1 Kingdoms 21, verse 1. So he arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.
David and the Showbread
1 Kingdoms 21, verse 2. Now David came to Nob, to Abimelech the priest. And Abimelech was astonished when he met him and said to him, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?” 1 Kingdoms 21, verse 3. So David said to the priest, “Today the king gave a command to me, saying, ‘Do not let anyone know anything about the business on which I send you or what I command you.’ And I gave orders to the young men to go to a place called the Faithfulness of God, Phellani Alemoni. 1 Kingdoms 21, verse 4. Now if there are five loaves under your hand being ready, give them into my hand.” 1 Kingdoms 21, verse 5. And the priest answered David and said, “There are no common loaves of bread on hand. There is holy bread, but only if the young men have been keeping themselves from women will they eat.” 1 Kingdoms 21, verse 6. Then David answered the priest and said to him, “Truly, we have kept ourselves from women for three days, with all the young men having been purified when I came on this journey. Even so, this expedition itself is unclean; thus because of my weapons, it shall be sanctified this day.” 1 Kingdoms 21, verse 7. So Abimelech the priest gave him the showbread; for there were no loaves there except the bread of the Presence which had been removed from before the Lord, in order to put hot bread in its place when it was taken away. 1 Kingdoms 21, verse 8. Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord. His name was Doeg the Syrian, the herder of Saul's mules. 1 Kingdoms 21, verse 9. And David said to Abimelech, “See if there is a spear or a sword in your possession, for I brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, for the message of the king required haste.” 1 Kingdoms 21, verse 10. So the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is there wrapped in a garment. If you take it, take it for yourself. For there is nothing else here except that.” And David said, “There is none like it. Give it to me.”
David Flees from Saul
1 Kingdoms 21, verse 11. And he gave it to him. Then David arose and fled that day from before Saul. And David went to Achish the king of Gath. 1 Kingdoms 21, verse 12. And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David, the king of the land? Is this not the one to whom the dancing women say: ‘Saul slew his thousands, And David his ten thousands’?” 1 Kingdoms 21, verse 13. Now David took these words in his heart, and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 1 Kingdoms 21, verse 14. So he changed his appearance before him and pretended to be mad on that day. He pounded on the doors of the city and acted like a madman with his hands, falling down upon the door of the gate and letting his saliva drip down on his beard. 1 Kingdoms 21, verse 15. Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is insane. Why did you bring him to me? 1 Kingdoms 21, verse 16. Do I need madmen? Did you bring this fellow to be mad in my presence? This man will not come into the house!”