And 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.
The king hath commanded me a business ... Let no man know. This was a direct falsehood, extorted through fear. David probably supposed, like many other persons, that a lie is quite excusable which is told for the sole purpose of saving the speaker's life; or perhaps it was for the preservation of Ahimelech; for, as David saw Doeg there, who he was sure would inform Saul, he might wish to furnish the high priest with some reasonable excuse for the assistance rendered to the fugitive-an excuse which Ahimelech urged in defending himself from the charge of the incensed king (1 Samuel 22:14-15). But what is essentially sinful can never, from circumstances, change its immoral character; and David had to repent of this vice of lying (Psalms 119:20).