David and the Holy Bread

21 ^[a] Then David came to ^(A)Nob, to ^(B)Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech ^(C)came to meet David, trembling, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one with you?”

³² Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah,

²⁶ how he entered the house of God, in the time of^{[a] (A)}Abiathar the high priest, and ate ^(B)the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?”

⁴ Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city ^(A)came to meet him trembling and said, ^(B)“Do you come peaceably?”

³ including ^(A)Ahijah the son of Ahitub, ^(B)Ichabod's brother, son of Phinehas, son of Eli, the priest of the Lord ^(C)in Shiloh, ^(D)wearing an ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone.

⁹ Then answered ^(A)Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, “I saw the son of Jesse ^(B)coming to Nob, to ^(C)Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, ^10 (D)and he inquired of the Lord for him and ^(E)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 ^(F)have inquired of God for him, so that he has risen against me, ^(G)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^[a] your bodyguard, and honored in your house? ¹⁵ Is today the first time ^(H)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, ^(I)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 ^(J)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, ^(K)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; ^(L)both man and woman, child and infant, ox, donkey and sheep, he put to the sword.