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 anything of the business about which 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 at least the young men have kept themselves 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 showbread 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 herdsmen who 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 to me.”