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.

Murió Samuel, y se reunió todo Israel. Lo lloraron y lo enterraron en su casa, en Ramá. Se levantó entonces David y bajó al desierto de Farán.

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.

Y había un hombre en Maón, que tenía sus posesiones en Carmel. Este hombre era muy rico, tenía tres mil ovejas y mil cabras. Hallábase en Carmel para el esquileo de sus ovejas.

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.

Este hombre se llamaba Nabal, y su mujer Abigail. La mujer era de gran prudencia y hermosura; el marido, al contrario, era duro y de malas costumbres y descendía del linaje de Caleb.

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

Al oír David en el desierto que Nabal esquilaba sus ovejas,

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;

envió diez mozos, a los que dijo: “Subid a Carmel, y llegados a Nabal saludadle en mi nombre,

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

y diréis así: ¡Tengas (larga) vida! ¡Paz a ti, y paz a tu casa, y paz a cuanto tienes!

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.

Acabo de saber que los esquiladores están contigo. Ahora bien, cuando tus pastores estaban con nosotros, no los hemos tratado mal y nada les ha faltado durante el tiempo que han estado en 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.

Pregunta a tus criados y te lo dirán. Hallen, pues, estos mozos gracia a tus ojos, porque venimos en un día de fiesta. Te ruego que des a tus siervos y a tu hijo David lo que encuentre tu mano.”

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

Fueron, pues, los mozos de David, y repitieron a Nabal todas estas palabras de parte de David, y se quedaron esperando.

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.

Pero Nabal respondió a los siervos de David, y dijo: “¿Quién es David, y quién el hijo de Isaí? Hoy día son muchos los siervos que andan fugitivos de sus amos.

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?

¿He de tomar yo mi pan y mi agua y mis animales que he degollado para mis esquiladores, y lo daré a hombres que no sé de dónde son?”

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

Con esto retomaron los mozos de David el camino y volvieron; y habiendo llegado le dijeron todas estas palabras.

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.

Entonces dijo David a su gente: “Cíñase cada uno su espada.” Y se ciñó cada uno su espada, ciñéndose también David la suya; y subieron tras David unos cuatrocientos hombres, quedándose doscientos para custodiar el bagaje.

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.

Uno de los criados dio noticia a Abigail, mujer de Nabal, diciendo: “Mira que David ha enviado desde el desierto mensajeros a saludar a nuestro señor, mas él se precipitó sobre ellos.

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:

Esos hombres han sido muy buenos con nosotros, no nos molestaron, ni echamos de menos cosa alguna en todo el tiempo que anduvimos con ellos mientras estábamos en el campo.

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

Nos servían de muro tanto de noche como de día, todo el tiempo que estuvimos con ellos, apacentando los rebaños.

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.

Reflexiona ahora tú y mira lo que has de hacer; porque la ruina de nuestro señor y de toda su casa es cosa resuelta, y él es tan malo, que nadie le puede hablar.”

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.

Tomó, pues, Abigail a toda prisa doscientos panes, dos pellejos de vino, cinco ovejas aderezadas, cinco medidas de grano tostado, cien atados de pasas y doscientas tortas de higos secos, y poniéndolos sobre los asnos,

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.

dijo a sus criados: “Adelantaos, y he aquí que yo os sigo.” Mas a su marido Nabal no le dijo nada.

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.

Cuando ella montada sobre el asno bajaba por la falda del monte, he aquí que David y sus hombres venían bajando frente a ella, de modo que dio con ellos.

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.

Decía David: “A la verdad que en balde he guardado todo lo que este tenía en el desierto, sin que haya perdido nada de cuanto tenía; pero él me ha devuelto mal por bien.

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

¡Así haga Dios con los enemigos de David, y aún más, si yo hasta la luz del alba dejare con vida uno solo de todos sus hombres!”

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

Tan pronto como vio Abigail a David, bajó a toda prisa del asno y cayó ante David sobre el rostro postrándose a tierra.

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.

Y postrada a sus pies, dijo: “Caiga sobre mí, señor mío, esta culpa. Permite, te ruego, que hable tu sierva a tus oídos, y escucha lo que dice tu sierva.

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.

Te ruego, señor mío, no hagas caso de Nabal, ese hombre de Belial, porque él es lo que significa su nombre. Se llama Insensato y de veras está poseído de insensatez. Yo, tu sierva, no vi a los mozos de mi señor, que tú enviaste.

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.

Ahora, señor mío, ¡por la vida de Yahvé, y por la vida de tu alma! que es Yahvé quien te ha preservado de derramar sangre, y hacerte justicia por tu propia mano. ¡Sean como Nabal tus enemigos y los que maquinan el mal contra mi señor!

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

Y ahora (acepta) este regalo que tu sierva ha traído a mi señor, y que sea dado a los mozos que siguen a mi señor.

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.

Perdona, te ruego, la falta de tu sierva; pues seguramente va a hacer Yahvé para mi señor una casa estable, puesto que mi señor combate los combates de Yahvé, y nunca en (todos) tus días se halle en ti maldad alguna.

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.

Y si alguno se levantare para perseguirte y quitarte la vida, será la vida de mi señor guardada en el haz de los vivos junto a Yahvé tu Dios. Pero la vida de tus enemigos la arrojará como una piedra tirada de la cavidad de la honda.

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;

Entonces, cuando haga Yahvé a mi señor todo el bien que tiene prometido en orden a ti, y te ponga por príncipe sobre 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.

no tendrá mi señor remordimiento y pesar de corazón por haber derramado sangre inocente, ni por haberse vengado mi señor por propia cuenta. Y cuando Yahvé haga bien a mi señor, acuérdate de tu sierva.”

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

Respondió David a Abigail: “¡Bendito sea Yahvé, el Dios de Israel, que te ha enviado hoy a mi encuentro!

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.

¡Y bendita sea tu prudencia, y bendita seas tú misma, que hoy me has impedido derramar sangre y vengarme por mi propia cuenta!

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.

Pues —vive Yahvé, el Dios de Israel, que me ha impedido hacerte mal— si tú no te hubieras apresurado a venir a mi encuentro, antes de romper el alba no le habría quedado vivo a Nabal ni un solo hombre.”

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.

Luego recibió David de mano de (Abigail) lo que ella había traído; y le dijo: “Sube en paz a tu casa; ya ves que he oído tu petición y he aceptado tu persona.”

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 se volvió a Nabal; y he aquí que celebraban en su casa un banquete como banquete de rey. Y el corazón de Nabal rebosaba de alegría. Estaba él completamente borracho, por lo cual ella no le dijo nada, ni poco ni mucho, hasta la luz de la mañana.

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.

Pero a la mañana, cuando Nabal ya había digerido el vino, su mujer le contó estas cosas, y se le paralizó el corazón en el cuerpo, de modo que quedó como una piedra.

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

Así al cabo de unos diez días, Yahvé hirió a Nabal, y este murió.

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.

Cuando David supo que Nabal había muerto, dijo: “¡Bendito sea Yahvé que ha defendido mi causa (vengándome) de la afrenta que me hizo Nabal, y ha impedido a su siervo obrar mal! Yahvé ha hecho recaer la maldad de Nabal sobre su misma cabeza.” Después mandó David a decir a Abigail que quería tomarla por mujer.

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.

Fueron los siervos de David a Carmel, a Abigail, y hablaron con ella, diciendo: “David nos ha enviado a ti para tomarte por mujer suya.”

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.

Con lo cual ella se levantó, e inclinando su rostro hasta la tierra, dijo: “Tu sierva no es más que una sirvienta para lavar los pies de los siervos de mi señor.”

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.

Y levantándose Abigail apresuradamente, montó en un asno, y acompañada de cinco criadas suyas que estaban a sus órdenes, siguió a los mensajeros de David, y fue su mujer.

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

David tomó también a Ahinoam, de Jesreel, y ambas fueron mujeres suyas.

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

Saúl había dado Micol, su hija, mujer de David, a Faltí, hijo de Laís, de Gallim.