1 Samuel 21:4

1 Samuel 21:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• 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.”

Context of 1 Samuel 21:4

2David replied to Ahimelech the priest, “The king instructed me to do something, but he said to me, ‘Don’t let anyone know the reason I am sending you or the instructions I have given you.’ I have told my soldiers to wait at a certain place. 3Now what do you have at your disposal? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found.” The priest replied to David, “I don’t have any ordinary bread at my disposal. Only holy bread is available, and then only if your soldiers have abstained from sexual relations with women.” 5David said to the priest, “Certainly women have been kept away from us, just as on previous occasions when I have set out. The soldiers’ equipment is holy, even on an ordinary journey. How much more so will they be holy today, along with their equipment!” 6So the priest gave him holy bread, for there was no bread there other than the bread of the Presence. It had been removed from before the Lord in order to replace it with hot bread on the day it had been taken away.

1 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

Words taken from the KJV.

• 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 holy bread, for there was no bread there other than the bread of the Presence. It had been removed from before the Lord in order to replace it with hot bread on the day it had been taken away.
• Exodus 25:30You are to set the Bread of the Presence on the table before me continually.
• Leviticus 24:5“You must take choice wheat flour and bake twelve loaves; there must be two tenths of an ephah of flour in each loaf,
• Matthew 12:3He said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry –
• Exodus 19:15He said to the people, “Be ready for the third day. Do not go near your wives.”
• Zechariah 7:3by asking both the priests of the temple of the Lord who rules over all and the prophets, “Should we weep in the fifth month, fasting as we have done over the years?”
• 1 Corinthians 7:5Do not deprive each other, except by mutual agreement for a specified time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then resume your relationship, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

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

• Betrayal
• Confidence
• David
• Nob
• Tabernacle

In the dictionaries

• David
• Ahimelech
• Bread
• Judges, Book of
• Manner
• Quotations
• Require
• Shewbread
• Abiathar
• Ezekiel

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