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?”

² 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. ³ Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find.”

⁴ 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.”

⁵ 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!” ⁶ 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.

⁷ 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.

⁸ 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.”

⁹ 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.”

Saul Kills the Priests of Nob

⁶ Now Saul heard that David and his men had been discovered. And Saul was seated,^(A) spear in hand, under the tamarisk^(B) tree on the hill at Gibeah, with all his officials standing at his side. ⁷ He said to them, “Listen, men of Benjamin! Will the son of Jesse give all of you fields and vineyards? Will he make all of you commanders^(C) of thousands and commanders of hundreds? ⁸ Is that why you have all conspired^(D) against me? No one tells me when my son makes a covenant^(E) with the son of Jesse.^(F) None of you is concerned^(G) about me or tells me that my son has incited my servant to lie in wait for me, as he does today.”

⁹ But Doeg^(H) the Edomite, who was standing with Saul’s officials, said, “I saw the son of Jesse come to Ahimelek son of Ahitub^(I) at Nob.^{(J) 10} Ahimelek inquired^(K) of the Lord for him; he also gave him provisions^(L) and the sword^(M) of Goliath the Philistine.”