1 Samuel 22

Great(i) 1 Dauid therfore departed thence, and escaped, and came vnto the caue Odollam. When his brethren also and all his fathers house heard it, they went downe thither to hym. 2 And there geathered vnto him all men that were in combraunce, and in dett, and troubled in their mindes, & he became a captayne ouer them And there were with hym vpon a foure hundred men. 3 And Dauid went thence to Mizpa in the lande of Moab, and sayde vnto the kyng of Moab: Let my father & my mother (I praye the) come forth vnto you, tyll I knowe what God will do for me. 4 And he brought them before the king of Moab. And they dwelt wt him all the while that Dauid kepte him selfe in hold. 5 And the prophet Gad sayde vnto Dauid: abide not in holde, but departe and go into the land of Iuda. Then Dauid departed and came into the forest Hareth. 6 And Saul heard that Dauid was come abrode, and also the men that were wyth hym. And Saul satt in Gibea vnder a tree in Rama, hauyng hys speare in his hand, & all his men stode about hym 7 And Saul sayde vnto his seruauntes that stode about him. Heare I praye you you sonnes of Iemini: will the sonne of Isai geue euery one of you feldes and vineardes, & make you all captaynes ouer thousandes & ouer hundredes? 8 that ye haue also conspired agaynst me, and there is none that telleth it me in myne eare. And where as my sonne hath made a bonde wt the sonne of Isai, ther is none of you that mourneth for me, or sheweth it in myne eare: beholde, my sonne hath stered vp my seruaunt to lye awayte agaynst me thys same daye. 9 Then answered Doeg the Edomite which also stode by the seruauntes of Saul, and sayde: I saw the sonne of Isai, when he cam to Nob, to Ahimelech the sonne of Ahitob, 10 which asked councell of the Lorde for hym & gaue hym vitayles, & the swerde of Goliath the Philistine also. 11 Then the Kynge sent & called for Ahimelech the preast the sonne of Ahitob, & all his fathers house: that is to saye, the preastes that were in Nob. And they cam all to the kyng. 12 And Saul sayde: heare now thou sonne of Ahitob. He answered: here I am, my Lorde. 13 And Saul sayde vnto hym: why haue ye conspired agaynst me, thou & the sonne of Isai, in that thou hast geuen him vitaile, & a swerde, and hast asked councell of God for him, that he shuld aryse agaynst me, & lye awayte for me this daye? 14 Ahimelech answered the king & sayd who is so faithfull among all thy seruauntes as Dauid, & therto the kinges sonne in law, & goeth at thy bydding, & is had in honoure in thyne house? 15 haue I this daye begonne first to aske councell of God for him. That be farre from me: yf I had knowen it, lett not the kyng put soch a thyng vnto his seruaunt, in all the house of my father. For thy seruaunt knew nothing of all this, ether lesse or moare. 16 The king sayde: thou shalt surelye dye Ahimelech, thou and all thy fathers house 17 And the king sayde vnto the fote men that stode about him: turne, & sley the preastes of the Lord, both because their hand is with Dauid, & because they knewe when Dauid fleed, & shewed it not to me. But the seruauntes of the kyng wolde not moue their handes, to fall vpon the preastes of the Lorde. 18 And the kyng sayde to Doeg: turne thou, and fall vpon the preastes. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and ranne vpon the preastes, and slue that same daye foure skore & fyue persones, that dyd weare a lynnen Ephod. 19 And Nob the cytie of the preastes smote he wyth the edge of the swerde, both men & wemen, children and sucklynges, oxen and asses and shepe. 20 And one of the sonnes of Ahimelech the sonne of Ahitob (named Abiathar) escaped & fled to Dauid. 21 And Abiathar shewed Dauid, how that Saul had slayne the lordes preastes. 22 And Dauid sayde vnto Abiathar: I wilt it the same daye, whan Doeg the Edomite was there, that he wolde tell Saul. And I am cause of the deeth of all the soules of thy fathers house. 23 Abide thou wt me, and feare not: For yf anye man seke my soule, he shall seke thyne also, wt me thou shalt be in sauegard.