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¹ David therefore departed from there, and escaped to the cave of Adullam: and when his brothers and all his father's house heard it, they went down there to him.² And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves to him; and he became captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.³ And David went from there to Mizpeh of Moab: and he said to the king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray you, come forth, [and be] with you, until I know what God will do for me.⁴ And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the stronghold.⁵ And the prophet Gad said to David, Don't abide in the stronghold; depart, and go into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hereth.

⁶ And Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that were with him: now Saul was sitting in Gibeah, under the tamarisk-tree in Ramah, with his spear in his hand, and all his slaves were standing about him.⁷ And Saul said to his slaves that stood about him, Hear now, you Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, he will make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds,⁸ that all of you have conspired against me, and there is none that discloses to me when my son makes a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my slave against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?⁹ Then Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the slaves of Saul, answered and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.¹⁰ And he inquired of Yahweh for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.¹¹ Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests that were in Nob: and they came all of them to the king.¹² And Saul said, Hear now, you son of Ahitub. And he answered, Here I am, my lord.¹³ And Saul said to him, Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread, and a sword, and have inquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?¹⁴ Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said, And who among all your slaves is so faithful as David, who is the king's son-in-law, and commander over your bodyguard, and is honorable in your house?¹⁵ Have I today begun to inquire of God for him? be it far from me: don't let the king impute anything to his slave, nor to all the house of my father; for your slave knows nothing of all this, less or more.¹⁶ And the king said, You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you, and all your father's house.¹⁷ And the king said to the guard that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of Yahweh; because their hand also is with David, and because they knew that he fled, and did not disclose it to me. But the slaves of the king would not put forth their hand to fall on the priests of Yahweh.¹⁸ And the king said to Doeg, You turn, and fall on the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell on the priests, and he slew on that day 85 persons that wore a linen ephod.¹⁹ And Nob, the city of the priests, he smote with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen and donkeys and sheep, with the edge of the sword.

²⁰ And one of the sons of Ahimelech, the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David.²¹ And Abiathar told David that Saul had slain Yahweh's priests.²² And David said to Abiathar, I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul: I have occasioned [the death] of all the persons of your father's house.²³ Abide with me, don't be afraid; for he that seeks my life seeks your life: for with me you shall be in safeguard.