David Takes the Consecrated Bread (Matthew 12:1–8; Mark 2:23–28; Luke 6:1–5)
2 ULT And David said to Ahimelech the priest,“The king has commanded me{ regarding} a matter and has said to me,‘May a man not know anything{ about} the matter{ for} which I am sending you and{ about} which I have commanded you.’ And I have informed the young men about a certain unnamed place. BSB BSB: “The king has given me a mission,” David replied. “He told me no one is to know about the mission on which I am sending you. And I have directed my young men to meet me at a certain place.
3 ULT And now, what is there under your hand? Give five{ loaves of} bread into my hand, or the{ thing} being found.” BSB BSB: Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found.”
4 ULT And the priest answered David and said,“{ There is} no common bread toward under my hand, but there is holy bread. If the young men have only kept themselves from women.” BSB BSB: “There is no common bread on hand,” the priest replied, “but there is some consecrated bread—provided that the young men have kept themselves from women.”
5 ULT And David answered the priest and said to him,“Surely a woman has been kept from us as yesterday and the third day in my going out. If the vessels of the men have been holy when it{ was} a common journey, then indeed that it will be holy today with the vessels!” BSB BSB: David answered, “Women have indeed been kept from us, as is usual when I set out. And the bodies of the young men are holy even on common missions. How much more so today!”
6 ULT So the priest gave to him the holy. For no bread was there except the bread of the face having been removed from to the face of Yahweh to put hot bread on the day of its being taken away. BSB BSB: So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there but the Bread of the Presence, which had been removed from before the LORD and replaced with hot bread on the day it was taken away.
7 ULT Now a man{ was} there from the servants of Saul on that day. He was detained to the face of Yahweh. And his name{ was} Doeg the Edomite, the chief of the herders who{ were} to Saul. BSB BSB: 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.
David Flees to Gath (Psalm 34:1–22; Psalm 56:1–13)
8 ULT And David said to Ahimelech,“And is there not here under your hand a spear or a sword? For both my sword and also my weapons I did not take in my hand, because the matter of the king was being urged.” BSB BSB: Then David asked Ahimelech, “Is there not a spear or sword on hand here? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s mission was urgent.”
9 ULT And the priest said,“The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck in the Valley of Elah, behold, it{ is} wrapped in a cloak behind the ephod. If you would take it for yourself, take, for no other except it{ is} in this{ place}.” And David said,“{ There is} none like it. Give{ it} to me.” BSB BSB: The priest replied, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here; it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want, you may take it. For there is no other but this one here.” And David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”
10 ULT And David arose and fled on that day from the face of Saul. And he came to Achish, the king of Gath. BSB BSB: That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath.
11 ULT But the servants of Achish said to him,“{ Is} not this David the king of the land? Do they not sing about this{ one} in the dances, saying,‘Saul has struck his thousands, and David his myriads’?” BSB BSB: But the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David, the king of the land? Did they not sing about him in their dances, saying: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?”
12 ULT And David put these words in his heart, and he was very afraid from the face of Achish, the king of Gath. BSB BSB: Now David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath.
13 ULT So he changed his behavior in their eyes, and he acted insane in their hand. And he made marks on the doors of the gate, and he caused his saliva to go down to his beard. BSB BSB: So he changed his behavior before them and feigned madness in their hands; he scratched on the doors of the gate and let his saliva run down his beard.
14 ULT And Achish said to his servants,“Behold, you see a man raving. Why did you bring him to me? BSB BSB: Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you can see that the man is insane! Why have you brought him to me?
15 ULT Am I lacking ravers, that you have brought this{ one} to rave near me? Should this{ one} enter into my house?” BSB BSB: Am I in need of madmen, that you have brought this man to rave in my presence? Must this man come into my house?”
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.