Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now therefore what is under your hand? Please give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or whatever is available.”
- BSB Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found.”
- NKJV Now therefore, what have you on hand? Give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or whatever can be found.”
- NASB Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found.”
- NLT Now, what is there to eat? Give me five loaves of bread or anything else you have.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
David asks Ahimelech for whatever bread is available to feed himself and his men.
Overview
Hungry and on the run, David requests provisions, asking for five loaves or whatever the priest can spare. The simple need for bread drives the encounter and leads to the famous incident with the consecrated showbread. David's physical hunger foreshadows the deeper truth that human need can rightly take precedence over ceremonial restriction.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Isa 3:6When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand:
- 1 Sam 21:4And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least from women.
- Judg 9:29And would to God this people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase thine army, and come out.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 21:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.