¹And David arrived in Nob, and he went to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech was afraid at meeting David, and he said to him, “Why are you on your own, and why is no-one with you?” ²And David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has charged me with a matter, and he said to me, ‘No-one must know anything about the mission which I am sending you on, and what I have charged you with. And I have appointed servants to go to such and such a place.’ ³And now, what is at your disposal? Hand me five loaves or whatever is available.” ⁴And the priest answered David and said, “There is no ordinary bread at my disposal. There is only holy bread, which you can have if your servant-lads really have kept themselves from women.” ⁵Then David answered the priest and said to him, “Indeed women have been withheld from us for several days since I went out, and the lads' equipment is holy, although it was a secular journey, so how much more will it be sanctified today by the vessel containing it?” ⁶Then the priest gave him the holy bread, for there was no bread there other than the showbread, which was removed from the Lord's presence, so it was necessary to put hot bread out on the day it was taken away. ⁷Now there was there on that day a man from Saul's servants, retained in the Lord's presence, and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the foreman of Saul's shepherds. ⁸And David said to Ahimelech, “And is there no spear or sword at your disposal here? For I took neither my sword nor my equipment in my hand, for it was an urgent matter of the king's.” ⁹Then the priest said, “Here is the sword of Goliath the Philistine whom you struck down in the Valley of Elah, wrapped in a garment behind the ephod. If you want to take it for yourself, take it, for there is nothing other than that here.” And David said, “There is nothing like it. Give it to me.” ¹⁰So David arose and fled from Saul on that day. Then he went to Achish king of Gath. ¹¹And Achish's servants said to him, “Isn't this David, the king of the land? Wasn't it to him that they sang in turns with dancing and said,

‘Saul struck his thousands,

But David his tens of thousands.’ ”

¹²And David laid these things to heart, and he was very afraid of Achish king of Gath. ¹³And he changed his character in their sight, and he pretended to be mad under their charge, and he scratched on the doors of the gate, and he let his spittle run down onto his beard. ¹⁴And Achish said to his servants, “Look, you can see that the man is mad. Why are you bringing him to me? ¹⁵Do I lack madmen, so that you should bring this one to behave madly with me? Shall this man come into my house?”