King James Version
1 Samuel 21:4
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.
1 Samuel 21:4 in other versions
- New International Version (NIV)But the priest answered David, “I don’t have any ordinary bread on hand; however, there is some consecrated bread here—provided the men have kept themselves from women.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And the priest answered David, "I have no common bread on hand, but there is holy bread—if the young men have kept themselves from women."
- New King James Version (NKJV)And the priest answered David and said, “There is no common bread on hand; but there is holy bread, if the young men have at least kept themselves from women.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)“We don’t have any regular bread,” the priest replied. “But there is the holy bread, which you can have if your young men have not slept with any women recently.”
Context of 1 Samuel 21:4
2And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place. 3Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present. And 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. 5And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel. 6So 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.
Read all of 1 Samuel 211 Samuel 21:4 word by word
וַיַּ֨עַן הַכֹּהֵ֤ן אֶת־דָּוִד֙ וַיֹּ֔אמֶר אֵֽין־לֶ֥חֶם חֹ֖ל אֶל־תַּ֣חַת יָדִ֑י כִּֽי־אִם־לֶ֤חֶם קֹ֙דֶשׁ֙ יֵ֔שׁ אִם־נִשְׁמְר֥וּ הַנְּעָרִ֖ים אַ֥ךְ מֵאִשָּֽׁה׃ פRead the interlinear
- And the priestכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
- answeredעָנָה‛ânâh · to answerH6030
- Davidדָּוִדdâvid dâvîyd · DavidH1732
- and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- no commonחֹלchôl · commonH2455
- breadלֶ֫חֶםlechem · foodH3899
- under mine handיָדyâd · handH3027
- but there isיֵשׁyêsh · thereH3426
- hallowedקֹ֫דֶשׁqôdesh · holinessH6944
- if the young menנַ֫עַרna‛ar · youthH5288
- have keptשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: guardH8104
- themselves at leastאַךְ'ak · surelyH389
- from womenאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · womanH802
Cross-references for 1 Samuel 21:4
- 1 Samuel 21:6So 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.
- Exodus 25:30And thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me alway.
- Leviticus 24:5And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake.
- Matthew 12:3But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
- Exodus 19:15And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives.
- Zechariah 7:3And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the Lord of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?
- 1 Corinthians 7:5Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.
Commentaries on 1 Samuel 21:4
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Common - As opposed to holy. (See the marginal references, and compare the use of the word in Acts 10:14-15, Acts 10:28.) It gives an idea of the depressed and poor condition of the priesthood at that time, that Ahimelech should have had no bread at hand except the showbread.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4Only priests could eat the holy bread (see Exodus 25:22–30; Leviticus 24:5–9), and only within sacred areas. kept themselves from women: The holy bread was for those who were ceremonially pure. The priest checked that David’s men were not ceremonially impure from sexual activity (see Leviticus 15:16–18). Normally, people who were not priests could not eat this bread. The priest made an exception because he saw the men's needs and believed they were on a…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. there is hallowed bread--There would be plenty of bread in his house; but there was no time to wait for it. "The hallowed bread" was the old shew-bread, which had been removed the previous day, and which was reserved for the use of the priests alone (Le 24:9). Before entertaining the idea that this bread could be lawfully given to David and his men, the high priest seems to have consulted the oracle (1Sa 22:10) as to the course to be followed in this…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Samuel 21:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Samuel 21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
King James Version — Public Domain except in the United Kingdom (Crown rights)
Commentaries