1 Samuel chapter 21
English Standard Version
1Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech came to meet David, trembling, and said to him, "Why are you alone, and no one with you?" 2And 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. 3Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever is here." 4And the priest answered David, "I have no common bread on hand, but there is holy bread — if the young men have kept themselves from women." 5And 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?" 6So the priest gave him the holy bread, for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence, which is removed from before the Lord, to be replaced by hot bread on the day it is taken away.
8Then 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." 9And the priest said, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in 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."
10And David rose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11And the servants of Achish said to him, "Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances, ‘Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?"
12And David took these words to heart and was much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13So 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. 14Then Achish said to his servants, "Behold, you see the man is mad. Why then have you brought him to me? 15Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to behave as a madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?"
New International Version
2David answered Ahimelek the priest, "The king sent me on a mission and said to me, ‘No one is to know anything about the mission I am sending you on.’ As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place. 3Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find."
5David replied, "Indeed women have been kept from us, as usual whenever I set out. The men’s bodies are holy even on missions that are not holy. How much more so today!" 6So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence that had been removed from before the Lord and replaced by hot bread on the day it was taken away.
New American Standard Bible
1Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest; and Ahimelech came trembling to meet David and said to him, 'Why are you alone, and no one with you?' 2David said to Ahimelech the priest, 'The king has commissioned me with a matter and has said to me, ‘No one is to know anything about the matter on which I am sending you and with which I have commissioned you; and I have directed the young men to a certain place.’ 3Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found.' 4The priest answered David and said, 'There is no ordinary bread on hand, but there is consecrated bread, if only the young men have kept themselves from women.' 5David answered the priest and said to him, 'Be assured, women have been denied to us as previously when I left and the bodies of the young men were consecrated, though it was an ordinary journey; how much more then will their bodies be consecrated today?' 6So the priest gave him consecrated bread; for there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence which was removed from its place before the Lord, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day it was taken away.
8David said to Ahimelech, 'Now is there no spear or sword on hand? For I brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s matter was urgent.' 9Then the priest said, 'The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, behold, it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you would take it for yourself, take it. For there is no other except it here.' And David said, 'There is none like it; give it to me.'
12David took these words to heart and greatly feared Achish king of Gath. 13So he disguised his sanity while in their sight and acted insanely in their custody, and he scribbled on the doors of the gate, and drooled on his beard. 14Then Achish said to his servants, 'Look, you see the man is behaving like an insane person. Why do you bring him to me? 15Do I lack insane people, that you have brought this one to behave like an insane person in my presence? Shall this one come into my house?'
Christian Standard Bible
2David answered the priest Ahimelech, "The king gave me a mission, but he told me, ‘Don’t let anyone know anything about the mission I’m sending you on or what I have ordered you to do.’ I have stationed my young men at a certain place. 3Now what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread or whatever can be found."
5David answered him, "I swear that women are being kept from us, as always when I go out to battle. The young men’s bodies are consecrated even on an ordinary mission, so of course their bodies are consecrated today." 6So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, for there was no bread there except the Bread of the Presence that had been removed from the presence of the Lord. When the bread was removed, it had been replaced with warm bread.
New Living Translation
2The king has sent me on a private matter,' David said. 'He told me not to tell anyone why I am here. I have told my men where to meet me later. 3Now, what is there to eat? Give me five loaves of bread or anything else you have.'
King James Version
1Then 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? 2And 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. 3Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present.
4And 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. 5And 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.
6So 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. 7Now 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. 8And 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. 9And 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. 10And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11And 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? 12And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13And 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.
New King James Version
2So 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. 3Now therefore, what have you on hand? Give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or whatever can be found.”
12Now David took these words to heart, and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13So he changed his behavior before them, pretended madness in their hands, scratched on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva fall down on his beard. 14Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is insane. Why have you brought him to me? 15Have I need of madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?”
What does 1 Samuel chapter 21 mean?
When David defeated Goliath, he did so for God's honor and with God's power (1 Samuel 17:45–46). Saul realized his court musician was a mighty warrior and gave him command over troops. But as David's military victories grew, so did the king's fear that David would take his crown. With the help of Saul's own son and daughter, David escaped (1 Samuel 19).This chapter begins David's long season of running from King Saul. His first stop is at the priestly city of Nob, where the tabernacle to the Lord is now being kept (Exodus 25:8–9). Nob was a few miles south of Gibeah and just north of Jerusalem. Ahimelech, the chief priest over the tabernacle, trembles in fear when David arrives alone and without provisions. David lies, saying that he's on a secret military mission from King Saul and on his way to meet up with his men. The news has not yet spread that Saul is trying to kill David (1 Samuel 21:1–2).
David asks Ahimelech to give him some bread. Ahimelech only has the bread placed on the table of the Presence before the Lord to acknowledge God's provision for Israel (Exodus 25:23–30). The holy bread is meant only for the priests (Leviticus 24:5–9). Sensing that this is an emergency, Ahimelech decides to allow David to take the bread for him and his men. The only stipulation is that they are ceremonially clean, making them fit for temple activities (Leviticus 15:18). David insists that neither he nor his men have been with a woman because of their important military mission for the king (1 Samuel 21:3–6).
In a bit of foreshadowing, the text mentions that someone sees this exchange. Doeg the Edomite, Saul's chief shepherd, happens to be at the tabernacle. He is "detained" before the Lord in some way, perhaps waiting for something from the priests or from the Lord on Saul's behalf. Later, Doeg will inform Saul (1 Samuel 22:9–10) and murder scores of priests (1 Samuel 22:18). David records a response to this (Psalm 52) in one of his Psalms (1 Samuel 21:7).
Next, David asks Ahimelech if he has any weapons. David adds to his lie, saying that the king's secret mission required him to leave too quickly to bring his own weapons with him. The only weapon the priest has is the sword of Goliath. This is the same used by David himself to kill the Philistine champion (1 Samuel 17:51). David gladly takes the weapon (1 Samuel 21:8–9).
David soon leaves Nob and heads in a surprising direction. Since Saul has made him an enemy of the state, David runs to a city of Israel's enemy to seek refuge from Saul. He travels from Nob to Gath, the nearest of the five major cities of the Philistines, where Achish is king. David realizes his mistake in thinking his enemy would take him in. In another act of clever deception, David acts as if he's insane. In that era, it was considered bad luck to interfere with such persons. Achish dismisses him (1 Samuel 21:10–15).
Homeless and alone, David retreats to the cave of Adullam. Soon, he's joined by his brothers and his father's house. Needy people from throughout the region come, as well. David hides his parents away with the king of Moab and takes his new army into the forest (1 Samuel 22:1–5).
