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1 David went to the town of Nob to see Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech trembled when he saw him. “Why are you alone?” he asked. “Why is no one with you?”
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“The king has sent me on a private matter,” David said. “He told me not to tell anyone why I am here. I have told my men where to meet me later.
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Now, what is there to eat? Give me five loaves of bread or anything else you have.”
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“We don’t have any regular bread,” the priest replied. “But there is the holy bread, which you can have if your young men have not slept with any women recently.”
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“Don’t worry,” David replied. “I never allow my men to be with women when they are on a campaign. And since they stay clean even on ordinary trips, how much more on this one!”
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Since there was no other food available, the priest gave him the holy bread - the Bread of the Presence that was placed before the Lord in the Tabernacle. It had just been replaced that day with fresh bread.
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Now Doeg the Edomite, Saul’s chief herdsman, was there that day, having been detained before the Lord . 2
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David asked Ahimelech, “Do you have a spear or sword? The king’s business was so urgent that I didn’t even have time to grab a weapon!”
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“I only have the sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah,” the priest replied. “It is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. Take that if you want it, for there is nothing else here.”
“There is nothing like it!” David replied. “Give it to me!”