21 42Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace! For we two have sworn to each other in the name of the LORD: ‘May the LORD be [witness] between you and me, and between your offspring and mine, forever!’ ” 1David then went his way, and Jonathan returned to the town.
2David went to the priest Ahimelech at Nob. Ahimelech came out in alarm to meet David, and he said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one with you?” 3David answered the priest Ahimelech, “The king has ordered me on a mission, and he said to me, ‘No one must know anything about the mission on which I am sending you and for which I have given you orders.’ So I have a-directed [my] young men to-a such and such a place. 4Now then, what have you got on hand? Anyb loaves of bread? Let me have them—or whatever is available.” 5The priest answered David, “I have no ordinary bread on hand; there is only consecrated bread—pro-vided the young men have kept away from women.” 6In reply to the priest, David said, “I assure you that women have been kept from us, as always. Whenever I went on a mission, even if the journey was a common one, the vessels of the young men were consecrated; all the more then c-may consecrated food be put into their vessels today.”-c 7So the priest gave him consecrated bread, because there was none there except the bread of display, which had been removed from the presence of the LORD, to be replaced by warm bread as soon as it was taken away.—8Now one of Saul’s officials was there that day, d-detained before the LORD;-d his name was Doeg the Edomite, Saul’s e-chief herdsman.e
9David said to Ahimelech, “Haven’t you got a spear or sword on hand? I didn’t take my sword or any of my weapons with me, because the king’s mission was urgent.” 10The priest said, “There is the sword of Goliath the Philistine whom you slew in the valley of Elah; it is over there, wrapped in a cloth, behind the ephod. If you want to take that one, take it, for there is none here but that one.” David replied, “There is none like it; give it to me.”
11That day David continued on his flight from Saul and he came to King Achish of Gath. 12The courtiers of Achish said to him, “Why, that’s David, king of the land! That’s the one of whom they sing as they dance:
Saul has slain his thousands;
David, his tens of thousands.”
13These words worried David and he became very much afraid of King Achish of Gath. 14So he concealed his good sense from them; he feigned madness f-for their benefit.-f He scratched marks on the doors of the gate and let his saliva run down his beard. 15And Achish said to his courtiers, “You see the man is raving; why bring him to me? 16Do I lack madmen that you have brought this fellow to rave for me? Should this fellow enter my house?”
22 David departed from there and escaped to the cavea of Adullam; and when his brothers and all his father’s house heard, they joined him down there. 2Everyone who was in straits and everyone who was in debt and everyone who was desperate joined him, and he became their leader; there were about four hundred men with him. 3David went from there to Mizpeh of Moab, and he said to the king of Moab, “Let my father and mother come [and stay] with you, until I know what God will do for me.” 4So he b-led them to-b the king of Moab, and they stayed with him as long as David remained in the stronghold.a 5But the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold; go at once to the territory of Judah.” So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.
6When Saul heard that David and the men with him had been located—Saul was then in Gibeah, sitting under the tamarisk tree on the height, spear in hand, with all his courtiers in attendance upon him—7Saul said to the courtiers standing about him, “Listen, men of Benjamin! Will the son of Jessec give fields and vineyards to every one of you? And will he make all of you captains of thousands or captains of hundreds? 8Is that why all of you have conspired against me? For no one informs me when my own son makes a pact with the son of Jesse; no one is concernedd for me and no one informs me when my own son has set my servant e-in ambush-e against me, as is now the case.”
9Doeg the Edomite, who was standing among the courtiers of Saul, spoke up: “I saw the son of Jesse come to Ahimelech son of Ahitub at Nob. 10He inquired of the LORD on his behalf and gave him provisions; he also gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.” 11Thereupon the king sent for the priest Ahimelech son of Ahitub and for all the priests belonging to his father’s house at Nob. They all came to the king, 12and Saul said, “Listen to me, sonc of Ahitub.” “Yes, my lord,” he replied. 13And Saul said to him, “Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me? You gave him food and a sword, and inquired of God for him—that he may rise e-in ambush-e against me, as is now the case.”
14Ahimelech replied to the king, “But who is there among all your courtiers as trusted as David, son-in-law of Your Majesty and f-obedient to your bidding,-f and esteemed in your household? 15This is the first time that I inquired of God for him; g-I have done no wrong.-g Let not Your Majesty find fault with his servant [or] with any of my father’s house; for your servant knew nothing whatever about all this.” 16But the king said, “You shall die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house.” 17And the king commanded the guards standing by, “Turn about and kill the priests of the LORD, for they are in league with David; they knew he was running away and they did not inform me.” But the king’s servants would not raise a hand to strike down the priests of the LORD. 18Thereupon the king said to Doeg, “You, Doeg, go and strike down the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite went and struck down the priests himself; that day, he killed eighty-five men h-who wore the linen ephod.-h 19He put Nob, the town of the priests, to the sword: men and women, children and infants, oxen, asses, and sheep—[all] to the sword.
20But one son of Ahimelech son of Ahitub escaped—his name was Abiathar—and he fled to David. 21When Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD, 22David said to Abiathar, “I knew that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would tell Saul. I i-am to blame for all the deaths-i in your father’s house. 23Stay with me; do not be afraid; for i-whoever seeks your life must seek my life also.-i It will be my care to guard you.”
23 David was told: “The Philistines are raiding Keilah and plundering the threshing floors.” 2David consulted the LORD, “Shall I go and attack those Philistines?” And the LORD said to David, “Go; attack the Philis-tines and you will save Keilah.” 3But David’s men said to him, “Look, we are afraid here in Judah, how much more if we go to Keilah against the forces of the Philistines!” 4So David consulted the LORD again, and the LORD answered him, “March down at once to Keilah, for I am going to deliver the Philistines into your hands.” 5David and his men went to Keilah and fought against the Philistines; he drove off their cattle and inflicted a severe defeat on them. Thus David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.
6When Abiathar son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, a-he brought down an ephod with him.-a
7Saul was told that David had come to Keilah, and Saul thought, “God has delivereda him into my hands, for he has shut himself in by entering a town with gates and bars.” 8Saul summoned all the troops for war, to go down to Keilah and besiege David and his men. 9When David learned that Saul was planninga to harm him, he told the priest Abiathar to bring the ephod forward. 10And David said, “O LORD, God of Israel, Your servant has heard that Saul intends to come to Keilah and destroy the town because of me. 11Will the citizens of Keilah deliver me into his hands? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O LORD, God of Israel, tell Your servant!” And the LORD said, “He will.” 12David continued, “Will the citizens of Keilah deliver me and my men into Saul’s hands?” And the LORD answered, “They will.” 13So David and his men, about six hundred in number, left Keilah at once and moved about wher-ever they could. And when Saul was told that David had got away from Keilah, he did not set out.
14David was staying a-in the strongholds of the
