1He arose and went, and Jonathan came to the city of refuge.2David came to Nob to Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech trembled at his meeting with David and said to him, "Why are you alone, with no man with you?"3David said to Ahimelech the priest, "The king commanded me about a matter and said to me, 'Let no man know anything about the matter about which I am sending you and which I have commanded you.' I have directed the young men to such-and-such a place."4and now what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever is available.5The priest answered David and said, "There is no common bread on hand, but there is holy bread, if the young men have kept themselves from women only—"6David answered the priest and said to him, "Women have been kept away from us these three days since I came out. The young men's utensils are holy, even on a common journey, and how much more today will the utensils be holy."7The priest gave him the holy bread, since there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence, the loaves taken from before the LORD, in order to replace them with hot bread on the day they are taken.8One of Saul's servants was detained before the LORD that day. His name was Doeg the Edomite, a mighty one among Saul's shepherds.9And David said to Ahimelech, "There is none here under your hand—a spear or sword—because even my sword and even my utensils I did not take in my hand, because there was the king's urgent word."