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David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has commissioned me with a matter and has told me, ‘Let no one know anything about the matter for which I am sending you and with which I have commissioned you. I have directed the young men to a certain place.’ Now what [food] do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found.” The priest answered David, “There is no ordinary (unconsecrated) bread on hand, but there is [a]consecrated bread; [you may have it] if only the young men have kept themselves from women.”

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 21:4 I.e. the bread of the Presence (showbread) was an offering dedicated to God and was to be eaten only by the priests. The ancient rabbis maintained that any law may be superseded to save life, and that David’s life was in danger from hunger.

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