New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 David came to Nob to the priest Ahimelech. Ahimelech came trembling to meet David, and said to him, "Why are you alone, and no one with you?"
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Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was full of fear at meeting David, and said to him, Why are you by yourself, having no man with you?
2 David said to the priest Ahimelech, "The king has charged me with a matter, and said to me, "No one must know anything of the matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.' I have made an appointment with the young men for such and such a place.
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And David said to Ahimelech the priest, The king has given me orders and has said to me, Say nothing to anyone about the business on which I am sending you and the orders I have given you: and a certain place has been fixed to which the young men are to go.
3 Now then, what have you at hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever is here."
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So now, if you have here five cakes of bread, give them into my hand, or whatever you have.
4 The priest answered David, "I have no ordinary bread at hand, only holy bread—provided that the young men have kept themselves from women."
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And the priest, answering David, said, I have no common bread here but there is holy bread; if only the young men have kept themselves from women.
5 David answered the priest, "Indeed women have been kept from us as always when I go on an expedition; the vessels of the young men are holy even when it is a common journey; how much more today will their vessels be holy?"
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And David in answer said to the priest, Certainly women have been kept from us; and as has been done before when I have gone out the arms of the young men were made holy, even though it was a common journey; how much more today will their arms be made holy.
6 So the priest gave him the holy bread; for there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence, which is removed from before the Lord, to be replaced by hot bread on the day it is taken away.
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So the priest gave him the holy bread: there was no other, only the holy bread which had been taken from before the Lord, so that new bread might be put in its place on 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; his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul's shepherds.
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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.
8 David said to Ahimelech, "Is there no spear or sword here with you? I did not bring my sword or my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste."
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And David said to Ahimelech, Have you no sword or spear with you here? for I have come without my sword and other arms, because the king's business had to be done quickly.
9 The priest said, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah, is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you will take that, take it, for there is none here except that one." David said, "There is none like it; give it to me."
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And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you put to death in the valley of Elah, is here folded in a cloth at the back of the ephod: take that, if you will, for there is no other sword here. And David said, there is no other sword like that; give it to me.
10 David rose and fled that day from Saul; he went to King Achish of Gath.
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Then David got up and went in flight that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish, the king of Gath.
11 The servants of Achish said to him, "Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances, "Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands'?"
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And the servants of Achish said to him, Is not this David, the king of the land? did they not make songs about him in their dances, saying, Saul has put to death thousands, and David tens of thousands?
12 David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of King Achish of Gath.
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And David took these words to heart, fearing Achish, the king of Gath.
13 So he changed his behavior before them; he pretended to be mad when in their presence. He scratched marks on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle run down his beard.
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So changing his behaviour before them, he made it seem as if he was off his head, hammering on the doors of the town, and letting the water from his mouth go down his chin.
14 Achish said to his servants, "Look, you see the man is mad; why then have you brought him to me?
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Then Achish said to his servants, Look! the man is clearly off his head; why have you let him come before me?
15 Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?"
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Are there not enough unbalanced men about me, that you have let this person come and do such tricks before me? is such a man to come into my house?
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.