1 Samuel 21:7

Contemporary English Version

It so happened that one of Saul's officers was there, worshiping the Lord that day. His name was Doeg the Edomite, and he was the strongest of Saul's shepherds.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
One of Saul’s servants, detained before the Lord, was there that day. His name was Doeg the Edomite, chief of Saul’s shepherds.

Hebrew Names Version
Now a certain man of the servants of Sha'ul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Do'eg the Edomite, the best of the herdsmen who belonged to Sha'ul.

King James Version
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.

Lexham English Bible
Now there was a man from the servants of Saul on that day, detained before Yahweh, whose name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul's shepherds.

English Standard Version
Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord . His name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul's herdsmen.

New Century Version
One of Saul's servants happened to be there that day. He had been held there before the Lord . He was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul's shepherds.

New English Translation
(One of Saul's servants was there that day, detained before the Lord . His name was Doeg the Edomite, who was in charge of Saul's shepherds.)

Amplified Bible
Now one of Saul's servants was there that day, detained before the LORD; his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul's shepherds.

New American Standard Bible
Now one of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul's shepherds.

Geneva Bible (1587)
(And there was the same day one of the seruants of Saul abiding before the Lorde, named Doeg the Edomite, the chiefest of Sauls heardmen)

Legacy Standard Bible
Now one of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before Yahweh; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul's shepherds.

Complete Jewish Bible
So the cohen gave him consecrated bread, because there was no bread there other than the showbread that had been removed from before Adonai to be replaced by freshly baked bread on the day the old bread was removed.

Darby Translation
(Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before Jehovah; and his name was Doeg, the Edomite, chief of the shepherds that [belonged] to Saul.)

Easy-to-Read Version
One of Saul's officers was there that day. He was Doeg the Edomite, the leader of Saul's shepherds. He had been kept there before the Lord .

George Lamsa Translation
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 chief of the herdsmen that belonged to Saul.

Good News Translation
(Saul's chief herdsman, Doeg, who was from Edom, happened to be there that day, because he had to fulfill a religious obligation.)

Literal Translation
And a man was there on that day, of the servants of Saul, detained before Jehovah. And his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul's shepherds.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But the same daye was there a man sparred in before the LORDE, one of Sauls seruauntes, named Doeg an Edomite, ye mightiest amonge Sauls hyrdmen.

American Standard Version
Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before Jehovah; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chiefest of the herdsmen that belonged to Saul.

Bible in Basic English
Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, kept back before the Lord; his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the strongest of Saul's runners.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
(And there was there the same day a certaine man, of the seruautes of Saul, abyding before ye Lord, named Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of Sauls heardmen.)

JPS Old Testament (1917)
So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.--

King James Version (1611)
Now a certaine man of the seruants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord, and his name was Doeg an Edomite, the chiefest of the heardmen that belonged to Saul.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And there was there on that day one of Saul’s servants detained before the Lord, and his name was Doec the Syrian, tending the mules of Saul.

English Revised Version
Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul.

Berean Standard Bible
Now one of Saul's servants was there that day, detained before the LORD. And his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief shepherd for Saul.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe sum man of the seruauntis of Saul was there with ynne in the tabernacle of the Lord; and his name was Doech of Ydumee, the myytiest of the scheepherdis, `that is, iugis, of Saul.

Young's Literal Translation
And there [is] a man of the servants of Saul on that day detained before Jehovah, and his name [is] Doeg the Edomite, chief of the shepherds whom Saul hath.

Update Bible Version
Now a certain man of the slaves of Saul was there that day, detained before Yahweh; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chiefest of the herdsmen that belonged to Saul.

Webster's Bible Translation
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 chief of the herdmen that [belonged] to Saul.

World English Bible
Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before Yahweh; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the best of the herdsmen who belonged to Saul.

New King James Version
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 chief of the herdsmen who belonged to Saul.

New Living Translation
Now Doeg the Edomite, Saul's chief herdsman, was there that day, having been detained before the Lord .

New Life Bible
Now one of Saul's servants happened to be there that day. His name was Doeg the Edomite, the head of Saul's shepherds.

New Revised Standard
Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord ; his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul's shepherds.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Now, in that very place, was a man of the servants of Saul, on that day, detained before Yahweh, whose name, was Doeg the Edomite, - chief of the shepherds that belonged unto Saul.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, within the tabernacle of the Lord: and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of Saul’s herdsmen.

Revised Standard Version
Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; his name was Do'eg the E'domite, the chief of Saul's herdsmen.

THE MESSAGE
One of Saul's officials was present that day keeping a religious vow. His name was Doeg the Edomite. He was chief of Saul's shepherds.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Now one of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul's shepherds.

Contextual Overview

¹ David went to see Ahimelech, a priest who lived in the town of Nob. Ahimelech was trembling with fear as he came out to meet David. "Why are you alone?" Ahimelech asked. "Why isn't anyone else with you?" ² "I'm on a mission for King Saul," David answered. "He ordered me not to tell anyone what the mission is all about, so I had my soldiers stay somewhere else. ³ Do you have any food you can give me? Could you spare five loaves of bread?" ⁴ "The only bread I have is the sacred bread," the priest told David. "You can have it if your soldiers didn't sleep with women last night." ⁵ "Of course we didn't sleep with women," David answered. "I never let my men do that when we're on a mission. They have to be acceptable to worship God even when we're on a regular mission, and today we're on a special mission." ⁶ The only bread the priest had was the sacred bread that he had taken from the place of worship after putting out the fresh loaves. So he gave it to David. ⁷ It so happened that one of Saul's officers was there, worshiping the Lord that day. His name was Doeg the Edomite, and he was the strongest of Saul's shepherds. ⁸ David asked Ahimelech, "Do you have a spear or a sword? I had to leave so quickly on this mission for the king that I didn't bring along my sword or any other weapons." ⁹ The priest answered, "The only sword here is the one that belonged to Goliath the Philistine. You were the one who killed him in Elah Valley, and so you can take his sword if you want to. It's wrapped in a cloth behind the statue." "It's the best sword there is," David said. "I'll take it!"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

detained: Jeremiah 7:9-11, Ezekiel 33:31, Amos 8:5, Matthew 15:8, Acts 21:26, Acts 21:27

Doeg: 1 Samuel 22:9, Psalms 52:1, *title

herdmen: 1 Samuel 11:5, Genesis 13:7, Genesis 13:8, Genesis 26:20, 1 Chronicles 27:29, 2 Chronicles 26:10

Reciprocal: Genesis 47:6 - rulers 1 Samuel 13:12 - I forced Galatians 1:10 - persuade

Cross-References

Genesis 21:11
Abraham was worried about Ishmael.

Genesis 21:12
But God said, "Abraham, don't worry about your slave woman and the boy. Just do what Sarah tells you. Isaac will inherit your family name,

Genesis 21:32
When the treaty was completed, Abimelech and his army commander Phicol went back to the land of the Philistines.

Genesis 21:34
Then Abraham lived a long time as a foreigner in the land of the Philistines.

Numbers 23:23
No magic charms can work against them— just look what God has done for his people.

Psalms 86:8
No other gods are like you; only you work miracles.

Psalms 86:10
You perform great wonders because you alone are God.

Isaiah 49:21
and Jerusalem will ask, "Am I really their mother? How could I have given birth when I was still mourning in a foreign land? Who raised these children? Where have they come from?"

Isaiah 66:8
Who ever heard of such a thing or imagined it could happen? Can a nation be born in a day or come to life in a second? Jerusalem is like a mother who gave birth to her children as soon as she was in labor.

Ephesians 3:10
Then God would use the church to show the powers and authorities in the spiritual world that he has many different kinds of wisdom.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Now a certain man of the servants of Saul [was] there that day,.... When David came to Nob, and asked bread of the priest, and had it, which this man was an eyewitness of, 1 Samuel 22:9;

detained before the Lord; either because it was sabbath day, and so he might not travel, at least no more than two thousand cubits; or by some vow of his, which he was obliged to stay and perform; or on account of some impurity he had contracted, which he came to be cleansed from; or this detention was voluntary, in order to offer sacrifice to the Lord, or pray unto him, or to study the law of God in the tabernacle, pretending to be a very religious man:

and his name [was] Doeg, an Edomite, being by birth an Idumean, but a proselyte to the Jewish religion; or he was of the seed of Israel, but because he had dwelt in Edom, he was called an Edomite, as Kimchi thinks; just as Uriah is called for a like reason the Hittite:

the chiefest of the herdmen that [belonged] to Saul; Saul had his herds and men to look after them, and this man was set over them all, to see that they faithfully discharged their trust. The same officer the Romans called the praefect, or master of the cattle k; 1 Samuel 22:9- :, and 1 Samuel 22:9- :; though this man was not only over the king's cattle, but over those that kept them; and was in the same office as Phorbas was, under Laius king of Thebes l, and Melanthius in Homer m, and Faustulus to Amulius n: but Abarbinel is of opinion that this is to be understood not of the keepers of herds and flocks, but of the shepherds or rulers of the people; and that this man was set over all the other magistrates and rulers of the people, hence said to be "set over the servants of Saul", 1 Samuel 22:9; and so Jarchi calls him "Ab Beth Din", or father of the sanhedrim, or great court of judicature; who was detained in the tabernacle to learn the law there, that he might be the better qualified for his office; but Kimchi interprets it as we do, the chief of the keepers of the herd, and both the Septuagint and Josephus o say that he fed the king's mules.

k Vid. Pignorium de servis, p. 539. l Senecae Oedipus, Act. 4. v. 815, 816, 839. m Odyss. 20. ver. 21. n Aurel. Victor. orig. Gent. Roman. o Antiqu. l. 6. c. 12. sect. 1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Detained before the Lord - Either to fulfill a vow Acts 21:23-27, or on account of uncleanness, or under the law of lepers Leviticus 13:4, Leviticus 13:11, Leviticus 13:21, or as a proselyte. It is not impossible that Doeg may have been in custody or in sanctuary for some crime.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Samuel 21:7. Detained before the Lord — Probably fulfilling some vow to the Lord, and therefore for a time resident at the tabernacle.

And his name was Doeg — From 1 Samuel 22:9 we learn that this man betrayed David's secret to Saul, which caused him to destroy the city, and slay eighty-five priests. We learn from its title that the Psalms 52:1 was made on this occasion; but titles are not to be implicitly trusted.