1 Samuel 25

1 And death came to Samuel; and all Israel came together, weeping for him, and put his body in its resting-place in his house at Ramah. Then David went down to the waste land of Maon.

Samuel died; and all Israel gathered themselves together and mourned for him, and buried him at his house at Ramah. Then David arose and went down to the wilderness of Paran.

2 Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel; he was a great man and had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats: and he was cutting the wool of his sheep in Carmel.

There was a man in Maon whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats; and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

3 Now this man was named Nabal, and his wife's name was Abigail: she was a woman of good sense and pleasing looks: but the man was cruel and evil in his ways; he was of the family of Caleb.

Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail. This woman was intelligent and had a beautiful face; but the man was surly and evil in his doings. He was of the house of Caleb.

4 And David had word in the waste land that Nabal was cutting the wool of his sheep.

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

5 And David sent ten young men, and said to them, Go up to Carmel and go to Nabal, and say kind words to him in my name;

David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name.

6 And say this to my brother, May all be well for you: peace be to you and your house and all you have.

Tell him, ‘Long life to you! Peace be to you! Peace be to your house! Peace be to all that you have!

7 I have had word that you have wool-cutters: now the keepers of your sheep have been with us, and we have done them no evil, and taken nothing of theirs while they were in Carmel.

Now I have heard that you have shearers. Your shepherds have now been with us, and we did not harm them. Nothing was missing from them all the time they were in Carmel.

8 If your young men are questioned they will say the same thing. So now, let my young men have grace in your eyes, for we are come at a good time; please give anything you may have by you to your servants and to your son David.

Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let the young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on a good day. Please give whatever comes to your hand to your servants and to your son David.’”

9 And when David's young men came, they said all this to Nabal, in David's name, and said nothing more.

When David’s young men came, they spoke to Nabal all those words in the name of David, and waited.

10 And Nabal gave them his answer and said, Who is David? who is the son of Jesse? there are a number of servants in these days running away from their masters.

Nabal answered David’s servants and said, “Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants who break away from their masters these days.

11 Am I to take my bread and my wine and the meat I have got ready for my wool-cutters and give it to men coming from I have no idea where?

Shall I then take my bread, my water, and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men who I do not know where they come from?”

12 So David's young men, turning away, went back and gave him an account of everything he had said.

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

13 And David said to his men, Put on your swords, every one of you. And every man put on his sword; and David did the same; and about four hundred men went up with David, and two hundred kept watch over their goods.

David said to his men, “Every man put on his sword!” Every man put on his sword. David also put on his sword. About four hundred men followed David, and two hundred stayed by the baggage.

14 But one of the young men said to Nabal's wife Abigail, David sent men from the waste land to say kind words to our master, and he gave them a rough answer.

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

15 But these men have been very good to us; they did us no wrong and nothing of ours was touched while we were with them in the fields:

But the men were very good to us, and we were not harmed, and we did not miss anything as long as we went with them, when we were in the fields.

16 But day and night they were like a wall round us while we were with them, looking after the sheep.

They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.

17 So now, give thought to what you are going to do; for evil is in store for our master and all his house: for he is such a good-for-nothing person that it is not possible to say anything to him.

Now therefore know and consider what you will 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.”

18 Then Abigail quickly took two hundred cakes of bread and two skins full of wine and five sheep ready for cooking and five measures of dry grain and a hundred parcels of dry grapes and two hundred cakes of figs, and put them on asses.

Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread, two containers of wine, five sheep ready dressed, five seahs of parched grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys.

19 And she said to her young men, Go on in front of me and I will come after you. But she said nothing to her husband Nabal.

She said to her young men, “Go on before me. Behold, I am coming after you.” But she did not tell her husband, Nabal.

20 Now while she was going down under cover of the mountain on her ass, David and his men came down against her, and suddenly she came face to face with them.

As she rode on her donkey, and came down hidden by the mountain, behold, David and his men came down toward her, and she met them.

21 Now David had said, What was the use of my taking care of this man's goods in the waste land, so that there was no loss of anything which was his? he has only given me back evil for good.

Now David had said, “Surely in vain I have kept all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained to him. He has returned me evil for good.

22 May God's punishment be on David, if when morning comes there is so much as one male of his people still living.

God do so to the enemies of David, and more also, if I leave of all that belongs to him by the morning light so much as one who urinates on a wall.”

23 And when Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her ass, falling down on her face before him.

When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got off her donkey, and fell before David on her face and bowed herself to the ground.

24 And falling at his feet she said, May the wrong be on me, my lord, on me: let your servant say a word to you, and give ear to the words of your servant.

She fell at his feet and said, “On me, my lord, on me be the blame! Please let your servant speak in your ears. Hear the words of your servant.

25 Let my lord give no attention to Nabal, that good-for-nothing: for as his name is, so is he, a man without sense: but I, your servant, did not see the young men whom my lord sent.

Please do not let my lord pay attention to this worthless fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and folly is with him; but I, your servant, did not see my lord’s young men whom you sent.

26 So now, my lord, by the living God and by your living soul, seeing that the Lord has kept you from the crime of blood and from taking into your hands the punishment for your wrongs, may all your haters, and those who would do evil to my lord, be like Nabal.

Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, since the LORD has withheld you from blood guiltiness and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now therefore let your enemies and those who seek evil to my lord be as Nabal.

27 And let this offering, which your servant gives to my lord, be given to the young men who are with my lord.

Now this present which your servant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord.

28 And may the sin of your servant have forgiveness: for the Lord will certainly make your family strong, because my lord is fighting in the Lord's war; and no evil will be seen in you all your days.

Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord fights the LORD’s battles. Evil will not be found in you all your days.

29 And though a man has taken up arms against you, putting your life in danger, still the soul of my lord will be kept safe among the band of the living with the Lord your God; and the souls of those who are against you he will send violently away from him, like stones from a bag.

Though men may rise up to pursue you and to seek your soul, yet the soul of my lord will be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD your God. He will sling out the souls of your enemies as from a sling’s pocket.

30 And when the Lord has done for my lord all those good things which he has said he will do for you, and has made you a ruler over Israel;

It will come to pass, when the LORD has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you prince over Israel,

31 Then you will have no cause for grief, and my lord's heart will not be troubled because you have taken life without cause and have yourself given punishment for your wrongs: and when the Lord has been good to you, then give a thought to your servant.

that this shall be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. When the LORD has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.”

32 And David said to Abigail, May the Lord, the God of Israel, be praised, who sent you to me today:

David said to Abigail, “Blessed is the LORD, the God of Israel, who sent you today to meet me!

33 A blessing on your good sense and on you, who have kept me today from the crime of blood and from taking into my hands the punishment for my wrongs.

Blessed is your discretion, and blessed are you, who have kept me today from blood guiltiness, and from avenging myself with my own hand.

34 For truly, by the living Lord, the God of Israel, who has kept me from doing you evil, if you had not been so quick in coming to me and meeting me, by dawn there would not have been in Nabal's house so much as one male living.

For indeed, as the LORD the God of Israel lives, who has withheld me from harming you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely there would not have been left to Nabal by the morning light so much as one who urinates on a wall.”

35 Then David took from her hands her offering: and he said to her, Go back to your house in peace; see, I have given ear to your voice, and taken your offering with respect.

So David received from her hand that which she had brought him. Then he said to her, “Go up in peace to your house. Behold, I have listened to your voice and have granted your request.”

36 And Abigail went back to Nabal; and he was feasting in his house like a king; and Nabal's heart was full of joy, for he had taken much wine; so she said nothing to him till dawn came.

Abigail came to Nabal; and behold, he held a feast in his house like the feast of a king. Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk. Therefore she told him nothing until the morning light.

37 And in the morning, when the effect of the wine was gone, Nabal's wife gave him an account of all these things, and all the heart went out of him, and he became like stone.

In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things; and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.

38 And about ten days after, the Lord sent disease on Nabal and death came to him.

About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal, so that he died.

39 And David, hearing that Nabal was dead, said, May the Lord be praised, who has taken up my cause against Nabal for the shame which he put on me, and has kept back his servant from evil, and has sent on Nabal's head the reward of his evil-doing. And David sent word to Abigail, desiring to take her as his wife.

When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed is the LORD, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from evil. The LORD has returned the evildoing of Nabal on his own head.” David sent and spoke concerning Abigail, to take her to himself as wife.

40 And when David's servants came to Carmel, to Abigail, they said to her, David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife.

When David’s servants had come to Abigail to Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, “David has sent us to you, to take you to him as wife.”

41 And she got up, and going down on her face to the earth, said, See, I am ready to be a servant-girl, washing the feet of the servants of my lord.

She arose and bowed herself with her face to the earth, and said, “Behold, your servant is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.”

42 Then Abigail got up quickly and went on her ass, with five of her young women, after the men whom David had sent; and she became David's wife.

Abigail hurriedly arose and rode on a donkey with her five maids who followed her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife.

43 And David had taken Ahinoam of Jezreel, to be his wife; these two were his wives.

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

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

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