Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests who were in Nob: and they came all of them to the king.
In this bloody and unscrupulous murder of so many, one must recall the judgment that the "man of God" pronounced against the house of Eli  (1 Samuel 2:27-36).  Of course, in this destruction, Abiathar escaped; but in time, the judgment of God overcame him also.