I Samuel 21 · שמואל א

And he arose and departed: and Yehonatan went into the city.

Then David came to Nov to Aĥimelekh the priest: and Aĥimelekh was afraid at meeting David, and said to him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee?

And David said to Aĥimelekh the priest, The king has commanded me a business, and has said to me, Let no man know anything of the business about which I am sending thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have despatched my servants to such and such a place.

Now therefore what is under thy hand? give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or whatever there is.

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

And David answered the priest, and said to him, Of a truth women have been kept from us as always when I am on a journey, and the vessels of the young men are holy, (although it is a common journey,) how much more today when there will be hallowed bread in their vessel.

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 its place on the day when it was taken away.

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 chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Sha᾽ul.

And David said to Aĥimelekh, And is there not here under thy hand a spear or a sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business was urgent.

And the priest said, The sword of Golyat the Pelishtian, whom thou didst slay in the valley of Ela, behold it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the efod: 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 to me.

And David arose, and fled that day from before Sha᾽ul, and went to Akhish the king of Gat.

And the servants of Akhish said to him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Sha᾽ul has slain his thousands, but David his ten thousands?

And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Akhish the king of Gat.

And he changed his be-haviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scratched on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle run down upon his beard.

Then said Akhish to his servants, Lo, you see the man is mad: why then have you brought him to me?

Am I short of mad men, that you have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?