King James Version

1 And he arose and went, and Jonathan came to the city. 2 And David came to Nob to Ahimelech the priest, and Ahimelech trembled to meet David and said to him, "Why are you alone and no man is with you?" 3 And David said to Achimelech the priest, "The king has commanded me a matter." And he said to me, "Let no man know anything of the matter for which I send you and what I have commanded you, and the young men I have directed to a certain place." 4 And now, what is under your hand? Five loaves, give them to me, or what is found? 5 And the priest answered David and said, "There is no ordinary bread under my hand except for the holy bread, if the young men have kept themselves from women." 6 And David answered the priest and said to him, "If there are holy things in our vessels, as there were yesterday and the day before when I went out, let the young men's vessels be holy, and although today it is common, it shall be sanctified in the vessels." 7 And the priest gave him holy bread, for there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence, which is removed from before the Lord to place hot bread on the day it was taken away. 8 And there was a man from the servants of Saul on that day who stood before the LORD, and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of the herdsmen that belonged to Saul. 9 And David said to Ahimelech, "Is there not here under your hand a spear or a sword? For I have taken neither my sword nor my weapons in my hand, because the king's matter was urgent." 10 And the priest said, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, which you struck in the valley of Elah, behold, it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want it, take it; for there is no other like it here." And David said, "There is none like it; give it to me." 11 And David arose and fled that day from before Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. 12 And the servants of Achish said to him, "Is this not David, king of the land? Did they not sing to one another in dances, saying, 'Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands'?" 13 And David set these words in his heart, and he was very afraid of Achish, king of Gath. 14 And they changed his taste in their eyes, and he boasted in their hands, and he stood at the doors of the gate, and his saliva ran down to his beard. 15 And Achish said to his servants, "Behold, you see a man who is acting insane; why have you brought him to me?"