I Samuel 25

¹And Samuel died; and all Israel gathered themselves together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran.

²And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

³Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail; and the woman was of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.

⁴And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep.

⁵And David sent ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name:

⁶and thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be unto thee, and peace be to thy house, and peace be unto all that thou hast.

⁷And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: thy shepherds have now been with us, and we did them no hurt, neither was there aught missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel.

⁸Ask thy young men, and they will tell thee: wherefore let the young men find favor in thine eyes; for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thy hand, unto thy servants, and to thy son David.

⁹And when David’s young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased.

¹⁰And Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there are many servants now-a-days that break away every man from his master.

¹¹Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men of whom I know not whence they are?

¹²So David’s young men turned on their way, and went back, and came and told him according to all these words.

¹³And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the baggage.

¹⁴But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed at them.

¹⁵But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we anything, as long as we went with them, when we were in the fields:

¹⁶they were a wall unto us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.

¹⁷Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his house: for he is such a worthless fellow, that one cannot speak to him.

¹⁸Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched grain, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.

¹⁹And she said unto her young men, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she told not her husband Nabal.

²⁰And it was so, as she rode on her ass, and came down by the covert of the mountain, that, behold, David and his men came down toward her; and she met them.

²¹Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he hath returned me evil for good.

²²God do so unto the enemies of David, and more also, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light so much as one man-child.

²³And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and alighted from her ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground.

²⁴And she fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me be the iniquity; and let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine ears, and hear thou the words of thy handmaid.

²⁵Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this worthless fellow, even Nabal; for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thy handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send.

²⁶Now therefore, my lord, as Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing Jehovah hath withholden thee from bloodguiltiness, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now therefore let thine enemies, and them that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.

²⁷And now this present which thy servant hath brought unto my lord, let it be given unto the young men that follow my lord.

²⁸Forgive, I pray thee, the trespass of thy handmaid: for Jehovah will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord fighteth the battles of Jehovah; and evil shall not be found in thee all thy days.

²⁹And though men be risen up to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul, yet the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with Jehovah thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as from the hollow of a sling.

³⁰And it shall come to pass, when Jehovah shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee prince over Israel,

³¹that this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood without cause, or that my lord hath avenged himself. And when Jehovah shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thy handmaid.

³²And David said to Abigail, Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, who sent thee this day to meet me:

³³and blessed be thy discretion, and blessed be thou, that hast kept me this day from bloodguiltiness, and from avenging myself with mine own hand.

³⁴For in very deed, as Jehovah, the God of Israel, liveth, who hath withholden me from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light so much as one man-child.

³⁵So David received of her hand that which she had brought him: and he said unto her, Go up in peace to thy house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person.

³⁶And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.

³⁷And it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, that his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.

³⁸And it came to pass about ten days after, that Jehovah smote Nabal, so that he died.

³⁹And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be Jehovah, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept back his servant from evil: and the evil-doing of Nabal hath Jehovah returned upon his own head. And David sent and spake concerning Abigail, to take her to him to wife.

⁴⁰And when the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, they spake unto her, saying, David hath sent us unto thee, to take thee to him to wife.

⁴¹And she arose, and bowed herself with her face to the earth, and said, Behold, thy handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.

⁴²And Abigail hasted, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that followed her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife.

⁴³David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and they became both of them his wives.

⁴⁴Now Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.

I Samuel 25

¹And Samuel dieth, and all Israel are gathered, and mourn for him, and bury him in his house, in Ramah; and David riseth and goeth down unto the wilderness of Paran.

²And there is a man in Maon, and his work is in Carmel; and the man is very great, and he hath three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats; and he is shearing his flock in Carmel.

³And the name of the man is Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail, and the woman is of good understanding, and of fair form, and the man is hard and evil in doings; and he is a Calebite.

⁴And David heareth in the wilderness that Nabal is shearing his flock,

⁵and David sendeth ten young men, and David saith to the young men, `Go ye up to Carmel, and ye have come in unto Nabal, and asked of him in my name of welfare,

⁶and said thus: To life! and thou, peace; and thy house, peace; and all that thou hastpeace!

⁷and, now, I have heard that thou hast shearers; now, the shepherds whom thou hast have been with us, we have not put them to shame, nor hath anything been looked after by them, all the days of their being in Carmel.

⁸`Ask thy young men, and they declare to thee, and the young men find grace in thine eyes, for on a good day we have come; give, I pray thee, that which thy hand findeth, to thy servants, and to thy son, to David.'

⁹And the young men of David come in, and speak unto Nabal according to all these words, in the name of Davidand rest.

¹⁰And Nabal answereth the servants of David and saith, `Who is David, and who the son of Jesse? to-day have servants been multiplied who are breaking away each from his master;

¹¹and I have taken my bread, and my water, and my flesh, which I slaughtered for my shearers, and have given it to men whom I have not known whence they are !'

¹²And the young men of David turn on their way, and turn back, and come in, and declare to him according to all these words.

¹³And David saith to his men, `Gird ye on each his sword;' and they gird on each his sword, and David also girdeth on his sword, and there go up after David about four hundred men, and two hundred have remained by the vessels.

¹⁴And to Abigail wife of Nabal hath one young man of the youths declared, saying, `Lo, David hath sent messengers out of the wilderness to bless our lord, and he flieth upon them;

¹⁵and the men are very good to us, and have not put us to shame, and we have not looked after anything all the days we have gone up and down with them, in our being in the field;

¹⁶a wall they have been unto us both by night and by day, all the days of our being with them, feeding the flock.

¹⁷`And, now, know and consider what thou dost; for evil hath been determined against our lord, and against all his house, and he is too much a son of worthlessness to be spoken to.'

¹⁸And Abigail hasteth, and taketh two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep, prepared, and five measures of roasted corn, and a hundred bunches of raisins, and two hundred bunches of figs, and setteth them on the asses.

¹⁹And she saith to her young men, `Pass over before me; lo, after you I am coming;' and to her husband Nabal she hath not declared it ;

²⁰and it hath come to pass, she is riding on the ass and is coming down in the secret part of the hill-country, and lo, David and his men are coming down to meet her, and she meeteth them.

²¹And David said, `Only, in vain I have kept all that this one hath in the wilderness, and nothing hath been looked after of all that he hath, and he turneth back to me evil for good;

²²thus doth God do to the enemies of David, and thus He doth add, if I leave of all that he hath till the light of the morningof those sitting on the wall.'

²³And Abigail seeth David, and hasteth and cometh down from off the ass, and falleth before David on her face, and boweth herself to the earth,

²⁴and falleth at his feet and saith, `On me, my lord, the iniquity; and let, I pray thee, thy handmaid speak in thine ear, and hear the words of thy handmaid.

²⁵`Let not, I pray thee, my lord set his heart to this man of worthlessness, on Nabal, for as his name is so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him; and I, thine handmaid, did not see the young men of my lord whom thou didst send;

²⁶and now, my lord, Jehovah liveth, and thy soul liveth, in that Jehovah hath withheld thee from coming in with blood, and to save thy hand to theenow let thine enemies be as Nabal, even those seeking evil unto my lord.

²⁷`And, now, this blessing which thy maid-servant hath brought to my lordit hath been given to the young men who are going up and down at the feet of my lord.

²⁸`Bear, I pray thee, with the transgression of thy handmaid, for Jehovah doth certainly make to my lord a stedfast house; for the battles of Jehovah hath my lord fought, and evil is not found in thee all thy days.

²⁹And man riseth to pursue thee and to seek thy soul, and the soul of my lord hath been bound in the bundle of life with Jehovah thy God; as to the soul of thine enemies, He doth sling them out in the midst of the hollow of the sling.

³⁰`And it hath been, when Jehovah doth to my lord according to all the good which He hath spoken concerning thee, and appointed thee for leader over Israel,

³¹that this is not to thee for a stumbling-block, and for an offence of heart to my lordeither to shed blood for nought, or my lord's restraining himself; and Jehovah hath done good to my lord, and thou hast remembered thy handmaid.'

³²And David saith to Abigail, `Blessed is Jehovah, God of Israel, who hath sent thee this day to meet me,

³³and blessed is thy discretion, and blessed art thou in that thou hast restrained me this day from coming in with blood, and to restrain my hand to myself.

³⁴And yet, Jehovah liveth, God of Israel, who hath kept me back from doing evil with thee, for unless thou hadst hasted, and dost come to meet me, surely there had not been left to Nabal till the light of the morning, of those sitting on the wall.'

³⁵And David receiveth from her hand that which she hath brought to him, and to her he hath said, `Go up in peace to thy house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and accept thy face.'

³⁶And Abigail cometh in unto Nabal, and lo, he hath a banquet in his house, like a banquet of the king, and the heart of Nabal is glad within him, and he is drunk unto excess, and she hath not declared to him anything, less or more, till the light of the morning.

³⁷And it cometh to pass in the morning, when the wine is gone out from Nabal, that his wife declareth to him these things, and his heart dieth within him, and he hath been as a stone.

³⁸And it cometh to pass, in about ten days, that Jehovah smiteth Nabal, and he dieth,

³⁹and David heareth that Nabal is dead, and saith, `Blessed is Jehovah who hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and His servant hath kept back from evil, and the wickedness of Nabal hath Jehovah turned back on his own head;' and David sendeth and speaketh with Abigail, to take her to him for a wife.

⁴⁰And the servants of David come in unto Abigail at Carmel, and speak unto her, saying, `David hath sent us unto thee to take thee to him for a wife.'

⁴¹And she riseth and boweth herselfface to the earthand saith, `Lo, thy handmaid is for a maid-servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.'

⁴²And Abigail hasteth and riseth, and rideth on the ass; and five of her young women who are going at her feet; and she goeth after the messengers of David, and is to him for a wife.

⁴³And Ahinoam hath David taken from Jezreel, and they areeven both of themto him for wives;

⁴⁴and Saul gave Michal his daughter, wife to David, to Phalti son of Laish, who is of Gallim.