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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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

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

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;

6 And thus shall you say, May you and your house seasonably prosper, and all your be in prosperity.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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?

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?

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

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.

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

17 And now do you consider, and see what you will do; for mischief is determined against our lord and against his house; and he [is] a vile character, and one can’t speak to him.

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.

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.

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.

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 young men, Go on in front of me and I will come after you. But she said nothing 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

25 Let not my lord, I pray you, 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 your handmaid saw not the servants of my lord whom you did send.

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.

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

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.

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

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

28 Remove, I pray you, the trespass of your 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 you.

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.

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

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.

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

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;

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 you shall remember your handmaid to do her good.

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.

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

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

33 and blessed [be] your conduct, and blessed [be] you, who have hindered me this very day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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 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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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