1 Samuel 21 - American Standard Version (ASV)

21 Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech came to meet David trembling, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee? 2 And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know anything of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed the young men to such and such a place. 3 Now therefore what is under thy hand? give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or whatsoever there is present. 4 And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under my hand, but there is holy bread; if only the young men have kept themselves from women. 5 And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days; when I came out, the vessels of the young men were holy, [a]though it was but a common journey; how much more then to-day shall their vessels be holy? 6 So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread, that was taken from before Jehovah, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.

7 Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before Jehovah; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the [b]chiefest of the herdsmen that belonged to Saul. 8 And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under thy hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste. 9 And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the vale of [c]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.

10 And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11 And 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?

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 behavior before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and [d]scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard. 14 Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad; wherefore then have ye brought him to me? 15 Do I lack madmen, that ye have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 21:5 Or, and it may be used as common bread; and especially since to-day it will be holy in respect of their vessels
  2. 1 Samuel 21:7 Or, mightiest
  3. 1 Samuel 21:9 Or, the terebinth
  4. 1 Samuel 21:13 Or, made marks

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1 Samuel 21 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

21 And David cometh in to Nob, unto Ahimelech the priest, and Ahimelech trembleth at meeting David, and saith to him, `Wherefore [art] thou thyself alone, and no man with thee?' 2 And David saith to Ahimelech the priest, `The king hath commanded me a matter, and he saith unto me, Let no man know any...
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1 Samuel 21 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

21 Forsooth David came into Nob to Ahimelech, the priest; and Ahimelech wondered, for David had come (and Ahimelech wondered why David had come there); and he said to David, Why art thou alone, and no man is with thee? 2 And David said to Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded to me a word, a...
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1 Samuel 21 - World English Bible (WEB)

21 Then David came to Nob to Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech came to meet David trembling, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no man with you?” 2 David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has commanded me to do something, and has said to me, ‘Let no one know anything about the business ab...
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1 Samuel 21 - The Voice (VOICE)

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1 Samuel 21 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Eating Consecrated Bread21 Then David got up and left, while Jonathan returned to the town. 2 David went to Nob to Ahimelech the kohen. Ahimelech was afraid to meet David, so he said to him, “Why are you alone and no one with you?” 3 David said to Ahimelech the kohen, “The king has commissioned me ...
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1 Samuel 21 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

David and the Holy Bread21 [a] Then came David to Nob to Ahim′elech the priest; and Ahim′elech came to meet David trembling, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one with you?” 2 And David said to Ahim′elech the priest, “The king has charged me with a matter, and said to me, ‘Let no one know...
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1 Samuel 21 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

David and the Holy Bread21 [a] Then came David to Nob to Ahim′elech the priest; and Ahim′elech came to meet David trembling, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one with you?” 2 And David said to Ahim′elech the priest, “The king has charged me with a matter, and said to me, ‘Let no one know...
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1 Samuel 21 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

David and the Holy Bread21 [a] David came to Nob to the priest Ahimelech. Ahimelech came trembling to meet David, and said to him, ‘Why are you alone, and no one with you?’ 2 David said to the priest Ahimelech, ‘The king has charged me with a matter, and said to me, “No one must know anything of th...
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1 Samuel 21 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

David and the Holy Bread21 [a]David came to Nob to the priest Ahimelech. Ahimelech came trembling to meet David and said to him, “Why are you alone and no one with you?”(A)2 David said to the priest Ahimelech, “The king has charged me with a matter and said to me, ‘No one must know anything of the m...
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1 Samuel 21 - New Living Translation (NLT)

David Runs from Saul21 [a]David went to the town of Nob to see Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech trembled when he saw him. “Why are you alone?” he asked. “Why is no one with you?” 2 “The 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...
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1 Samuel 21 - New Life Version (NLV)

David Runs from Saul21 David came to Ahimelech the religious leader at Nob. Ahimelech came shaking in fear to meet David, and said to him, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?” 2 David said to Ahimelech the religious leader, “The king has given me something to do. And he has said to me, ‘Let...
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1 Samuel 21 - New King James Version (NKJV)

David and the Holy Bread21 Now David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And (A)Ahimelech was (B)afraid when he met David, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one is with you?” 2 So David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has ordered me on some business, and said to me, ‘Do not let a...
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1 Samuel 21 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

David at Nob21 [a]David went to Nob, to Ahimelek the priest. Ahimelek trembled when he met him, and asked, ‘Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?’ 2 David 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 ...
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1 Samuel 21 - New International Version (NIV)

David at Nob21 [a]David went to Nob,(A) to Ahimelek the priest. Ahimelek trembled(B) when he met him, and asked, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?” 2 David 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 sendin...
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1 Samuel 21 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

David at Nob21 David went to Ahimelek the priest at Nob. Ahimelek trembled with fear when he met him. He asked David, “Why are you alone? Why isn’t anyone with you?” 2 David answered Ahimelek the priest, “The king gave me a special job to do. He said to me, ‘I don’t want anyone to know what I’m send...
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1 Samuel 21 - New English Translation (NET)

21 1 (21:2) David went to Ahimelech the priest in Nob. Ahimelech was shaking with fear when he met[a] David, and said to him, “Why are you by yourself with no one accompanying you?” 2 David replied to Ahimelech the priest, “The king instructed me to do something, but he said to me, ‘Don’t let anyo...
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