| Chapter
22 |
| 1 | David
therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his
brethren and all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to
him. |
| 2 | And every one that
was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was
discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them:
and there were with him about four hundred men. |
|
3 | And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he said
unto the king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come forth,
and be with you, till I know what God will do for me. |
| 4 | And he brought them before the king of
Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold. |
| 5 | And the prophet Gad said
unto David, Abide not in the hold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah.
Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hareth. |
| 6 | When Saul heard that David was
discovered, and the men that were with him, (now Saul abode in Gibeah under a
tree in Ramah, having his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing
about him;) |
| 7 | Then Saul
said unto his servants that stood about him, Hear now, ye Benjamites; will the
son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all
captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds; |
|
8 | That all of you have conspired against me, and there
is none that showeth me that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse,
and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or showeth unto me that my son
hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day? |
| 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. |
|
10 | And he inquired of the LORD for him, and gave him
victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine. |
| 11 | Then 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. |
|
12 | And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Ahitub. And
he answered, Here I am, my lord. |
|
13 | And 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? |
| 14 | Then
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 honorable in thine house? |
|
15 | Did 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. |
| 16 | And 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 show
it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall
upon the priests of the LORD. |
| 18
| And 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. |
| 19 | And 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. |
| 20 | And one of the sons of
Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David. |
| 21 | And Abiathar showed David
that Saul had slain the LORD's priests. |
| 22 | And 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. |
|
23 | Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh
my life seeketh thy life: but with me thou shalt be in safeguard. |
