21 ¶ Then David came 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 one with thee?

² And David said unto Ahimelech, the priest, The king has commanded me a business and has said unto me, Let no one know anything of this business about which I send thee and what I have commanded thee, and I have appointed my servants to a certain place.

³ Now, therefore, what is under thy hand? Give me five loaves of bread in my hand or what there is present.

⁴ And the priest answered David and said, There is no common bread under my hand; there is only sacred bread, which I will give thee 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 since yesterday and the day before yesterday since I came out, and the vessels of the young men were holy although the way is profane; how much more that today it shall be sanctified with the vessels.

⁶ So the priest gave him the sacred bread, for there was no bread there but the showbread that had been taken from before the LORD to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.

⁷ Now a certain man of the slaves of Saul was there that day, fulfilling a vow before the LORD, and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the principal of the pastors of Saul.

⁸ And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under thy hand a spear or a sword? For I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me because the king’s business required haste.

⁹ And the priest replied, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou didst overcome in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a veil behind the ephod; if thou wilt take that, take it, for there is none other except that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it to me.

¹⁰ ¶ And David arose and fled that day from the presence of Saul and went to Achish, the king of Gath.

¹¹ And the slaves of Achish said unto him, Is this not David, the king of the land? Did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul has 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 a fool in their hands and scrabbled on the doors of the gate and let his spittle fall down upon his beard.

¹⁴ Then Achish said unto his slaves, Behold, ye see the man is mad; why 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?