⁷ Then he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring me the ephod!” So Abiathar brought it.

²⁰ Only Abiathar, one of the sons of Ahimelech, escaped and fled to David. ²¹ When he told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord,

²⁶ He went into the house of God (during the days when Abiathar was high priest) and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. He also gave some to his companions.”

²⁶ Then the king said to Abiathar the priest, “Go back to your home in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I will not kill you now, because you carried the Ark of the Sovereign Lord for David my father and you shared all his hardships.”

² David asked the Lord, “Should I go and attack them?”

“Yes, go and save Keilah,” the Lord told him.

³ But David’s men said, “We’re afraid even here in Judah. We certainly don’t want to go to Keilah to fight the whole Philistine army!”

⁴ So David asked the Lord again, and again the Lord replied, “Go down to Keilah, for I will help you conquer the Philistines.”

⁵ So David and his men went to Keilah. They slaughtered the Philistines and took all their livestock and rescued the people of Keilah. ⁶ Now when Abiathar son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, he brought the ephod with him.

⁷ Saul soon learned that David was at Keilah. “Good!” he exclaimed. “We’ve got him now! God has handed him over to me, for he has trapped himself in a walled town!” ⁸ So Saul mobilized his entire army to march to Keilah and besiege David and his men.

⁹ But David learned of Saul’s plan and told Abiathar the priest to bring the ephod and ask the Lord what he should do.