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¹ And David goes from there, and escapes to the cave of Adullam, and his brothers hear, and all the house of his father, and they go down to him there;² and every man in distress gathers themselves to him, and every man who has an exactor, and every man bitter in soul, and he is for head over them, and there are about four hundred men with him.³ And David goes from there to Mizpeh of Moab and says to the king of Moab, "Please let my father and my mother come out with you, until I know what God does for me";⁴ and he leads them before the king of Moab, and they dwell with him all the days of David's being in the fortress.⁵ And the prophet Gad says to David, "You do not abide in a fortress, go, and you have entered the land of Judah for yourself"; and David goes and enters the forest of Hareth.

⁶ And Saul hears that David has become known, and the men who [are] with him, and Saul is abiding in Gibeah, under the grove in Ramah, and his spear [is] in his hand, and all his servants [are] standing by him.⁷ And Saul says to his servants who are standing by him, "Now hear, sons of Benjamin; does the son of Jesse also give fields and vineyards to all of you? Does he appoint all of you [to be] heads of thousands and heads of hundreds?⁸ For all of you have conspired against me, and there is none uncovering my ear about my son's cutting [a covenant] with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you grieving for me, and uncovering my ear, that my son has raised up my servant against me, to lie in wait as [at] this day."⁹ And Doeg the Edomite answers, who is set over the servants of Saul, and says, "I have seen the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech son of Ahitub,¹⁰ and he inquires of YHWH for him, and has given provision to him, and has given the sword of Goliath the Philistine to him."¹¹ And the king sends to call Ahimelech son of Ahitub, the priest, and all the house of his father, the priests, who [are] in Nob, and all of them come to the king;¹² and Saul says, "Now hear, son of Ahitub"; and he says, "Here I [am], my lord."¹³ And Saul says to him, "Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, by your giving bread and a sword to him, and to inquire of God for him, to rise against me, to lie in wait, as [at] this day?"¹⁴ And Ahimelech answers the king and says, "And who among all your servants [is] as David—faithful, and son-in-law of the king, and has turned aside to your council, and is honored in your house?¹⁵ Today have I begun to inquire of God for him? Far be it from me! Do not let the king lay anything against his servant, against any of the house of my father, for your servant has known nothing of all this, little or much."¹⁶ And the king says, "You surely die, Ahimelech, you and all the house of your father."¹⁷ And the king says to the runners, those standing by him, "Turn around, and put the priests of YHWH to death, because their hand [is] also with David, and because they have known that he is fleeing, and have not uncovered my ear"; and the servants of the king have not been willing to put forth their hand to come against the priests of YHWH.¹⁸ And the king says to Doeg, "Turn around, and come against the priests"; and Doeg the Edomite turns around, and comes against the priests himself, and in that day puts to death eighty-five men bearing a linen ephod,¹⁹ and Nob, the city of the priests, he has struck by the mouth of the sword, from man and to woman, from infant and to suckling, and ox, and donkey, and sheep, by the mouth of the sword.

²⁰ And one son of Ahimelech, son of Ahitub, escapes, and his name [is] Abiathar, and he flees after David,²¹ and Abiathar declares to David that Saul has slain the priests of YHWH.²² And David says to Abiathar, "I have known on that day when Doeg the Edomite [is] there, that he certainly declares [it] to Saul; I have brought [it] around to every person of the house of your father;²³ dwell with me; do not fear; for he who seeks my life seeks your life; for you [are my] charge with me."