²⁶ Then the king said to Abiathar the priest, “Go back to your home in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I will not kill you now, because you carried the Ark of the Sovereign Lord for David my father and you shared all his hardships.”

¹⁸ Anathoth, and Almon—four towns.

²⁰ Only Abiathar, one of the sons of Ahimelech, escaped and fled to David. ²¹ When he told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord, ²² David exclaimed, “I knew it! When I saw Doeg the Edomite there that day, I knew he was sure to tell Saul. Now I have caused the death of all your father’s family. ²³ Stay here with me, and don’t be afraid. I will protect you with my own life, for the same person wants to kill us both.”

⁴² And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded.”

1 These are the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests from the town of Anathoth in the land of Benjamin.

²⁴ Zadok and all the Levites also came along, carrying the Ark of the Covenant of God. They set down the Ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices^[a] until everyone had passed out of the city.

²⁵ Then the king instructed Zadok to take the Ark of God back into the city. “If the Lord sees fit,” David said, “he will bring me back to see the Ark and the Tabernacle^[b] again. ²⁶ But if he is through with me, then let him do what seems best to him.”

²⁷ The king also told Zadok the priest, “Look,^[c] here is my plan. You and Abiathar^[d] should return quietly to the city with your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan. ²⁸ I will stop at the shallows of the Jordan River^[e] and wait there for a report from you.” ²⁹ So Zadok and Abiathar took the Ark of God back to the city and stayed there.

¹⁶ This isn’t good at all! I swear by the Lord that you and your men deserve to die, because you failed to protect your master, the Lord’s anointed! Look around! Where are the king’s spear and the jug of water that were beside his head?”

⁴ Have you experienced^[a] so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?

²⁸ “You have stayed with me in my time of trial.