22 David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to him.

And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.

And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he said unto the king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come forth, and be with you, till I know what God will do for me.

And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold.

And the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the hold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hareth.

When Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that were with him, (now Saul abode in Gibeah under a tree in Ramah, having his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him;)

Then Saul said unto his servants that stood about him, Hear now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds;

That all of you have conspired against me, and there is none that sheweth me that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or sheweth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?

Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was set over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.

10 And he enquired of the Lord for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.

11 Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests that were in Nob: and they came all of them to the king.

12 And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Ahitub. And he answered, Here I am, my lord.

13 And Saul said unto him, Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread, and a sword, and hast enquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?

14 Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said, And who is so faithful among all thy servants as David, which is the king's son in law, and goeth at thy bidding, and is honourable in thine house?

15 Did I then begin to enquire of God for him? be it far from me: let not the king impute any thing unto his servant, nor to all the house of my father: for thy servant knew nothing of all this, less or more.

16 And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father's house.

17 And the king said unto the footmen that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of the Lord: because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not shew it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the Lord.

18 And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod.

19 And Nob, the city of the priests, smote he with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen, and asses, and sheep, with the edge of the sword.

20 And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David.

21 And Abiathar shewed David that Saul had slain the Lord's priests.

22 And David said unto Abiathar, I knew it that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul: I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father's house.

23 Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: but with me thou shalt be in safeguard.

Priests Killed at Nob

22 So David departed from there and (A)escaped to (B)the cave of Adullam; and when his brothers and all his father’s household heard about it, they went down there to him. Then everyone who was in distress, and everyone who [a]was in debt, and everyone who was [b]discontented gathered to him; and he became captain over them. Now there were (C)about four hundred men with him.

And David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother come and stay with you until I know what God will do for me.” Then he [c]left them with the king of Moab; and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold. But (D)Gad the prophet said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold; leave, and go into the land of Judah.” So David left and went into the forest of Hereth.

Then Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered. Now (E)Saul was in Gibeah, sitting under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing in front of him. Saul said to his servants who were standing in front of him, “Hear now, you Benjaminites! Will the son of Jesse really give all of you fields and vineyards? (F)Will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds? For all of you have conspired against me so that there is no one who [d]informs me (G)when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you (H)who cares about me or [e]informs me that my son has stirred up my servant against me to lie in ambush, as it is this day.” Then (I)Doeg the Edomite, who was [f]standing in front of the servants of Saul, responded and said, “(J)I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to (K)Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. 10 And (L)he inquired of the Lord for him, (M)gave him provisions, and (N)gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

11 Then the king sent a messenger to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s household, the priests who were in Nob; and all of them came to the king. 12 Saul said, “Listen now, son of Ahitub.” And he [g]replied, “Here I am, my lord.” 13 Saul then said to him, “Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me, in that you have given him bread and a sword, and have inquired of God for him, so that he would rise up against me (O)by lying in ambush as it is this day?”

14 (P)Then Ahimelech answered the king and said, “And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, the king’s own son-in-law, who [h]is commander over your bodyguard, and is honored in your house? 15 Did I just begin (Q)to inquire of God for him today? Far be it from me! (R)Do not let the king impute anything against his servant or against any of the household of my father, because your servant knows nothing [i]at all of this whole affair.” 16 But the king said, “You shall certainly die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s household!” 17 And (S)the king said to the [j]guards who were attending him, “Turn around and put the priests of the Lord to death, because their hand also is with David and because they knew that he was fleeing and did not [k]inform me.” But the (T)servants of the king were unwilling to reach out with their hands to [l]attack the priests of the Lord. 18 Then the king said to Doeg, “You, turn around and [m]attack the priests!” And Doeg the Edomite turned around and [n]attacked the priests, and (U)he killed on that day eighty-five men (V)who wore the linen ephod. 19 (W)He also struck Nob the city of the priests with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and infants; he also struck oxen, donkeys, and sheep with the edge of the sword.

20 But (X)one son of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, (Y)escaped and fled [o]to David. 21 Abiathar informed David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. 22 Then David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when (Z)Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would certainly tell Saul. I myself [p]have turned against every person in your father’s household. 23 Stay with me; do not be afraid, [q]even though (AA)he who is seeking my life is seeking your life. For you are safe with me.”

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 22:2 Lit had a creditor
  2. 1 Samuel 22:2 Lit bitter of soul
  3. 1 Samuel 22:4 Probable reading of the Heb; MT brought them before
  4. 1 Samuel 22:8 Lit uncovers my ear
  5. 1 Samuel 22:8 Lit uncovers my ear
  6. 1 Samuel 22:9 Or set over
  7. 1 Samuel 22:12 Lit said
  8. 1 Samuel 22:14 As in LXX; MT turns aside to
  9. 1 Samuel 22:15 Lit small or great
  10. 1 Samuel 22:17 Lit runners
  11. 1 Samuel 22:17 Lit uncover my ear
  12. 1 Samuel 22:17 Lit fall upon
  13. 1 Samuel 22:18 Lit fall upon
  14. 1 Samuel 22:18 Lit fell upon
  15. 1 Samuel 22:20 Lit after
  16. 1 Samuel 22:22 LXX am responsible for
  17. 1 Samuel 22:23 Or because he

David at the Cave of Adullam

22 David departed from there and escaped to (A)the cave of (B)Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father's house heard it, they went down there to him. (C)And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul,[a] gathered to him. And he became commander over them. And there were with him (D)about four hundred men.

And David went from there to Mizpeh of Moab. And he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother stay[b] with you, till I know what God will do for me.” And he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold. Then the prophet (E)Gad said to David, “Do not remain in the stronghold; depart, and go into the land of Judah.” So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth.

Saul Kills the Priests at Nob

Now Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men who were with him. Saul was sitting at Gibeah under (F)the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him. And Saul said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, people of Benjamin; will the son of Jesse (G)give every one of you fields and vineyards, will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, that all of you have conspired against me? No one discloses to me (H)when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you (I)is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, (J)to lie in wait, as at this day.” Then answered (K)Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, “I saw the son of Jesse (L)coming to Nob, to (M)Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, 10 (N)and he inquired of the Lord for him and (O)gave him provisions and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

11 Then the king sent to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests who were at Nob, and all of them came to the king. 12 And Saul said, “Hear now, son of Ahitub.” And he answered, “Here I am, my lord.” 13 And Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword and (P)have inquired of God for him, so that he has risen against me, (Q)to lie in wait, as at this day?” 14 Then Ahimelech answered the king, “And who among all your servants is so faithful as David, who is the king's son-in-law, and captain over[c] your bodyguard, and honored in your house? 15 Is today the first time (R)that I have inquired of God for him? No! Let not the king impute anything to his servant or to all the house of my father, for your servant has known nothing of all this, (S)much or little.” 16 And the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father's house.” 17 And the king said to (T)the guard who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David, and they knew that he fled and did not disclose it to me.” But the servants of the king would not put out their hand to strike the priests of the Lord. 18 Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn and strike the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests, (U)and he killed on that day eighty-five persons who wore the linen ephod. 19 And Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword; (V)both man and woman, child and infant, ox, donkey and sheep, he put to the sword.

20 But one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named (W)Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. 21 And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. 22 And David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, (X)when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have occasioned the death of all the persons of your father's house. 23 (Y)Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life. With me you shall be in safekeeping.”

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 22:2 Or discontented
  2. 1 Samuel 22:3 Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew go out
  3. 1 Samuel 22:14 Septuagint, Targum; Hebrew and has turned aside to