²⁴ So David hid in the field, and when the New Moon feast^(A) came, the king sat down to eat. ²⁵ He sat in his customary place by the wall, opposite Jonathan,^[a] and Abner sat next to Saul, but David’s place was empty.^{(B) 26} Saul said nothing that day, for he thought, “Something must have happened to David to make him ceremonially unclean—surely he is unclean.^(C)”