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1 SAMUEL · Trinity Bible Version

1 Samuel 22

The full text of 1 Samuel 22 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.

All of 1 Samuel KJV

1 David left there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and all his father's house heard, they went down to him there.

2 Everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter of soul gathered to him, and he became commander over them. About four hundred men were with him.

3 David went from there to Mizpeh of Moab, and he said to the king of Moab, "Please let my father and my mother come and stay with you until I know what God will do for me."

4 He left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold.

5 The prophet Gad said to David, "Do not stay in the stronghold. Go and enter the land of Judah." So David left and went into the forest of Hereth.

6 Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been located. Saul was sitting in Gibeah under the tamarisk tree on the height, with his spear in his hand and all his servants standing around him.

7 Saul said to his servants who stood around him, "Listen now, Benjaminites! Will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards? Will he make all of you commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds?

8 "For all of you have conspired against me, and no one disclosed to me when my son made a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you is troubled for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in ambush as he does today."

9 Then Doeg the Edomite, who was set over Saul's servants, answered and said, "I saw the son of Jesse come to Nob, to Ahimelech son of Ahitub.

10 "He inquired of the LORD for him, gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine."

11 Then the king sent to summon Ahimelech the priest, son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests who were at Nob. They all came to the king.

12 Saul said, "Listen now, son of Ahitub." He said, "Here I am, my lord."

13 Saul said to him, "Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, by giving him bread and a sword, and by inquiring of God for him, so that he could rise against me and lie in ambush, as he does today?"

14 Ahimelech answered the king, "Who among all your servants is as faithful as David—the king's son-in-law, captain of your bodyguard, and honored in your house?

15 "Did I begin to inquire of God for him today? Far be it from me! Let not the king charge anything to his servant or to all my father's house, for your servant knew nothing at all about this matter."

16 But the king said, "You shall surely die, Ahimelech—you and all your father's house."

17 The king said to the guards who stood around him, "Turn and kill the priests of the LORD, because their hand is also with David. They knew he was fleeing and did not disclose it to me." But the king's servants were not willing to stretch out their hand to strike the priests of the LORD.

18 The king said to Doeg, "You turn and strike the priests." So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck the priests. He killed on that day eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod.

19 He struck Nob, the city of the priests, with the edge of the sword—men and women, children and infants, oxen, donkeys, and sheep—with the edge of the sword.

20 But one son of Ahimelech son of Ahitub escaped. His name was Abiathar, and he fled after David.

21 Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD.

22 David said to Abiathar, "I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I am responsible for every life in your father's house.

23 "Stay with me. Do not be afraid, for whoever seeks my life seeks your life. You are safe with me."

Translation notes (13)
  1. 1 Samuel 22:2a The Hebrew mar-nephesh means 'bitter of soul/spirit,' referring to someone who is discontented.
  2. 1 Samuel 22:3a David's connection to Moab may relate to his great-grandmother Ruth (Ruth 4:17).
  3. 1 Samuel 22:4a The Hebrew word metsudah means 'stronghold' or 'fortress'.
  4. 1 Samuel 22:6a The Hebrew word 'eshel means 'tamarisk tree', which was seen as a place of shade and authority.
  5. 1 Samuel 22:8a The Hebrew word choleh means 'sick' or 'troubled'; this suggests that Saul perceives universal betrayal.
  6. 1 Samuel 22:10a Doeg's report adds the detail that David 'inquired of the LORD,' which was not narrated in chapter 21; this detail could be true or a fabrication to worsen the charge against David.
  7. 1 Samuel 22:14a The Hebrew phrase sar 'el-mish'ma'tekha means 'turning to your obedience' or 'guard'; the exact role described here is debated.
  8. 1 Samuel 22:15a The Hebrew phrase ha-yom hachillothi means 'is today the beginning?', implying that he had consulted God for David before on Saul's behalf.
  9. 1 Samuel 22:17a The Hebrew word ratsim means 'runners' or 'guards', referring to the royal bodyguard.
  10. 1 Samuel 22:18a The Hebrew phrase 'ephod bad means 'linen ephod', which is a priestly garment, indicating that they were all serving priests.
  11. 1 Samuel 22:19a This language echoes the cherem, or total destruction, that Saul failed to carry out against the Amalekites (15:3); this is an ironic reversal.
  12. 1 Samuel 22:22a The Hebrew phrase 'anokhi savvothi be-khol-nephesh literally means 'I have turned/caused [harm] against every soul', indicating that David accepts blame.
  13. 1 Samuel 22:23a The Hebrew phrase ki-mishmeret 'attah 'immadi literally means 'for you are a guarded one with me'; it can also be translated as 'for he who seeks my life seeks your life—you are under my protection.'
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About this translation

The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is Trinity Bible's own translation of Scripture, made directly from the original Hebrew rather than revised from an older English Bible. Completed in 2026, it is the most modern English Bible translation available, and it is exclusive to Trinity Bible. Reading the TBV here on the web is free — the full study edition, with original-language tools and notes on every verse, lives in the Trinity Bible app.

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