒战战兢兢地出来迎接他,问道:“你为什么独自一人,没有随从呢?” 大卫答道:“王差遣我来办一件事,他吩咐我不可把事情泄露给任何人。我已经吩咐部下在某处跟我会合。 现在你这里有什么吃的吗?请给我五个饼,或任何吃的东西。” 祭司答道:“我们没有普通的饼,只有圣饼[a],如果你的部下没有亲近过女色,就可以吃。” 大卫答道:“当然没有亲近过女色。每逢我们出来办事,即使是平常的任务,我的部下总是保持圣洁,何况这次是特别的任务。” 于是,祭司把圣饼给他,因为那里没有别的饼,只有从耶和华的会幕里更换下来的供饼。 那天,扫罗的司牧长以东人多益碰巧在耶和华的会幕。 大卫问亚希米勒:“你这里有没有刀枪?因为王的事紧急,仓促间我连兵器也没有带。” 祭司答道:“你在以拉谷杀的非利士人歌利亚的刀在这里,用布包着放在以弗得后面。如果你要就拿去吧,这里没有别的刀了。”大卫答道:“这刀再好不过了,把它给我吧。”

10 那日,大卫为了躲避扫罗,逃往迦特王亚吉那里。 11 亚吉的臣仆对亚吉说:“这个大卫不是以色列的王吗?民众跳舞歌唱‘扫罗杀死千千,大卫杀死万万’,歌颂的不是他吗?” 12 大卫听到这些话,担心迦特王亚吉会加害于他, 13 就在他们面前装作疯子,在城门上胡乱涂画,任由唾沫沿着胡子流下来。 14 亚吉对臣仆说:“你们看,这是个疯子,为什么把他带到我这里来? 15 我这里缺少疯子吗?你们怎么可以把这个家伙带到我家里,在我面前疯疯癫癫呢?”

Footnotes

  1. 21:4 圣饼”指分别出来献给耶和华的饼。

21 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?

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.

Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

David at Nob

21 [a]David went to Nob,(A) to Ahimelek the priest. Ahimelek trembled(B) when he met him, and asked, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?”

David answered Ahimelek the priest, “The king sent me on a mission and said to me, ‘No one is to know anything about the mission I am sending you on.’ As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place. Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find.”

But the priest answered David, “I don’t have any ordinary bread(C) on hand; however, there is some consecrated(D) bread here—provided the men have kept(E) themselves from women.”

David replied, “Indeed women have been kept from us, as usual(F) whenever[b] I set out. The men’s bodies are holy(G) even on missions that are not holy. How much more so today!” So the priest gave him the consecrated bread,(H) since there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence that had been removed from before the Lord and replaced by hot bread on the day it was taken away.

Now one of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the Lord; he was Doeg(I) the Edomite,(J) Saul’s chief shepherd.

David asked Ahimelek, “Don’t you have a spear or a sword here? I haven’t brought my sword or any other weapon, because the king’s mission was urgent.”

The priest replied, “The sword(K) of Goliath(L) the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah,(M) is here; it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want it, take it; there is no sword here but that one.”

David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”

David at Gath

10 That day David fled from Saul and went(N) to Achish king of Gath. 11 But the servants of Achish said to him, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t he the one they sing about in their dances:

“‘Saul has slain his thousands,
    and David his tens of thousands’?”(O)

12 David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. 13 So he pretended to be insane(P) in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard.

14 Achish said to his servants, “Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring him to me? 15 Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house?”

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 21:1 In Hebrew texts 21:1-15 is numbered 21:2-16.
  2. 1 Samuel 21:5 Or from us in the past few days since

David and the Holy Bread

21 Now David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And (A)Ahimelech was (B)afraid when he met David, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one is with you?”

So David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has ordered me on some business, and said to me, ‘Do not let anyone know anything about the business on which I send you, or what I have commanded you.’ And I have directed my young men to such and such a place. Now therefore, what have you on hand? Give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or whatever can be found.”

And the priest answered David and said, “There is no [a]common bread on hand; but there is (C)holy[b] bread, (D)if the young men have at least kept themselves from women.”

Then David answered the priest, and said to him, “Truly, women have been kept from us about three days since I came out. And [c]the (E)vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in effect common, even though it was consecrated (F)in the vessel this day.”

So the priest (G)gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread (H)which had been taken from before the Lord, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day when it was taken away.

Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord. And his name was (I)Doeg, an Edomite, the chief of the herdsmen who belonged to Saul.

And David said to Ahimelech, “Is there not here on hand a spear or a sword? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.”

So the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in (J)the Valley of Elah, (K)there it is, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it. For there is no other except that one here.”

And David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”

David Flees to Gath

10 Then David arose and fled that day from before Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11 And (L)the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of him to one another in dances, saying:

(M)‘Saul has slain his thousands,
And David his ten thousands’?”

12 Now David (N)took these words [d]to heart, and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13 So (O)he changed his behavior before them, pretended [e]madness in their hands, [f]scratched on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva fall down on his beard. 14 Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is insane. Why have you brought him to me? 15 Have I need of madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?”

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 21:4 ordinary
  2. 1 Samuel 21:4 consecrated
  3. 1 Samuel 21:5 The young men are ceremonially undefiled
  4. 1 Samuel 21:12 Lit. in his heart
  5. 1 Samuel 21:13 insanity
  6. 1 Samuel 21:13 scribbled