⁹ But Doeg^(A) the Edomite, who was standing with Saul’s officials, said, “I saw the son of Jesse come to Ahimelek son of Ahitub^(B) at Nob.^(C)

Psalm 52^[a]

For the director of music. A maskil^[b] of David. When Doeg the Edomite^(A) had gone to Saul and told him: “David has gone to the house of Ahimelek.”

⁵⁹ The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin^(A) were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. ⁶⁰ But they did not find any, though many false witnesses^(B) came forward.

Finally two^(C) came forward ⁶¹ and declared, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”^(D)

⁹ In you are slanderers^(A) who are bent on shedding blood;^(B) in you are those who eat at the mountain shrines^(C) and commit lewd acts.^(D)

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.”

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:

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?”

³ among whom was Ahijah, who was wearing an ephod. He was a son of Ichabod’s^(A) brother Ahitub^(B) son of Phinehas, the son of Eli,^(C) the Lord’s priest in Shiloh.^(D) No one was aware that Jonathan had left.