(KJV) 1 Samuel 21¹

⥃David Takes the Consecrated Bread ^{[ Matthew 12:1–8 † Mark 2:23–28 † Luke 6:1–5 ]}

[1] Then came David to Nob² to Ahimelech³ the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid⁴ at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why [art] thou alone, and no man with thee? [2] And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king⁵ hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed [my] servants to such and such a place. [3] Now therefore what is under thine⁶ hand? give [me] five [loaves of] bread in mine hand, or what there is present⁷. [4] And the priest answered David, and said, [There is] no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread⁸; if the young⁹ men have kept themselves at least 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, since I came out, and the vessels¹⁰ of the young men are holy, and [the bread is] in a manner¹¹ common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel¹². [6] So the priest gave him¹³ hallowed [bread]: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the Lord, to put hot bread¹⁴ in the day when it was taken away. [7] Now a certain man of the servants of Saul [was] there that day, detained¹⁵ before the Lord; and his name [was] Doeg¹⁶, an Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen¹⁷ that [belonged] to Saul.

⥃David Flees to Gath ^{[ Psalms 34:1–22 † Psalms 56:1–13 ]}

[8] [¶]And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under thine 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 sword¹⁸ of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley¹⁹ of Elah, behold²⁰, it [is here] wrapped in a cloth behind²¹ 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 fled²² that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish²³ the king of Gath²⁴. [11] And the servants²⁵ of Achish said unto him, [Is] not this David the king²⁶ 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 up²⁷ these words in his heart, and was sore²⁸ afraid of Achish the king of Gath. [13] And he changed²⁹ his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled³⁰ 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 mad³¹: wherefore [then] have ye brought him to me? [15] Have I need of mad men, that ye have brought this [fellow] to play the mad man in my presence? shall this [fellow] come into my house?