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The First Book of Samuel, Chapter 21
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1 |
Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was
afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone,
and no man with thee?
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2 |
And David said unto Ahimelech the priest,
The king 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.
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3 |
Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of
bread in mine hand, or what there is present.
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4 |
And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread
under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young men have
kept themselves at least from women.
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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 vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a
manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel.
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6 |
So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread
there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put
hot bread in the day when it was taken away.
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7 |
Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day,
detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the
chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul.
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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.
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9 |
And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom
thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a
cloth behind 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.
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10 |
And David arose and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to
Achish the king of Gath.
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11 |
And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the
king 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?
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12 |
And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid
of Achish the king of Gath.
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13 |
And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself
mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let
his spittle fall down upon his beard.
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14 |
Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad:
wherefore then have ye brought him to me?
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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?
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