1David therefore departed from there, and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father's house heard it, they went down there to him. 2And every man who was in distress, and every man who was in debt, and every man who was discontented, gathered themselves to him, and he became captain over them. And there were with him about four hundred men. 3And David went from there to Mizpeh of Moab, and he said to 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. 4And he brought them before the king of Moab, and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the stronghold. 5And the prophet Gad said to David, Abide not in the stronghold. Depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hereth. 6And Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men who were with him. Now Saul was sitting in Gibeah, under the tamarisk tree in Ramah with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him. 7And Saul said to his servants who stood about him, Hear now, ye Benjamites. Will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards. Will he make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, 8that all of you have conspired against me, and there is none who discloses to me when my son makes a league with the son of Jesse. And there is none of you who is sorry for me, or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my serva 9Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. 10And he inquired of LORD for him, and gave him food, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine. 11Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests who were in Nob. And they came to the king, all of them. 12And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Ahitub. And he answered, Here I am, my lord. 13And Saul said to him, Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou have given him bread, and a sword, and have inquired of God for him, that he should rise against me to lay in wait as at this day? 14Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said, And who among all thy servants is so faithful as David, who is the king's son-in-law, and is taken into thy council, and is honorable in thy house? 15Have I today begun to inquire of God for him? Be it far from me. Let not the king impute anything to his servant, nor to all the house of my father, for thy servant knows nothing of all this, less or more. 16And the king said, Thou shall surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father's house. 17And the king said to the guard who stood about him, Turn, and kill the priests of LORD, because their hand also is with David, and because they knew that he fled, and did not disclose it to me. But the servants of the king would no 18And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and he killed on that day eighty-five persons who wore a linen ephod. 19And Nob, the city of the priests, he smote with the edge of the sword, both men and women, sons and sucklings, and oxen and donkeys and sheep, with the edge of the sword. 20And one of the sons of Ahimelech, the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David. 21And Abiathar told David that Saul had slain LORD's priests. 22And David said to Abiathar, I knew on 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. 23Abide thou with me. Fear not, for he who seeks my life seeks thy life, for with me thou shall be in safeguard.