So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.
Parallel translations
- WEB So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the show bread that was taken from before Yahweh, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.
- BSB So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there but the Bread of the Presence, which had been removed from before the LORD and replaced with hot bread on the day it was taken away.
- NKJV So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread which had been taken from before the Lord, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day when it was taken away.
- NASB So the priest gave him consecrated bread; for there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence which was removed from its place before the Lord, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day it was taken away.
- NLT Since there was no other food available, the priest gave him the holy bread—the Bread of the Presence that was placed before the Lord in the Tabernacle. It had just been replaced that day with fresh bread.
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
The priest gives David the holy showbread, the only bread available, freshly replaced before the LORD.
Overview
Ahimelech hands over the sacred showbread, normally reserved for the priests (Leviticus 24:5-9), to meet David's urgent need. Jesus appeals to this very act to teach that mercy and human need rightly outweigh ceremonial regulation (Matthew 12:3-4; Mark 2:25-26). The incident points forward to Christ, the true bread of life and Lord of the Sabbath, who fulfills the law's deepest intent.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Luke 6:3–4And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him;
- Lev 24:5–9And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake.
- Matt 12:3–4But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
- Mark 2:25–27And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?
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 21:6 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.