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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>1 Samuel 21 CEV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/1_samuel/21.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/1_samuel/21-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">CEV</a> > 1 Samuel 21</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../1_samuel/20.htm" title="1 Samuel 20">◄</a> 1 Samuel 21 <a href="../1_samuel/22.htm" title="1 Samuel 22">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Contemporary English Version</div><div class="chap"><h3 class="s1">Ahimelech Helps David</h3><p class="par"><span class="v9_21_1"><span class="reftext" id="1Sam.21.1" class="v9_21_1">1</span><a href="#fn" id="link_1Sam.21.1!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> David went to see Ahimelech, a priest who lived in the town of Nob. Ahimelech was trembling with fear as he came out to meet David. “Why are you alone?” Ahimelech asked. “Why isn't anyone else with you?”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v9_21_2"><span class="reftext" id="1Sam.21.2" class="v9_21_2">2</span>“I'm on a mission for King Saul,” David answered. “He ordered me not to tell anyone what the mission is all about, so I ordered my soldiers to stay somewhere else. </span><span class="v9_21_3"><span class="reftext" id="1Sam.21.3" class="v9_21_3">3</span>Do you have any food you can give me? Could you spare five loaves of bread?”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v9_21_4"><span class="reftext" id="1Sam.21.4" class="v9_21_4">4</span>“The only bread I have is the sacred bread,” the priest told David. “You can have it if your soldiers didn't sleep with women last night.”<a href="#fn" id="link_1Sam.21.4!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span></p><p class="par"><span class="v9_21_5"><span class="reftext" id="1Sam.21.5" class="v9_21_5">5</span>“Of course we didn't sleep with women,” David answered. “I never let my men do that when we're on a mission. They have to be acceptable to worship God even when we're on a regular mission, and today we're on a special mission.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v9_21_6"><span class="reftext" id="1Sam.21.6" class="v9_21_6">6</span><a href="#fn" id="link_1Sam.21.6!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> The only bread the priest had was the sacred bread that he had taken from the place of worship after putting out the fresh loaves. So he gave it to David.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v9_21_7"><span class="reftext" id="1Sam.21.7" class="v9_21_7">7</span>It so happened that one of Saul's officers was there, worshiping the <span class="nd">Lord</span> that day. His name was Doeg the Edomite,<a href="#fn" id="link_1Sam.21.7!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> and he was the strongest of<a href="#fn" id="link_1Sam.21.7!f.2" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> Saul's shepherds.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v9_21_8"><span class="reftext" id="1Sam.21.8" class="v9_21_8">8</span>David asked Ahimelech, “Do you have a spear or a sword? I had to leave so quickly on this mission for the king that I didn't bring along my sword or any other weapons.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v9_21_9"><span class="reftext" id="1Sam.21.9" class="v9_21_9">9</span><a href="#fn" id="link_1Sam.21.9!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> The priest answered, “The only sword here is the one that belonged to Goliath the Philistine. You were the one who killed him in Elah Valley, and so you can take his sword if you want to. It's wrapped in a cloth behind the statue.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v9_21_9">“It's the best sword there is,” David said. “I'll take it!”</span></p><h3 class="s1">David Tries To Find Safety in Gath</h3><p class="par"><span class="v9_21_10"><span class="reftext" id="1Sam.21.10" class="v9_21_10">10</span>David kept on running from Saul that day until he came to Gath,<a href="#fn" id="link_1Sam.21.10!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> where he met with King Achish. </span><span class="v9_21_11"><span class="reftext" id="1Sam.21.11" class="v9_21_11">11</span><a href="#fn" id="link_1Sam.21.11!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> The officers of King Achish were also there, and they asked Achish, “Isn't David a king back in his own country? Don't the Israelites dance and sing,</span></p><p class="b"></p><p class="q1"><span class="v9_21_11">‘Saul has killed</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v9_21_11">a thousand enemies;</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v9_21_11">David has killed</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v9_21_11">ten thousand’?”</span></p><p class="b"></p><p class="par"><span class="v9_21_12"><span class="reftext" id="1Sam.21.12" class="v9_21_12">12</span><a href="#fn" id="link_1Sam.21.12!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> David thought about what they were saying, and it made him afraid of Achish. </span><span class="v9_21_13"><span class="reftext" id="1Sam.21.13" class="v9_21_13">13</span><a href="#fn" id="link_1Sam.21.13!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> So right there in front of everyone, he pretended to be insane. He acted confused and started making scratches on the doors of the town gate, while drooling in his beard.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v9_21_14"><span class="reftext" id="1Sam.21.14" class="v9_21_14">14</span>“Look at him!” Achish said to his officers. “You can see he's crazy. Why did you bring him to me? </span><span class="v9_21_15"><span class="reftext" id="1Sam.21.15" class="v9_21_15">15</span>I have enough crazy people without your bringing another one here. Keep him away from my palace!”</span></p> <a name="fn"></a><br /><br /><br /><b>Footnotes:<br /><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">21.4 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">night: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Having sex was one of the things that would make someone temporarily unfit to take part in worship or a sacred meal (see Exodus 19.15; Leviticus 15.18).</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">21.7 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">Edomite: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">A person from the country of Edom, to the south of Israel.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">21.7 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">the strongest of: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Or “in charge of.”</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">21.10 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">Gath: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">One of the five main Philistine towns.</char></note></div></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div align="center"><p><span style="font-size:11pt;">Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt;">© 2006 American Bible Society. 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