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Then David came to ^(a)Nob to Ahimelech the priest; and Ahimelech ^(b)came trembling to meet David and said to him, "Why are you alone and no one with you?"

David said to Ahimelech the priest, "The king has commissioned me with a matter and has said to me, ‘^(c)Let no one know anything about the matter on which I am sending you and with which I have commissioned you; and I have directed the young men to a certain place.'

Now therefore, what ^[a]do you have on hand? Give ^[b]me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found."

The priest answered David and said, "There is no ordinary bread ^[c]on hand, but there is ^(d)consecrated bread; if only the young men have ^(e)kept themselves from women."

David answered the priest and said to him, "^(f)Surely women have been kept from us as previously when I set out and the ^(g)vessels of the young men were holy, though it was an ordinary journey; how much more then today will ^[d]their vessels be holy?"

So ^(h)the priest gave him consecrated bread; for there was no bread there but the ⁽ⁱ⁾bread of the Presence which was removed from before the Lord , in order to put hot bread in its place when it was taken away.

Now one of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord ; and his name was ^(j)Doeg the Edomite, the ^(k)chief of Saul's shepherds.

David said to Ahimelech, "Now is there not a spear or a sword ^[e]on hand? For I brought neither my sword nor my weapons ^[f]with me, because the king's matter was urgent."

Then the priest said, "^(l)The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you ^[g]killed ^(m)in the valley of Elah, behold, it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you would take it for yourself, take it. For there is no other except it here." And David said, "There is none like it; give it to me."

Then David arose and fled that day from Saul, and went to ⁽ⁿ⁾Achish king of Gath.

But the ^(o)servants of Achish said to him, "Is this not David the king of the land? ^(p)Did they not sing of this one as they danced, saying, ‘Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands'?"

David ^(q)took these words ^[h]to heart and greatly feared Achish king of Gath.

So he ^(r)disguised his sanity before them, and acted insanely in their hands, and scribbled on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva run down into his beard.

Then Achish said to his servants, "Behold, you see the man behaving as a madman. Why do you bring him to me?

Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this one to act the madman in my presence? Shall this one come into my house?"

So David departed from there and ^(a)escaped to ^(b)the cave of Adullam; and when his brothers and all his father's household heard of it, they went down there to him.

Everyone who was in distress, and everyone who ^[a]was in debt, and everyone who was ^[b]discontented gathered to him; and he became captain over them. Now there were ^(c)about four hundred men with him.

And David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, "Please let my father and my mother come and stay with you until I know what God will do for me."

Then he left them with the king of Moab; and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold.

^(d)The prophet Gad said to David, "Do not stay in the stronghold; depart, and go into the land of Judah." So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth.

Then Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered. Now ^(e)Saul was sitting in Gibeah, under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing around him.

Saul said to his servants who stood around him, "Hear now, O Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse also give to all of you fields and vineyards? ^(f)Will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds?

For all of you have conspired against me so that there is no one who ^[c]discloses to me ^(g)when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you ^(h)who is sorry for me or ^[d]discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me to lie in ambush, as it is this day."

Then ⁽ⁱ⁾Doeg the Edomite, who was ^[e]standing by the servants of Saul, said, "^(j)I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to ^(k)Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.

^(l)He inquired of the Lord for him, ^(m)gave him provisions, and ⁽ⁿ⁾gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine."

Then the king sent someone to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's household, the priests who were in Nob; and all of them came to the king.

Saul said, "Listen now, son of Ahitub." And he ^[f]answered, "Here I am, my lord."

Saul then said to him, "Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have inquired of God for him, so that he would rise up against me ^(o)by lying in ambush as it is this day?"

^(p)Then Ahimelech answered the king and said, "And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, even the king's son-in-law, who ^[g]is captain over your guard, and is honored in your house?

Did I just begin ^(q)to inquire of God for him today? Far be it from me! ^(r)Do not let the king impute anything to his servant or to any of the household of my father, for your servant knows nothing ^[h]at all of this whole affair."

But the king said, "You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father's household!"

And ^(s)the king said to the ^[i]guards who were attending him, "Turn around and put the priests of the Lord to death, because their hand also is with David and because they knew that he was fleeing and did not ^[j]reveal it to me." But the ^(t)servants of the king were not willing to put forth their hands to ^[k]attack the priests of the Lord .

Then the king said to Doeg, "You turn around and ^[l]attack the priests." And Doeg the Edomite turned around and ^[m]attacked the priests, and ^(u)he killed that day eighty-five men ^(v)who wore the linen ephod.

And ^(w)he struck Nob the city of the priests with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and infants; also oxen, donkeys, and sheep he struck with the edge of the sword.

But ^(x)one son of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, ^(y)escaped and fled after David.

Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord .

Then David said to Abiathar, "I knew on that day, when ^(z)Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have brought about the death of every person in your father's household.

Stay with me; do not be afraid, for ^(aa)he who seeks my life seeks your life, for you are ^[n]safe with me."

Then they told David, saying, "Behold, the Philistines are fighting against ^(a)Keilah and are plundering the threshing floors."

So David ^(b)inquired of the Lord , saying, "Shall I go and ^[a]attack these Philistines?" And the Lord said to David, "Go and ^[b]attack the Philistines and deliver Keilah."

But David's men said to him, "Behold, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the ranks of the Philistines?"

Then David inquired of the Lord once more. And the Lord answered him and said, "Arise, go down to Keilah, for ^(c)I will give the Philistines into your hand."

So David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines; and he led away their livestock and struck them with a great slaughter. Thus David delivered the inhabitants of Keilah.

Now it came about, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech ^(d)fled to David at Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand.

When it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah, Saul said, "God has ^[c]delivered him into my hand, for he shut himself in by entering a city with double gates and bars."

So Saul summoned all the people for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.

Now David knew that Saul was plotting evil against him; so he said to ^(e)Abiathar the priest, "^(f)Bring the ephod here."

Then David said, "O Lord God of Israel, Your servant has heard for certain that Saul is seeking to come to Keilah to destroy the city on my account.

Will the men of Keilah surrender me into his hand? Will Saul come down just as Your servant has heard? O Lord God of Israel, I pray, tell Your servant." And the Lord said, "He will come down."

Then David said, "Will the men of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?" And the Lord said, "^(g)They will surrender you."

Then David and his men, ^(h)about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah, and they went ⁽ⁱ⁾wherever they could go. When it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah, he ^[d]gave up the pursuit.

David stayed in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill country in the wilderness of ^(j)Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but ^(k)God did not deliver him into his hand.

Now David ^[e]became aware that Saul had come out to seek his life while David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh.

And Jonathan, Saul's son, arose and went to David at Horesh, and ^[f](l)encouraged him in God.

Thus he said to him, "^(m)Do not be afraid, because the hand of Saul my father will not find you, and you will be king over Israel and I will be next to you; and ⁽ⁿ⁾Saul my father knows that also."

So ^(o)the two of them made a covenant before the Lord ; and David stayed at Horesh while Jonathan went to his house.

Then ^(p)Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, "Is David not hiding with us in the strongholds at Horesh, on ^(q)the hill of Hachilah, which is on the ^[g]south of ^[h]Jeshimon?

Now then, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to ^[i]do so; and ^(r)our part shall be to surrender him into the king's hand."

Saul said, "May you be blessed of the Lord , ^(s)for you have had compassion on me.

Go now, make more sure, and investigate and see his place where his ^[j]haunt is, and who has seen him there; for I am told that he is very cunning.

So look, and learn about all the hiding places where he hides himself and return to me with certainty, and I will go with you; and if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah."

Then they arose and went to Ziph before Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of ^(t)Maon, in the Arabah to the ^[k]south of ^[l]Jeshimon.

When Saul and his men went to seek him, they told David, and he came down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard it, he pursued David in the wilderness of Maon.

Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain; and David was hurrying to get away from Saul, for Saul and his men ^(u)were surrounding David and his men to seize them.

But a messenger came to Saul, saying, "Hurry and come, for the Philistines have made a raid on the land."

So Saul returned from pursuing David and went to meet the Philistines; therefore they called that place ^[m]the Rock of Escape.

^[n]David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of ^(v)Engedi.

Now ^(a)when Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, ^(b)he was told, saying, "Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi."

Then ^(c)Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Rocks of the Wild Goats.

He came to the sheepfolds on the way, where there was a cave; and Saul ^(d)went in to ^[a]relieve himself. Now ^(e)David and his men were sitting in the inner recesses of the cave.

The men of David said to him, "Behold, ^(f)this is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold; ^(g)I am about to give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems good ^[b]to you.'" Then David arose and cut off the edge of Saul's robe secretly.

It came about afterward that ^(h)David's ^[c]conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul's robe.

So he said to his men, "⁽ⁱ⁾Far be it from me because of the Lord that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord's anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the Lord's anointed."

David ^[d]persuaded his men with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. And Saul arose, ^[e]left the cave, and went on his way.

Now afterward David arose and went out of the cave and called after Saul, saying, "My lord the king!" And when Saul looked behind him, ^(j)David bowed with his face to the ground and prostrated himself.

David said to Saul, "Why do you listen to the words of men, saying, ‘Behold, David seeks ^[f]to harm you'?

^(k)Behold, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord had given you today into my hand in the cave, and ^(l)some said to kill you, but my eye had pity on you; and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord's anointed.'

Now, ^(m)my father, see! Indeed, see the edge of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the edge of your robe and did not kill you, know and perceive that there is no evil or ^[g]rebellion in my hands, and I have not sinned against you, though you ⁽ⁿ⁾are lying in wait for my life to take it.

^(o)May the Lord judge between ^[h]you and me, and may the Lord avenge me on you; but my hand shall not be against you.

As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘^(p)Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness'; but my hand shall not be against you.

After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom are you pursuing? ^(q)A dead dog, ^(r)a single flea?

^(s)The Lord therefore be judge and decide between ^[i]you and me; and may He see and ^(t)plead my cause and ^[j]deliver me from your hand."

When David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, "^(u)Is this your voice, my son David?" Then Saul lifted up his voice and wept.

^(v)He said to David, "You are more righteous than I; for ^(w)you have dealt well with me, while I have dealt wickedly with you.

You have declared today that you have done good to me, that ^(x)the Lord delivered me into your hand and yet you did not kill me.

For if a man ^(y)finds his enemy, will he let him go away ^[k]safely? May the Lord therefore reward you with good in return for what you have done to me this day.

Now, behold, ^(z)I know that you will surely be king, and that ^(aa)the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand.

So now ^(ab)swear to me by the Lord that you will not cut off my ^[l]descendants after me and that you will not destroy my name from my father's household."

David swore to Saul. And Saul went to his home, but David and his men went up to ^(ac)the stronghold.

^(a)Then Samuel died; and all Israel gathered together and ^(b)mourned for him, and ^(c)buried him at his house in Ramah. And David arose and went down to the ^(d)wilderness of Paran.

Now there was a man in ^(e)Maon whose business was in ^(f)Carmel; and the man was very ^[a]rich, and he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And it came about while ^(g)he was shearing his sheep in Carmel

(now the man's name was Nabal, and his ^(h)wife's name was Abigail. And the woman was ^[b]intelligent and beautiful in appearance, but the man was harsh and evil in his dealings, and he was ⁽ⁱ⁾a Calebite),

that David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep.

So David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, "Go up to Carmel, ^[c]visit Nabal and greet him in my name;

and thus you shall say, ‘^[d]Have a long life, ^(j)peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have.

Now I have heard ^(k)that you have shearers; now your shepherds have been with us and we have not insulted them, ^(l)nor have they missed anything all the days they were in Carmel.

Ask your young men and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we have come on ^(m)a ^[e]festive day. Please give whatever you find at hand to your servants and to your son David.'"

When David's young men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all these words in David's name; then they waited.

But Nabal answered David's servants and said, "⁽ⁿ⁾Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants today who are each breaking away from his master.

Shall I then ^(o)take my bread and my water and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men ^[f]whose origin I do not know?"

So David's young men retraced their way and went back; and they came and told him according to all these words.

David said to his men, "Each of you gird on his sword." So each man girded on his sword. And David also girded on his sword, and about ^(p)four hundred men went up behind David while two hundred ^(q)stayed with the baggage.

But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, "Behold, David sent messengers from the wilderness to ^[g](r)greet our master, and he scorned them.

Yet the men were very good to us, and we were not ^(s)insulted, nor did we miss anything ^[h]as long as we went about with them, while we were in the fields.

^(t)They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the time we were with them tending the sheep.

Now therefore, know and ^[i]consider what you should do, for evil is plotted against our master and against all his household; and he is such a ^[j]worthless man that no one can speak to him."

Then Abigail hurried and ^(u)took two hundred loaves of bread and two jugs of wine and five sheep already prepared and five measures of roasted grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and loaded them on donkeys.

She said to her young men, "^(v)Go on before me; behold, I am coming after you." But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

It came about as she was riding on her donkey and coming down by the hidden part of the mountain, that behold, David and his men were coming down toward her; so she met them.

Now David had said, "Surely in vain I have guarded all that this man has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him; and he has ^(w)returned me evil for good.

^(x)May God do so to the enemies of David, and more also, ^(y)if by morning I leave as much as one ^[k]male of any who belong to him."

When Abigail saw David, she hurried and dismounted from her donkey, and fell on her face before David ^(z)and bowed herself to the ground.

She fell at his feet and said, "On me ^[l]alone, my lord, be the blame. And please let your maidservant speak ^[m]to you, and listen to the words of your maidservant.

Please do not let my lord ^[n]pay attention to this ^[o]worthless man, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. ^[p]Nabal is his name and folly is with him; but I your maidservant did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.

"Now therefore, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, since the Lord has restrained you from ^[q]shedding blood, and ^(aa)from ^[r]avenging yourself by your own hand, now then ^(ab)let your enemies and those who seek evil against my lord, be as Nabal.

Now let ^(ac)this ^[s]gift which your maidservant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who ^[t]accompany my lord.

Please forgive ^(ad)the transgression of your maidservant; for ^(ae)the Lord will certainly make for my lord an enduring house, because my lord is ^(af)fighting the battles of the Lord , and ^(ag)evil will not be found in you all your days.

Should anyone rise up to pursue you and to seek your ^[u]life, then the ^[v]life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the Lord your God; but the ^[w]lives of your enemies ^(ah)He will sling out ^[x]as from the hollow of a sling.

And when the Lord does for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and ^(ai)appoints you ruler over Israel,

this will not ^[y]cause grief or a troubled heart to my lord, both by having shed blood without cause and by my lord having ^[z]avenged himself. ^(aj)When the Lord deals well with my lord, then remember your maidservant."

Then David said to Abigail, "^(ak)Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me,

and blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, ^(al)who have kept me this day from ^[aa]bloodshed and from ^[ab]avenging myself by my own hand.

Nevertheless, as the Lord God of Israel lives, ^(am)who has restrained me from harming you, unless you had come quickly to meet me, surely there would not have been left to Nabal until the morning light as much as one ^[ac]male."

So David received from her hand what she had brought him and said to her, "^(an)Go up to your house in peace. See, I have listened to ^[ad]you and ^[ae](ao)granted your request."

Then Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was holding ^(ap)a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal's heart was merry within him, ^(aq)for he was very drunk; so ^(ar)she did not tell him anything ^[af]at all until the morning light.

But in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him so that he became as a stone.

About ten days later, ^(as)the Lord struck Nabal and he died.

When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, "Blessed be the Lord , who has ^(at)pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal and ^(au)has kept back His servant from evil. The Lord has also returned the evildoing of Nabal on his own head." Then David sent ^[ag](av)a proposal to Abigail, to take her as his wife.

When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, "David has sent us to you to take you as his wife."

She arose ^(aw)and bowed with her face to the ground and said, "Behold, your maidservant is a maid ^(ax)to wash the feet of my lord's servants."

Then ^(ay)Abigail quickly arose, and rode on a donkey, with her five maidens who ^[ah]attended her; and she followed the messengers of David and became his wife.

David had also taken Ahinoam of ^(az)Jezreel, and ^(ba)they both became his wives.

Now Saul had given ^(bb)Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was from ^(bc)Gallim.