Chapter 21

¹Then David came to Nob to Ahimelech the priest; and Ahimelech came trembling to meet David and said to him, 'Why are you alone and no one with you?'

¹大衛到了挪伯祭司亞希米勒那裡，亞希米勒戰戰兢兢地出來迎接他，問他說：你為甚麼獨自來，沒有人跟隨呢？

²David said to Ahimelech the priest, 'The king has commissioned me with a matter and has said to me, 'Let no one know anything about the matter on which I am sending you and with which I have commissioned you; and I have directed the young men to a certain place.'

²大衛回答祭司亞希米勒說：王吩咐我一件事說：我差遣你委託你的這件事，不要使人知道。故此我已派定少年人在某處等候我。

³'Now therefore, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found.'

³現在你手下有甚麼？求你給我五個餅或是別樣的食物。

⁴The priest answered David and said, 'There is no ordinary bread on hand, but there is consecrated bread; if only the young men have kept themselves from women.'

⁴祭司對大衛說：我手下沒有尋常的餅，只有聖餅；若少年人沒有親近婦人才可以給。

⁵David answered the priest and said to him, 'Surely women have been kept from us as previously when I set out and the vessels of the young men were holy, though it was an ordinary journey; how much more then today will their vessels [be holy]?'

⁵大衛對祭司說：實在約有三日我們沒有親近婦人；我出來的時候，雖是尋常行路，少年人的器皿還是潔淨的；何況今日不更是潔淨麼？

⁶So the priest gave him consecrated [bread]; for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence which was removed from before the LORD, in order to put hot bread [in its place] when it was taken away.

⁶祭司就拿聖餅給他；因為在那裡沒有別樣餅，只有更換新餅，從耶和華面前撤下來的陳設餅。

⁷Now one of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul's shepherds.

⁷（當日有掃羅的一個臣子留在耶和華面前。他名叫多益，是以東人，作掃羅的司牧長。）

⁸David said to Ahimelech, 'Now is there not a spear or a sword on hand? For I brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's matter was urgent.'

⁸大衛問亞希米勒說：你手下有槍有刀沒有？因為王的事甚急，連刀劍器械我都沒有帶。

⁹Then the priest said, 'The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah, behold, it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you would take it for yourself, take [it]. For there is no other except it here.' And David said, 'There is none like it; give it to me.'

⁹祭司說：你在以拉谷殺非利士人歌利亞的那刀在這裡，裹在布中，放在以弗得後邊，你要就可以拿去；除此以外，再沒有別的。大衛說：這刀沒有可比的！求你給我。

¹⁰Then David arose and fled that day from Saul, and went to Achish king of Gath.

¹⁰那日大衛起來，躲避掃羅，逃到迦特王亞吉那裡。

¹¹But the servants of Achish said to him, 'Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of this one as they danced, saying, 'Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands '?'

¹¹亞吉的臣僕對亞吉說：這不是以色列國王大衛麼？那裡的婦女跳舞唱和，不是指著他說掃羅殺死千千，大衛殺死萬萬麼？

¹²David took these words to heart and greatly feared Achish king of Gath.

¹²大衛將這話放在心裡，甚懼怕迦特王亞吉，

¹³So he disguised his sanity before them, and acted insanely in their hands, and scribbled on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva run down into his beard.

¹³就在眾人面前改變了尋常的舉動，在他們手下假裝瘋癲，在城門的門扇上胡寫亂畫，使唾沫流在鬍子上。

¹⁴Then Achish said to his servants, 'Behold, you see the man behaving as a madman. Why do you bring him to me?

¹⁴亞吉對臣僕說：你們看，這人是瘋子。為甚麼帶他到我這裡來呢？

¹⁵'Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this one to act the madman in my presence? Shall this one come into my house?'

¹⁵我豈缺少瘋子，你們帶這人來在我面前瘋癲麼？這人豈可進我的家呢？