Kings I 25

1 And Samuel died, and all Israel assembled, and bewailed him, and they bury him in his house in Armathaim: and David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Maon.

Then Samuel died, and all of Israel gathered together, and they mourned him. And they buried him at his house in Ramah. And David, rising up, descended to the desert of Paran.

2 And there was a man in Maon, and his flocks were in Carmel, and [he was] a very great man; and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand she-goats: and he happened to be shearing his flock in Carmel.

Now there was a certain man in the wilderness of Maon, and his possessions were at Carmel. And this man was exceedingly great. And three thousand sheep, and one thousand goats were his. And it happened that he was shearing his sheep at Carmel.

3 And the man's name [was] Nabal, and his wife's name [was] Abigaia: and his wife [was] of good understanding and very beautiful in person: but the man [was] harsh, and evil in his doings, and the man [was] churlish.

Now the name of this man was Nabal. And the name of his wife was Abigail. And she was a very prudent and beautiful woman. But her husband was hard-hearted, and very wicked, and malicious. And he was of the stock of Caleb.

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

Therefore, when David, in the desert, had heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep,

5 And David sent ten young men, and he said to the young men, Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and ask him in my name how he is.

he sent ten young men, and he said to them: “Ascend to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name peacefully.

6 And thus shall ye say, May thou and thy house seasonably prosper, and all thine be in prosperity.

And you shall say: ‘Peace be to my brothers and to you, and peace to your house, and peace to whatever you have.

7 And now, behold, I have heard that thy shepherds who were with is in the wilderness are shearing thy sheep, and we hindered them not, neither did we demand any thing from them all the time they were in Carmel.

I have heard that your shepherds, who were with us in the desert, were shearing. We have never troubled them, nor was anything from the flock missing to them at any time, during the entire time that they have been with us in Carmel.

8 Ask thy servants, and they will tell thee. Let then thy servants find grace in thine eyes, for we are come on a good day; give we pray thee, whatsoever thy hand may find, to thy son David.

Question your servants, and they will tell you. Now therefore, may your servants find favor in your eyes. For we have arrived on a good day. Whatever your hand will find, give it to your servants and to your son David.’”

9 So the servants come and speak these words to Nabal, according to all these words in the name of David.

And when the servants of David had arrived, they spoke to Nabal all these words in the name of David. And then they were silent.

10 And Nabal sprang up, and answered the servants of David, and said, Who [is] David? and who [is] the son of Jessae? Now-a-days there is abundance of servants who depart every one from his master.

But Nabal, responding to the servants of David, said: “Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? Today, servants who are fleeing from their lords are increasing.

11 And shall I take my bread, and my wine, and my beasts that I have slain for my shearers, and shall I give them to men of whom I know not whence they are?

Therefore, shall I take my bread, and my water, and the meat of the cattle that I have slain for my shearers, and give it to men, when I do not know where they are from?”

12 So the servants of David turned back, and returned, and came and reported to David according to these words.

And so the servants of David traveled back along their way. And returning, they went and reported to him all the words that he had said.

13 And David said to his men, Gird on every man his sword. And they went up after David, about four hundred men: and two hundred abode with the stuff.

Then David said to his servants, “Let each one gird his sword.” And each one girded his sword. And David also girded his sword. And about four hundred men followed David. But two hundred remained behind with the supplies.

14 And one of the servants reported to Abigaia the wife of Nabal, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our lord; but he turned away from them.

Then it was reported to Abigail, the wife of Nabal, by one of his servants, saying: “Behold, David has sent messengers from the desert, so that they might speak kindly to our lord. But he turned them away.

15 And the men were very good to us; they did not hinder us, neither did they demand from us any thing all the days that we were with them.

These men were good enough to us, and were not troublesome. Neither did we ever lose anything, during the entire time that we conversed with them in the desert.

16 And when we were in the field, they were as a wall round about us, both by night and by day, all the days that we were with them feeding the flock.

They were a wall to us, as much in the night as in the day, during all the days that we were with them, pasturing the sheep.

17 And now do thou consider, and see what thou wilt do; for mischief is determined against our lord and against his house; and he [is] a vile character, and one cannot speak to him.

For this reason, consider and realize what you should do. For evil has been decided against your husband and against your house. And he is a son of Belial, so that no one is able to speak to him.”

18 And Abigaia hasted, and took two hundred loaves, and two vessels of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five ephahs of fine flour, and one homer of dried grapes, and two hundred cakes of figs, and put them upon asses.

And so Abigail hurried, and she took two hundred loaves, and two vessels of wine, and five cooked sheep, and five measures of cooked grain, and one hundred clusters of dried grapes, and two hundred masses of dried figs, and she set them upon donkeys.

19 And she said to her servants, Go on before me, and behold I come after you: but she told not her husband.

And she said to her servants: “Go before me. Behold, I will follow after your back.” But she did not reveal it to her husband, Nabal.

20 And it came to pass when she had mounted her ass and was going down by the covert of the mountain, behold, David and his men came down to meet her, and she met them.

And when she had climbed on a donkey, and was descending to the base of the mountain, David and his men were descending to meet her. And she met them.

21 And David said, Perhaps I have kept all his possessions in the wilderness that he should wrong me, and we did not order the taking anything of all his goods; yet he has rewarded me evil for good.

And David said: “Truly, in vain have I preserved all that was his in the wilderness, so that nothing perished out of all that belonged to him. And he has repaid evil to me for good.

22 So God do to David and more also, if I leave one male of all that belong to Nabal until the morning.

May God do these things, by the enemies of David, and may he add these other things, if I leave behind until morning, out of all that belongs to him, anything that urinates against a wall.”

23 And Abigaia saw David, and she hasted and alighted from her ass; and she felt before David on her face, and did obeisance to him, [bowing] to the ground

Then, when Abigail had seen David, she hurried and descended from the donkey. And she fell upon her face before David, and she reverenced on the ground.

24 [even] to his feet, and said, On me, my lord, be my wrong: let, I pray thee, thy servant speak in thine ears, and hear thou the words of thy servant.

And she fell at his feet, and she said: “May this iniquity be upon me, my lord. I beg you, let your handmaid speak to your ears, and listen to the words of your servant.

25 Let not my lord, I pray thee, take to heart this pestilent man, for according to his name, so is he; Nabal [is] his name, and folly [is] with him: but I thy handmaid saw not the servants of my lord whom thou didst send.

Let not my lord, the king, I beseech you, set his heart upon this iniquitous man, Nabal. For in accord with his name, he is senseless, and foolishness is with him. But I, your handmaid, did not see your servants, my lord, whom you had sent.

26 And now, my lord, [as] the Lord lives, and thy soul lives, as the Lord has kept thee from coming against innocent blood, and from executing vengeance for thyself, now therefore let thine enemies, and those that seek evil against my lord, become as Nabal.

Now therefore, my lord, as your soul lives, and as the Lord lives, who has kept your hand to yourself, and has prevented you from coming to blood: now, let your enemies be like Nabal, and like all those who are seeking evil for my lord.

27 And now accept this token of goodwill, which thy servant has brought to my lord, and thou shalt give it to the servants that wait on my lord.

Because of this, accept this blessing, which your handmaid has brought to you, my lord. And give it to the young men who follow you, my lord.

28 Remove, I pray thee, the trespass of thy servant; for the Lord will surely make for my lord a sure house, for the Lord fights the battles of my lord, and there shall no evil be ever found in thee.

Forgive the iniquity of your handmaid. For the Lord will surely make for you, my lord, a faithful house, because you, my lord, fight the battles of the Lord. Therefore, let no evil be found in you all the days of your life.

29 And [if] a man shall rise up persecuting thee and seeking thy life, yet shall the life of my lord be bound up in the bundle of life with the Lord God, and thou shalt whirl the life of thine enemies [as] in the midst of a sling.

For if a man, at any time, will rise up, pursuing you and seeking your life, the life of my lord will be preserved, as if in the sheave of the living, with the Lord your God. But the lives of your enemies will be spun around, as if with the force of a whirling sling.

30 And it shall be when the Lord shall have wrought for my lord all the good things he has spoken concerning thee, and shall appoint thee to be ruler over Israel;

Therefore, when the Lord will have done for you, my lord, all the good that he has spoken about you, and when he will have appointed you as leader over Israel,

31 then this shall not be an abomination and offence to my lord, to have shed innocent blood without cause, and for my lord to have avenged himself: and so may the Lord do good to my lord, and thou shalt remember thine handmaid to do her good.

this will not be for you a regret or a scruple of the heart, my lord, that you had shed innocent blood, or had taken revenge for yourself. And when the Lord will have done well for my lord, you shall remember your handmaid.”

32 And David said to Abigaia, Blessed [be] the Lord God of Israel, who sent thee this very day to meet me:

And David said to Abigail: “Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me. And blessed is your eloquence.

33 and blessed [be] thy conduct, and blessed [be] thou, who hast hindered me this very day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself.

And blessed are you, who prevented me today from going to blood, and from taking revenge for myself with my own hand.

34 But surely as the Lord God of Israel lives, who hindered me this day from doing thee harm, if thou hadst not hasted and come to meet me, then I said, There shall [surely] not be left to Nabal till the morning one male.

But instead, as the Lord God of Israel lives, he has prevented me from doing evil to you. But if you had not come quickly to meet me, there would not have been left to Nabal by the morning light, anything that urinates against a wall.”

35 And David took of her hand all that she brought to him, and said to her, Go in peace to thy house: see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and accepted thy petition.

Then David received from her hand all that she had brought to him. And he said to her: “Go in peace to your own house. Behold, I have heeded your voice, and I have honored your face.”

36 And Abigaia came to Nabal: and, behold, he had a banquet in this house, as the banquet of a king, and the heart of Nabal [was] merry within him, and he [was] very drunken: and she told him nothing great or small till the morning light.

Then Abigail went to Nabal. And behold, he was holding a feast for himself in his house, like the feast of a king. And the heart of Nabal was cheerful. For he was greatly inebriated. And she did not reveal a word to him, small or great, until morning.

37 And it came to pass in the morning, when Nabal recovered from his wine, his wife told him these words; and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.

Then, at first light, when Nabal had digested his wine, his wife revealed to him these words, and his heart died within himself, and he became like a stone.

38 And it came to pass after about ten days, that the Lord smote Nabal, and he died.

And after ten days had passed, the Lord struck Nabal, and he died.

39 And David heard it and said, Blessed [be] the Lord, who has judged the cause of my reproach at the hand of Nabal, and has delivered his servant from the power of evil; and the Lord has returned the mischief of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and spoke concerning Abigaia, to take her to himself for a wife.

And when David had heard that Nabal was dead, he said: “Blessed is the Lord, who has judged the case of my reproach at the hand of Nabal, and who has preserved his servant from evil. And the Lord has repaid the malice of Nabal upon his own head.” Then David sent and he spoke with Abigail, so that he might take her to himself as wife.

40 So the servants of David came to Abigaia to Carmel, and spoke to her, saying, David has sent us to thee, to take thee to himself for a wife.

And David’s servants went to Abigail at Carmel, and they spoke to her, saying, “David has sent us to you, so that he might take you to himself as wife.”

41 And she arose, and did reverence with her face to the earth, and said, Behold, thy servant [is] for an handmaid to wash the feet of thy servants.

And rising up, she reverenced prone on the ground, and she said, “Behold, let your servant be a handmaid, to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.”

42 And Abigaia arose, and mounted her ass, and five damsels followed her: and she went after the servants of David, and became his wife.

And Abigail rose up and hurried, and she climbed upon a donkey, and five girls went with her, her attendants. And she followed the messengers of David, and she became his wife.

43 And David took Achinaam out of Jezrael, and they were both his wives.

Moreover, David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel. And both of them were his wives.

44 And Saul gave Melchol his daughter, David's wife, to Phalti the son of Amis who was of Romma.

Then Saul gave his daughter Michal, the wife of David, to Palti, the son of Laish, who was from Gallim.