David Takes Consecrated Bread

21 Then David went to ^[a]Nob to ^[b]Ahimelech the priest; and Ahimelech came trembling [in fear] to meet David and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one with you?” ² 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.’ ³ Now what [food] do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found.” ⁴ The priest answered David, “There is no ordinary (unconsecrated) bread on hand, but there is ^[c]consecrated bread; [you may have it] if only the young men have kept themselves from women.” ⁵ David answered the priest, “Be assured that ^[d]women have been kept from us in these three days since I set out, and the ^[e]bodies of the young men were consecrated (ceremonially clean), although it was an ordinary (unconsecrated) journey; so how much more will their vessels be holy today?” ⁶ So the priest gave him the consecrated bread; for there was no bread there except the bread of the ^[f]Presence which was removed from before the Lord in order to put hot bread in its place when it was taken away.