1 Samuel 21:1–15

²⁶How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?

³²And at Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah,

³And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, I-chabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord’s priest in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone.

⁴And Samuel did that which the Lord spake, and came to Beth-lehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably?

³²As yet shall he remain at Nob that day: he shall shake his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

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

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

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

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

¹³And 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?

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

¹⁵Did I then begin to inquire of God for him? be it far from me: let not the king impute any thing unto his servant, nor to all the house of my father: for thy servant knew nothing of all this, less or more.

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

¹⁷¶ And the king said unto the footmen that 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 shew it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the Lord.

¹⁸And 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 that did wear a linen ephod.

¹⁹And 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.

⁹Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;

¹²For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.

¹⁸He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.

¹⁷And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away mine enemy, that he is escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee?

²²And David said unto Abiathar, I knew it that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul: I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father’s house.

²⁰And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the Lord thy God brought it to me.

²⁴And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am.

²⁹Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously.

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

⁶When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand:

²⁹And would to God this people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase thine army, and come out.

³But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;

⁴How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?

¹⁵And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives.

³⁰And thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me alway.

⁵Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

⁶So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the Lord, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.

⁵¶ And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake.

⁶And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the Lord.

⁷And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the Lord.

⁸Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the Lord continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant.

⁹And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the Lord made by fire by a perpetual statute.

³And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the Lord of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?

³For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:

⁴That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;

²⁰But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.

²¹If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.

¹⁵But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:

⁹And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the Lord made by fire by a perpetual statute.

²⁶And out of the basket of unleavened bread, that was before the Lord, he took one unleavened cake, and a cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and put them on the fat, and upon the right shoulder:

¹⁷For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.

³And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him;

⁴How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone?

⁵¶ And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake.

⁶And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the Lord.

⁷And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the Lord.

⁸Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the Lord continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant.

⁹And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the Lord made by fire by a perpetual statute.

³But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;

⁴How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?

²⁵And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?

²⁶How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?

²⁷And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:

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

¹WHY boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually.

²Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp rasor, working deceitfully.

³Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah.

⁴Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue.

⁵God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.

⁶The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him:

⁷Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.

⁸But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.

⁹I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.

²⁹And over the herds that fed in Sharon was Shitrai the Sharonite: and over the herds that were in the valleys was Shaphat the son of Adlai:

⁵And, behold, Saul came after the herd out of the field; and Saul said, What aileth the people that they weep? And they told him the tidings of the men of Jabesh.

⁴⁷¶ So Saul took the kingdom over Israel, and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines: and whithersoever he turned himself, he vexed them.

¹⁰Also he built towers in the desert, and digged many wells: for he had much cattle, both in the low country, and in the plains: husbandmen also, and vine dressers in the mountains, and in Carmel: for he loved husbandry.

²⁶Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them.

²⁷And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him,

⁵Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?

³¹And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.

⁷And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.

⁸And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.

²⁰And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac’s herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him.

⁹Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not;

¹⁰And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?

¹¹Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the Lord.

⁸This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

²And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.

⁵⁰So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.

⁵¹Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.

⁵²And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron.

⁵³And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents.

⁵⁴And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent.

¹⁰And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.

⁶¶ And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work.

⁷It shall have the two shoulderpieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof; and so it shall be joined together.

⁸And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.

⁹And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel:

¹⁰Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth.

¹¹With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold.

¹²And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord upon his two shoulders for a memorial.

¹³¶ And thou shalt make ouches of gold;

¹⁴And two chains of pure gold at the ends; of wreathen work shalt thou make them, and fasten the wreathen chains to the ouches.

³And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.

¹AND David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand.

²And David arose, and he passed over with the six hundred men that were with him unto Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath.

²¹And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death: but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt;

¹I WILL bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

²My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.

³O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.

⁴I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

⁵They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.

⁶This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.

⁷The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.

⁸O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

⁹O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.

¹⁰The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.

¹¹Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

¹²What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?

¹³Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.

¹⁴Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

¹⁵The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.

¹⁶The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

¹⁷The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.

¹⁸The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

¹⁹Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.

²⁰He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.

²¹Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.

²²The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

⁵Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

¹BE merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily oppresseth me.

²Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High.

³What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.

⁴In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.

⁵Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil.

⁶They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait for my soul.

⁷Shall they escape by iniquity? in thine anger cast down the people, O God.

⁸Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?

⁹When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.

¹⁰In God will I praise his word: in the Lord will I praise his word.

¹¹In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.

¹²Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto thee.

¹³For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?

¹AND the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.

⁷And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.

⁸And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom?

¹⁹But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

³What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.

⁴I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

¹⁰¶ And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.

¹¹And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:

¹²Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.

¹³Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.

⁷And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.

⁵¹And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.

¹¹Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

²⁵The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.

⁷¶ Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.

¹I WILL bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

²My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.

³O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.

⁴I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

⁵They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.

⁶This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.

⁷The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.

⁸O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

⁹O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.

¹⁰The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.

¹¹Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

¹²What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?

¹³Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.

¹⁴Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

¹⁵The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.

¹⁶The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

¹⁷The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.

¹⁸The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

¹⁹Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.

²⁰He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.

²¹Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.

²²The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

⁷¶ Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.