1 Samuel 21-22
King James Version
21 Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee?
2 And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place.
3 Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present.
4 And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least from women.
5 And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel.
6 So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the Lord, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.
7 Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord; and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul.
8 And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under thine hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste.
9 And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it: for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it me.
10 And David arose and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.
11 And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?
12 And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath.
13 And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard.
14 Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me?
15 Have I need of mad men, that ye have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?
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.
2 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.
3 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.
4 And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold.
5 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.
6 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;)
7 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;
8 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?
9 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.
1 Samuel 21-22
New King James Version
David and the Holy Bread
21 Now David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And (A)Ahimelech was (B)afraid when he met David, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one is with you?”
2 So David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has ordered me on some business, and said to me, ‘Do not let anyone know anything about the business on which I send you, or what I have commanded you.’ And I have directed my young men to such and such a place. 3 Now therefore, what have you on hand? Give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or whatever can be found.”
4 And the priest answered David and said, “There is no [a]common bread on hand; but there is (C)holy[b] bread, (D)if the young men have at least kept themselves from women.”
5 Then David answered the priest, and said to him, “Truly, women have been kept from us about three days since I came out. And [c]the (E)vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in effect common, even though it was consecrated (F)in the vessel this day.”
6 So the priest (G)gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread (H)which had been taken from before the Lord, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day when it was taken away.
7 Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord. And his name was (I)Doeg, an Edomite, the chief of the herdsmen who belonged to Saul.
8 And David said to Ahimelech, “Is there not here on hand a spear or a sword? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.”
9 So the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in (J)the Valley of Elah, (K)there it is, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it. For there is no other except that one here.”
And David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”
David Flees to Gath
10 Then David arose and fled that day from before Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11 And (L)the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of him to one another in dances, saying:
(M)‘Saul has slain his thousands,
And David his ten thousands’?”
12 Now David (N)took these words [d]to heart, and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13 So (O)he changed his behavior before them, pretended [e]madness in their hands, [f]scratched on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva fall down on his beard. 14 Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is insane. Why have you brought him to me? 15 Have I need of madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?”
David’s Four Hundred Men(P)
22 David therefore departed from there and (Q)escaped (R)to the cave of Adullam. So when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. 2 (S)And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was [g]discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them. And there were about (T)four hundred men with him.
3 Then David went from there to Mizpah of (U)Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and mother come here with you, till I know what God will do for me.” 4 So he brought them before the king of Moab, and they dwelt with him all the time that David was in the stronghold.
5 Now the prophet (V)Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold; depart, and go to the land of Judah.” So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth.
Saul Murders the Priests
6 When Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered—now Saul was staying in (W)Gibeah under a tamarisk tree in Ramah, with his spear in his hand, and all his servants standing about him— 7 then Saul said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, you Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse (X)give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds? 8 All of you have conspired against me, and there is no one who reveals to me that (Y)my son has made a covenant with the son of Jesse; and there is not one of you who is sorry for me or reveals to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as it is this day.”
9 Then answered (Z)Doeg the Edomite, who was set over the servants of Saul, and said, “I saw the son of Jesse going to Nob, to (AA)Ahimelech the son of (AB)Ahitub. 10 (AC)And he inquired of the Lord for him, (AD)gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”
11 So the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests who were in Nob. And they all came to the king. 12 And Saul said, “Hear now, son of Ahitub!”
He answered, “Here I am, my lord.”
13 Then 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 have inquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as it is this day?”
14 So Ahimelech answered the king and said, “And who among all your servants is as (AE)faithful as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, who goes at your bidding, and is honorable in your house? 15 Did I then begin to inquire of God for him? Far be it from me! Let not the king impute anything to his servant, or to any in the house of my father. For your servant knew nothing of all this, little or much.”
16 And the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all (AF)your father’s house!” 17 Then the king said to the guards who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled and did not tell it to me.” But the servants of the king (AG)would not lift their hands to strike the priests of the Lord. 18 And the king said to Doeg, “You turn and kill the priests!” So Doeg the Edomite turned and [h]struck the priests, and (AH)killed on that day eighty-five men who wore a linen ephod. 19 (AI)Also Nob, the city of the priests, he struck with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and nursing infants, oxen and donkeys and sheep—with the edge of the sword.
20 (AJ)Now one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, (AK)escaped and fled after David. 21 And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the Lord’s priests. 22 So David said to Abiathar, “I knew that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have caused the death of all the persons of your father’s [i]house. 23 Stay with me; do not fear. (AL)For he who seeks my life seeks your life, but with me you shall be safe.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 21:4 ordinary
- 1 Samuel 21:4 consecrated
- 1 Samuel 21:5 The young men are ceremonially undefiled
- 1 Samuel 21:12 Lit. in his heart
- 1 Samuel 21:13 insanity
- 1 Samuel 21:13 scribbled
- 1 Samuel 22:2 Lit. bitter of soul
- 1 Samuel 22:18 attacked
- 1 Samuel 22:22 family
1 Samuel 21-22
English Standard Version
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?” 2 And David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has charged me with a matter and said to me, ‘Let no one know anything of the matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.’ I have made an appointment with the young men for such and such a place. 3 Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever is here.” 4 And the priest answered David, “I have no common bread on hand, but there is (D)holy bread—(E)if the young men have kept themselves from women.” 5 And David answered the priest, “Truly women have been kept from us as always when I go on an expedition. The vessels of the young men are holy even when it is an ordinary journey. How much more today will their vessels be holy?” 6 So the priest gave him (F)the holy bread, for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence, (G)which is removed from before the Lord, to be replaced by hot bread on the day it is taken away.
7 Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord. His name was (H)Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul's herdsmen.
8 Then David said to Ahimelech, “Then have you not here a spear or a sword at hand? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste.” 9 And the priest said, (I)“The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in (J)the Valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it, for there is none but that here.” And David said, “There is none like that; give it to me.”
David Flees to Gath
10 And David rose and fled that day from Saul and went to (K)Achish the king of Gath. 11 And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is not this David the king of the land? (L)Did they not sing to one another of him in dances,
‘Saul has struck down his thousands,
and David his ten thousands’?”
12 And David (M)took these words to heart and was much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13 So he changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane in their hands and made marks on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard. 14 Then Achish said to his servants, “Behold, you see the man is mad. Why then have you brought him to me? 15 Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to behave as a madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?”
David at the Cave of Adullam
22 David departed from there and escaped to (N)the cave of (O)Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father's house heard it, they went down there to him. 2 (P)And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul,[b] gathered to him. And he became commander over them. And there were with him (Q)about four hundred men.
3 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[c] with you, till I know what God will do for me.” 4 And he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold. 5 Then the prophet (R)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
6 Now Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men who were with him. Saul was sitting at Gibeah under (S)the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him. 7 And Saul said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, people of Benjamin; will the son of Jesse (T)give every one of you fields and vineyards, will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, 8 that all of you have conspired against me? No one discloses to me (U)when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you (V)is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, (W)to lie in wait, as at this day.” 9 Then answered (X)Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, “I saw the son of Jesse (Y)coming to Nob, to (Z)Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, 10 (AA)and he inquired of the Lord for him and (AB)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 (AC)have inquired of God for him, so that he has risen against me, (AD)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[d] your bodyguard, and honored in your house? 15 Is today the first time (AE)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, (AF)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 (AG)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, (AH)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; (AI)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 (AJ)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, (AK)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 (AL)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 Samuel 21:1 Ch 21:2 in Hebrew
- 1 Samuel 22:2 Or discontented
- 1 Samuel 22:3 Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew go out
- 1 Samuel 22:14 Septuagint, Targum; Hebrew and has turned aside to
撒母耳記上 21-22
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Traditional)
大衛逃亡
21 大衛來到挪伯的祭司亞希米勒那裡。亞希米勒戰戰兢兢地出來迎接他，問道：「你為什麼獨自一人，沒有隨從呢？」 2 大衛答道：「王差遣我來辦一件事，他吩咐我不可把事情洩露給任何人。我已經吩咐部下在某處跟我會合。 3 現在你這裡有什麼吃的嗎？請給我五個餅，或任何吃的東西。」 4 祭司答道：「我們沒有普通的餅，只有聖餅[a]，如果你的部下沒有親近過女色，就可以吃。」 5 大衛答道：「當然沒有親近過女色。每逢我們出來辦事，即使是平常的任務，我的部下總是保持聖潔，何況這次是特別的任務。」 6 於是，祭司把聖餅給他，因為那裡沒有別的餅，只有從耶和華的會幕裡更換下來的供餅。 7 那天，掃羅的司牧長以東人多益碰巧在耶和華的會幕。 8 大衛問亞希米勒：「你這裡有沒有刀槍？因為王的事緊急，倉促間我連兵器也沒有帶。」 9 祭司答道：「你在以拉谷殺的非利士人歌利亞的刀在這裡，用布包著放在以弗得後面。如果你要就拿去吧，這裡沒有別的刀了。」大衛答道：「這刀再好不過了，把它給我吧。」
10 那日，大衛為了躲避掃羅，逃往迦特王亞吉那裡。 11 亞吉的臣僕對亞吉說：「這個大衛不是以色列的王嗎？民眾跳舞歌唱『掃羅殺死千千，大衛殺死萬萬』，歌頌的不是他嗎？」 12 大衛聽到這些話，擔心迦特王亞吉會加害於他， 13 就在他們面前裝作瘋子，在城門上胡亂塗畫，任由唾沫沿著鬍子流下來。 14 亞吉對臣僕說：「你們看，這是個瘋子，為什麼把他帶到我這裡來？ 15 我這裡缺少瘋子嗎？你們怎麼可以把這個傢伙帶到我家裡，在我面前瘋瘋癲癲呢？」
掃羅殘殺祭司
22 大衛離開迦特，逃到亞杜蘭洞。他的兄弟和親屬知道後，都來到他那裡， 2 所有受壓迫的、負債的和心懷不滿的人都紛紛來投奔他。大衛就做了他們的首領，跟隨他的有四百多人。 3 後來，大衛到摩押的米斯巴去，請求摩押王收留他的父母，直到他明白上帝給他的安排為止。 4 大衛把父母留在了摩押王那裡。在大衛住堡壘期間，他的父母一直住在摩押。 5 迦得先知吩咐大衛離開堡壘回猶大去，大衛就動身前往哈列的樹林。
6 當時，掃羅正在基比亞的拉瑪，坐在垂絲柳下，手中拿著矛，臣僕侍立在左右。他得知大衛一行人的行蹤後， 7 就對左右的臣僕說：「便雅憫人啊，你們聽著！難道耶西的兒子會給你們田地和葡萄園嗎？他能立你們做千夫長和百夫長嗎？ 8 為什麼你們一同謀害我？我的兒子跟耶西的兒子立約，沒有人告訴我。就是今天我的兒子鼓動我的臣僕來謀害我，也沒有人關心我，告訴我。」 9 以東人多益正站在掃羅的臣僕中，他說：「我在挪伯親眼看見耶西的兒子到了亞希突的兒子亞希米勒那裡。 10 亞希米勒為他求問耶和華，給他食物，還把非利士人歌利亞的刀給了他。」
11 於是，掃羅派人把挪伯的祭司——亞希突的兒子亞希米勒及其家人都召來。他們都來到王面前。 12 掃羅說：「亞希突的兒子，聽著！」亞希米勒答道：「我主啊，我在這裡。」 13 掃羅說：「你為什麼和耶西的兒子一同謀害我？你為什麼把食物和刀給他，又為他求問耶和華，使他像今天這樣背叛我，伺機害我呢？」 14 亞希米勒答道：「王的臣僕中有誰像大衛那樣忠心呢？他是王的女婿，又是王的護衛長，在王室中受尊重。 15 那也不是我第一次為他求問耶和華，求王不要因這事加罪於我或我的家人，因為我根本不知道謀反的事。」 16 王卻說：「亞希米勒啊，你和你全家都必死無疑！」 17 他就命令身旁的護衛，說：「把這些耶和華的祭司殺掉，因為他們跟大衛同謀，明知道大衛在潛逃，卻不來告訴我。」掃羅的臣僕不願意下手殺害耶和華的祭司。 18 掃羅就對多益說：「你去把祭司殺掉！」以東人多益就殺了他們。那天，他下手殺了八十五個穿細麻布以弗得的祭司。 19 他又把祭司城挪伯的男女老少、牛羊和驢全部殺掉。
20 只有亞希米勒的一個兒子亞比亞他逃出去，投奔了大衛。 21 亞比亞他把掃羅屠殺耶和華祭司的事告訴了大衛， 22 大衛說：「那天我見以東人多益在那裡，就知道他一定會告訴掃羅。是我連累了你父親一家。 23 你就放心留在我這裡，不要害怕，誰想殺你，就是想殺我。你在我這裡很安全。」
Footnotes
- 21·4 「聖餅」指分別出來獻給耶和華的餅。
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
