1 Samuel 21:2
New International Version
David answered Ahimelek the priest, “The king sent me on a mission and said to me, ‘No one is to know anything about the mission I am sending you on.’ As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place.

New Living Translation
“The king has sent me on a private matter,” David said. “He told me not to tell anyone why I am here. I have told my men where to meet me later.

English Standard Version
And David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has charged me with a matter and said to me, ‘Let no one know anything of the matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.’ I have made an appointment with the young men for such and such a place.

Berean Standard Bible
“The king has given me a mission,” David replied. “He told me no one is to know about the mission or charge. And I have directed my young men to meet me at a certain place.

King James Bible
And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place.

New King James Version
So David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has ordered me on some business, and said to me, ‘Do not let anyone know anything about the business on which I send you, or what I have commanded you.’ And I have directed my young men to such and such a place.

New American Standard Bible
David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has commissioned me with a matter and has said to me, ‘No one is to 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.’

NASB 1995
David 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.’

NASB 1977
And David 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.’

Legacy Standard Bible
And David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has commanded 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 commanded you; and I have directed the young men to a certain place.’

Amplified Bible
David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has commissioned me with a matter and has told me, ‘Let no one know anything about the matter for which I am sending you and with which I have commissioned you. I have directed the young men to a certain place.’

Christian Standard Bible
David answered the priest Ahimelech, “The king gave me a mission, but he told me, ‘Don’t let anyone know anything about the mission I’m sending you on or what I have ordered you to do.’ I have stationed my young men at a certain place.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
David answered Ahimelech the priest, “The king gave me a mission, but he told me, ‘Don’t let anyone know anything about the mission I’m sending you on or what I have ordered you to do.’ I have stationed my young men at a certain place.

American Standard Version
And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know anything of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed the young men to such and such a place.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And David came to Nakakh to Akhimelek the Priest, and Akhimelek was sorry at the meeting of David, and he said to him: “Why have you come alone? You have come and no man is with you!”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And David said to the priest, The king gave me a command to-day, and said to me, Let no one know the matter on which I send thee, an concerning which I have charged thee: and I have charged my servants to be in the place that is called, The faithfulness of God, phellani maemoni.

Contemporary English Version
"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.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And David said to Achimelech the priest: The king hath commanded me a business, and said: Let no man know the thing for which thou art sent by me, and what manner of commands I have given thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place.

English Revised Version
And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed the young men to such and such a place.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"The king ordered me to do something," David answered the priest Ahimelech, "and he told me, 'No one must know anything about this mission I'm sending you on and about the orders I've given you. I've stationed my young men at a certain place.' "

Good News Translation
"I am here on the king's business," David answered. "He told me not to let anyone know what he sent me to do. As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place.

International Standard Version
David told Ahimelech the priest, "The king commanded me about a matter, saying to me, 'Don't let anyone know anything about the matter I'm sending you to do and about which I've commanded you. I've directed the young men to a certain place.'

JPS Tanakh 1917
And David said unto Ahimelech the priest: 'The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me: Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee; and the young men have I appointed to such and such a place.

Literal Standard Version
And David says to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has commanded me [on] a matter, and he says to me, Let no man know anything of the matter about which I send you, and which I have commanded you; and [my] young men know [to go] to such and such a place.

Majority Standard Bible
“The king has given me a mission,” David replied. “He told me no one is to know about the mission or charge. And I have directed my young men to meet me at a certain place.

New American Bible
David answered the priest: “The king gave me a commission and told me, ‘Do not let anyone know anything about the business on which I have sent you or the commission I have given you.’ For that reason I have arranged a particular meeting place with my men.

NET Bible
David replied to Ahimelech the priest, "The king instructed me to do something, but he said to me, 'Don't let anyone know the reason I am sending you or the instructions I have given you.' I have told my soldiers to wait at a certain place.

New Revised Standard Version
David said to the priest Ahimelech, “The king has charged me with a matter, and said to me, ‘No one must know anything of the matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.’ I have made an appointment with the young men for such and such a place.

New Heart English Bible
David said to the priest, "The king has commanded me a business, and has said to me, 'Let no man know anything of the business about which I send you, and what I have commanded you; and I have arranged to meet the young men at a certain place.'

Webster's Bible Translation
And David said to Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said to me, Let no man know any thing of the business about which I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place.

World English Bible
David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has commanded me to do something, and has said to me, ‘Let no one know anything about the business about which I send you, and what I have commanded you. I have sent the young men to a certain place.’

Young's Literal Translation
And David saith to Ahimelech the priest, 'The king hath commanded me a matter, and he saith unto me, Let no man know anything of the matter about which I am sending thee, and which I have commanded thee; and the young men I have caused to know at such and such a place;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
David Takes the Consecrated Bread
1Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And when Ahimelech met David, he trembled and asked him, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?” 2“The king has given me a mission,” David replied. “He told me no one is to know about the mission or charge. And I have directed my young men to meet me at a certain place. 3Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found.”…

Cross References
1 Samuel 21:3
Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found."

Psalm 141:3
Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips.


Treasury of Scripture

And David said to Ahimelech the priest, The king has commanded me a business, and has said to me, Let no man know any thing of the business about which I send you, and what I have commanded you: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place.

1 Samuel 19:17
And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away mine enemy, that he is escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee?

1 Samuel 22:22
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.

Genesis 27:20,24
And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the LORD thy God brought it to me…

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Ahimelech Ahim'elech Appointed Appointment Business Commanded Commissioned David Directed Matter Priest Sending Servants Young
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Ahimelech Ahim'elech Appointed Appointment Business Commanded Commissioned David Directed Matter Priest Sending Servants Young
1 Samuel 21
1. David at Nob obtains Ahimelech's hallowed bread
7. Doeg is present
8. David takes Goliath's sword
10. David at Gath feigns himself insane














(2) The king hath commanded me.--This is one of the sad episodes in a glorious life. Overwhelmed with dismay at his sudden fall, home and wife, friends and rank, all had been taken from him, and he who had been on the very steps of the throne, the darling of the people, strangely successful in all that he had up to this time put his hand to, was now a proscribed exile, flying for his life. These things must plead as his excuse for his falsehood to Ahimelech, and his flight to and subsequent behaviour among the hereditary enemies of his race, the Philistines. But here, as in so many places, the Holy Spirit who guided the pen of the compiler of this true history could not lie, but fearlessly tells the repulsive truth which must ever be deeply damaging to the favourite hero of Israel. "The Holy Spirit is become the chronicler of men's foolish, yea, sinful actions. He has narrated the lies of Abraham, the incest of Lot, the simulation of the man after God's heart."--Lange.

I have appointed my servants.--This portion of his words to Ahimelech was, no doubt, strictly true. It is unlikely that one in the high position of David at the court of Saul, possessing, too, such powers over men's hearts, would be allowed to go even into exile without any friends or attendants. Those alluded to here probably joined him soon after his parting with Jonathan. Our Lord, in Mark 2:25-26, speaks of the priest giving the shewbread to David and to those that were with him, when both he and they that were with him were an hungred.

Verse 2. - The king hath commanded me a business. This pretence of a private commission from the king was a mere invention, but his "appointing his servants to meet him at such and such a place" was probably the exact truth. After parting with Jonathan, David probably did not venture to show himself at home, but, while Saul still supposed him to be at Bethlehem, gave orders to some trusty officer to gather together a few of his most faithful men, and await him with them at some fit place. Meanwhile alone he sets out on his flight, and, having as yet no settled plan, goes to Nob, because it was out of the way of the road to Bethlehem, whither Saul would send to arrest him. Naturally such a visit would seem strange to Ahimelech; but David needed food and arms, and probably counsel; and. but for the chance of the presence of Doeg, no harm might have ensued. As it was, this visit of David completed the ruin of Eli's house.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
“The king
הַמֶּלֶךְ֮ (ham·me·leḵ)
0
Strong's 4428: A king

has ordered me
צִוַּ֣נִי (ṣiw·wa·nî)
0
Strong's 6680: To lay charge (upon), give charge (to), command, order

on some business,”
דָבָר֒ (ḏā·ḇār)
0
Strong's 1697: A word, a matter, thing, a cause

David
דָּוִ֜ד (dā·wiḏ)
0
Strong's 1732: David -- perhaps 'beloved one', a son of Jesse

replied.
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
0
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“He told
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
0
Strong's 559: To utter, say

me
אֵלַ֗י (’ê·lay)
0
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

no one
אַל־ (’al-)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 408: Not

is to know
יֵ֧דַע (yê·ḏa‘)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3045: To know

about
אֶת־ (’eṯ-)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 853: Untranslatable mark of the accusative case

the mission
הַדָּבָ֛ר (had·dā·ḇār)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1697: A word, a matter, thing, a cause

or
וַאֲשֶׁ֣ר (wa·’ă·šer)
Preposition | first person common singular
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

instructions.
צִוִּיתִ֑ךָ (ṣiw·wî·ṯi·ḵā)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6680: To lay charge (upon), give charge (to), command, order

And
וְאֶת־ (wə·’eṯ-)
Adverb
Strong's 853: Untranslatable mark of the accusative case

I have directed
יוֹדַ֔עְתִּי (yō·w·ḏa‘·tî)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3045: To know

[my] young men
הַנְּעָרִ֣ים (han·nə·‘ā·rîm)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5288: A boy, lad, youth, retainer

to meet me
אֶל־ (’el-)
Direct object marker
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

at a certain place.
מְק֥וֹם (mə·qō·wm)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4725: A standing, a spot, a condition


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OT History: 1 Samuel 21:2 David said to Ahimelech the priest (1Sa iSam 1 Sam i sa)
1 Samuel 21:1
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