¹Naizvozvo Dhavhidhi wakabvapo akatizira kubako reAdhurami; zvino hama dzake navose veimba yababa vake vakati vachinzwa, vakaburukirako kwaari.

¹And David goeth thence, and is escaped unto the cave of Adullam, and his brethren hear, and all the house of his father, and go down unto him thither;

²Zvino vose vakanga vari panjodzi, navose vakanga vane mhosva, navose vakanga vane shungu vakaungana kwaari, akava mutangamiriri wavo; kwakanga kuna varume vanenge mazana mana naye.

²and gather themselves unto him do every man in distress, and every man who hath an exactor, and every man bitter in soul, and he is over them for head, and there are with him about four hundred men.

³Zvino Dhavhidhi akabvapo akaenda Mizipa kwaMoabhu; akati kuna mambo waMoabhu, Baba vangu namai vangu ndinokumbira kuti vauye vagare nemi, kusvikira ndaziva chandichaitirwa naMwari.

³And David goeth thence to Mizpeh of Moab, and saith unto the king of Moab, `Let, I pray thee, my father and my mother go out with you, till that I know what God doth for me;`

⁴Akavaisa kuna mambo waMoabhu, vakagara naye nguva yose yokugara kwaDhavhidhi munhare.

⁴and he leadeth them before the king of Moab, and they dwell with him all the days of David`s being in the fortress.

⁵Zvino muporofita Gadhi akati kuna Dhavhidhi: Usaramba ugere munhare, asi ibva undogara panyika yaJudha. Ipapo Dhavhidhi akabva akasvika kudondo reHereti.

⁵And Gad the prophet saith unto David, `Thou dost not abide in a fortress, go, and thou hast entered for thee the land of Judah;` and David goeth and entereth the forest of Hareth.

⁶Zvino Sauro wakanzwa kuti Dhavhidhi wawanikwa, iye navarume vaiva naye; Sauro wakange agere Gibhiya, munyasi momuti womutamarisiki paRama, akabata pfumo rake muruoko rwake, navaranda vake vose vakanga vamire naye.

⁶And Saul heareth that David hath become known, and the men who [are] with him, and Saul is abiding in Gibeah, under the grove in Ramah, and his spear [is] in his hand, and all his servants standing by him.

⁷Zvino Sauro wakati kuvaranda vake vakanga vamire naye, Inzwai zvino, vaBhenjamini! Mwanakomana waJese uchakupai mose minda neminda yemizambiringa here? Uchakuitai mose vakuru vezviuru navakuru vamazana here?

⁷And Saul saith to his servants who are standing by him, `Hear, I pray you, ye Benjamites; also to all of you doth the son of Jesse give fields and vineyards! all of you he doth appoint heads of thousands and heads of hundreds!

⁸Zvamandirangana mose, zvakusina mumwe unondizivisa kana mwanakomana wangu akaita sungano nomwanakomana waJese, zvakusino mumwe wenyu unondinzwira tsitsi, kana unondizivisa kuti mwanakomana wangu wakamutsa muranda wangu kuti andimukire, andivandire, sezvaanoita nhasi here?

⁸for ye have conspired all of you against me, and there is none uncovering mine ear about my son`s covenanting with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you grieving for me, and uncovering mine ear, that my son hath raised up my servant against me, to lie in wait as [at] this day.`

⁹Ipapo Dhoegi muEdhomu, wakange amire navaranda vaSauro, akapindura akati, Ndakaona mwanakomana waJese achisvika Nobhi, kuna Ahimereki mwanakomana waAitubi.

⁹And answer doth Doeg the Edomite, who is set over the servants of Saul, and saith, `I have seen the son of Jesse coming in to Nob, unto Ahimelech son of Ahitub,

¹⁰Iye akamubvunzira kuna Jehovha, akamupa mbuva, akamupawo munondo waGoriati muFirisitia.

¹⁰and he asketh for him at Jehovah, and provision hath given to him, and the sword of Goliath the Philistine hath given to him.

¹¹Ipapo mambo akatuma nhume kundodana Ahimereki mupristi, mwanakomana waAhitubi, neveimba yake yose, ivo vapristi vaiva paNobhi; vakauya vose kuna mambo.

¹¹And the king sendeth to call Ahimelech son of Ahitub, the priest, and all the house of his father, the priests, who [are] in Nob, and they come all of them unto the king;

¹²Zvino Sauro akati; Zvino chinzwa, iwe mwanakomana waAhitubi. Iye akapindura, akati, Ndiri pano, ishe wangu.

¹²and Saul saith, `Hear, I pray thee, son of Ahitub;` and he saith, `Here [am] I, my lord.`

¹³Sauro akati kwaari; Mandiranganeiko, iwe nomwanakomana waJese, zvawakamupa, chingwa, nomunondo, nokumubvunzira kuna Mwari, kuti andimukire, andivandire sezvaanoita nhasi?

¹³And Saul saith unto him, `Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, by thy giving to him bread and a sword, and to ask for him at God, to rise against me, to lie in wait, as [at] this day?`

¹⁴Ipapo Ahimereki akapindura mambo akati, Ndianiko pakati pavaranda venyu vose wakatendeka saDhavhidhi, mukwambo wamambo, unosirangana nemi, unokudzwa mumba menyu?

¹⁴And Ahimelech answereth the king and saith, `And who among all thy servants [is] as David — faithful, and son-in-law of the king, and hath turned aside unto thy council, and is honoured in thy house?

¹⁵Ndiko nhasi kwandatanga kumubvunzira kuna Mwari here? Ngazvisadaro! Mambo ngaarege hake kusundira muranda wake mhosva, kunyange vose veimba yababa vangu; nekuti muranda wenyu haazivi izvozvo zvose, kunyange zviduku kana zv ikuru.

¹⁵To-day have I begun to ask for him at God? far be it from me! let not the king lay anything against his servant, against any of the house of my father, for thy servant hath known nothing of all this, less or more.`

¹⁶Ipapo mambo akati, Zvirokwazvo, uchafa Ahimereki, iwe navose veimba yababa vako.

¹⁶And the king saith, `Thou dost surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all the house of thy father.`

¹⁷Mambo akati kuvanyai vakanga vamire naye, Tendeukai, muuraye vapristi vaJehovha, nekuti maoko avo anobatsira Dhavhidhi, nekuti vakanga vachiziva kuti watiza, asi havana kundizivisa. Asi varanda vamambo vakaramba kutambanudzira maoko avo kuuraya vapristi vaJehovha.

¹⁷And the king saith to runners, those standing by him, `Turn round, and put to death the priests of Jehovah, because their hand also [is] with David, and because they have known that he is fleeing, and have not uncovered mine ear;` and the servants of the king have not been willing to put forth their hand to come against the priests of Jehovah.

¹⁸Ipapo mambo akati kuna Dhoegi, Tendeuka iwe, uuraye vapristi. Dhoegi muEdhomu, akatendeuka, akauraya vapristi, akaparadza nomusi iwoyo vanhu vana makumi masere navashanu vakanga vakafuka efodhi yomucheka.

¹⁸And the king saith to Doeg, `Turn round thou, and come against the priests;` and Doeg the Edomite turneth round, and cometh himself against the priests, and putteth to death in that day eighty and five men bearing a linen ephod,

¹⁹Akaparadzawo Nobhi, guta ravapristi, neminondo inopinza, varume navakadzi vose, navana navakanga vachimwa, nemombe, nembongoro, namakwai; zvose zvakaparadzwa neminondo inopinza.

¹⁹and Nob, the city of the priests, he hath smitten by the mouth of the sword, from man even unto woman, from infant even unto suckling, and ox, and ass, and sheep, by the mouth of the sword.

²⁰Asi mumwe wavanakomana vaAhimereki mwanakomana waAhitubi, wainzi Abhiatari, wakapukunyuka, akatiza, akatevera Dhavhidhi.

²⁰And there escapeth one son of Ahimelech, son of Ahitub, and his name [is] Abiathar, and he fleeth after David,

²¹Abhiatari akaudza Dhavhidhi kuti Sauro wauraya vapristi vaJehovha.

²¹and Abiathar declareth to David that Saul hath slain the priests of Jehovah.

²²Dhavhidhi akati kuna Abhiatari, Musi uya wandakaona Dhoegi muEdhomu aripo, ndakaziva kuti zvirokwazvo uchandoudza Sauro; ndini ndakonzera rufu rwemweya yose yeimba yababa vako.

²²And David saith to Abiathar, `I have known on that day when Doeg the Edomite [is] there, that he doth certainly declare [it] to Saul; I have brought [it] round to every person of the house of thy father;

²³Gara hako neni, usatya; nekuti unotsvaka kundiuraya ini, ndiye unotsvaka kukuuraya iwewo; nekuti kana ukagara neni uchachengetwa.

²³dwell with me; fear not; for he who seeketh my life seeketh thy life; for a charge [art] thou with me.`