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David Takes Consecrated Bread

¹ Then David went to ^(F1)(C1)Nob to ^(F2)Ahimelech the priest; and Ahimelech ^(C2)came trembling in fear to meet David and said to him, "Why are you alone, and no one with you?"² David said to Ahimelech the priest, "The king has commissioned me with a matter and has told me, '^(C1)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.'³ "Now what food do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found."⁴ The priest answered David, "There is no ordinary (unconsecrated) bread on hand, but there is ^(F1)(C1)consecrated bread; you may have it if only the young men have ^(C2)kept themselves from women."⁵ David answered the priest, "^(C1)Be assured that ^(F1)women have been kept from us in these three days since I set out, and the ^(F2)(C2)bodies of the young men were consecrated (ceremonially clean), although it was an ordinary (unconsecrated) journey; so how much more will their vessels be holy today?"⁶ So ^(C1)the priest gave him the consecrated bread; for there was no bread there except the ^(C2)bread of the ^(F1)Presence which was removed from before the LORD in order to put hot bread in its place when it was taken away.

⁷ Now one of Saul's servants was there that day, detained before the LORD; his name was ^(C1)Doeg the Edomite, the ^(C2)chief of Saul's shepherds.

⁸ David said to Ahimelech, "Do you not have a sword or spear here on hand? For I brought neither my sword nor my other weapons with me, because the king's business was urgent."⁹ Then the priest said, "^(C1)The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed ^(C2)in the Valley of Elah, is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you would take it for yourself, do so. For there is no other here except for it." And David said, "There is none like that; give it to me."

¹⁰ Then David arose and fled from Saul that day, and went to ^(C1)Achish king of ^(F1)Gath.¹¹ The ^(C1)servants of Achish said to him, "Is this not David the king of the land? ^(C2)Did they not sing in praise of this one as they danced, saying,

'Saul has slain his thousands,
And David his ten thousands'?"