21 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?”

² And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, “The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, ‘Let no man know anything of the business about which I send thee and what I have commanded thee.’ And I have appointed my servants to such and such a place.

³ Now therefore, what is under thine hand? Give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present.”

⁴ And the priest answered David and said, “There is no common bread under mine hand; but there is hallowed bread, if at least the young men have kept themselves from women.”

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.”

⁶ So the priest gave him hallowed 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.

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 herdsmen who belonged to Saul.

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.”

⁹ Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who was set over the servants of Saul, and said, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.

¹⁰ And he inquired of the Lord for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

¹¹ Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests who were in Nob; and they came all of them to the king.

¹² And Saul said, “Hear now, thou son of Ahitub.” And he answered, “Here I am, my lord.”

¹³ And Saul said unto him, “Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread and a sword and hast inquired of God for him, that he should rise against me to lie in wait, as at this day?”

¹⁴ Then Ahimelech answered the king and said, “And who is so faithful among all thy servants as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, and goeth at thy bidding, and is honorable in thine house?

¹⁵ Did I then begin to inquire of God for him? Be it far from me. Let not the king impute anything unto his servant, nor to all the house of my father; for thy servant knew nothing of all this, less or more.”

¹⁶ And the king said, “Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou and all thy father’s house.”

¹⁷ And the king said unto the footmen who stood about him, “Turn and slay the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled and did not show it to me.” But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the Lord.

¹⁸ And the king said to Doeg, “Turn thou and fall upon the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons who wore a linen ephod.

¹⁹ And Nob, the city of the priests, smote he with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen and asses and sheep, with the edge of the sword.

²⁰ And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David.

⁶ And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand.

⁷ And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, “I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod.” And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David.