1 Samuel 25

1 And Samuel died, and all Israel was gathered together, and they mourned for him, and buried him in his house in Ramatha. And David rose and went down into the wilderness of Pharan.

Then Samuel dyed, and all Israel assembled, and mourned for him, and buried him in his owne house at Ramah. And Dauid arose and went downe to the wildernes of Paran.

2 Now there was a certain man in the wilderness of Maon, and his possessions were in Carmel, and the man was very great: and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and it happened that he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

Now in Maon was a man, who had his possessio in Carmel, and the man was exceeding mightie and had three thousand sheepe, and a thousand goates: and he was shering his sheepe in Carmel.

3 Now the name of the man was Nabal: and the name of his wife was Abigail. And she was a prudent and very comely woman, but her husband was churlish, and very bad and ill natured: and he was of the house of Caleb.

The name also of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail, and she was a woman of singular wisdome, and beautifull, but the man was churlish, and euil conditioned, and was of the familie of Caleb.

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

And Dauid heard in the wildernesse, that Nabal did shere his sheepe.

5 He sent ten young men, and said to them: Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and salute him in my name with peace.

Therefore Dauid sent tenne yong men, and Dauid said vnto the yong men, Go vp to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and aske him in my name how he doeth.

6 And you shall say: Peace be to my brethren, and to thee, and peace to thy house, and peace to all that thou hast.

And thus shall ye say for salutation, Both thou, and thine house, and all that thou hast, be in peace, wealth and prosperitie.

7 I heard that thy shepherds that were with us in the desert were shearing: we never molested them, neither was there ought missing to them of the flock at any time, all the while they were with us in Carmel.

Behold, I haue heard, that thou hast sherers: now thy shepherds were with vs, and we did the no hurt, neyther did they misse any thing all the while they were in Carmel.

8 Ask thy servants, and they will tell thee. Now therefore let thy servants find favour in thy eyes: for we are come in a good day, whatsoever thy hand shall find give to thy servants, and to thy son David.

Aske thy seruants and they wil shew thee. Wherefore let these yong men finde fauour in thine eyes: (for we come in a good season) giue, I pray thee, whatsoeuer commeth to thine hand vnto thy seruants, and to thy sonne Dauid.

9 And when David’s servants came, they spoke to Nabal all these words in David’s name: and then held their peace.

And when Dauids yong men came, they tolde Nabal all those wordes in the name of Dauid, and helde their peace.

10 But Nabal answering the servants of David, said: Who is David? and what is the son of Isai? servants are multiplied now a days who flee from their masters.

Then Nabal answered Dauids seruantes, and sayd, Who is Dauid? and who is the sonne of Ishai? there be many seruantes nowe a dayes, that breake away euery man from his master.

11 Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and the flesh of my cattle, which I have killed for my shearers, and give to men whom I know not whence they are?

Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I haue killed for my sherers, and giue it vnto men, whom I know not whence they be?

12 So the servants of David went back their way, and returning came and told him all the words that he said.

So Dauids seruants turned their way, and went againe, and came, and tolde him all those things.

13 Then David said to his young men: Let every man gird on his sword. And they girded on every man his sword. And David also girded on his sword: and there followed David about four hundred men: and two hundred remained with the baggage.

And Dauid said vnto his men, Girde euery man his sword about him. And they girded euery man his sworde: Dauid also girded his sworde. And about foure hundreth men went vp after Dauid, and two hundreth abode by the cariage.

14 But one of the servants told Abigail the wife of Nabal, saying: Behold David sent messengers out of the wilderness, to salute our master: and he rejected them.

Nowe one of the seruantes tolde Abigail Nabals wife, saying, Beholde, Dauid sent messengers out of the wildernesse to salute our master, and he rayled on them.

15 These men were very good to us, and gave us no trouble: neither did we ever lose any thing all the time that we conversed with them in the desert.

Notwithstanding the men were very good vnto vs, and we had no displeasure, neither missed we any thing as long as we were conuersant with them, when we were in the fieldes.

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

They were as a wall vnto vs both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping sheepe.

17 Wherefore consider, and think what thou hast to do: for evil is determined against thy husband, and against thy house, and he is a son of Belial, so that no man can speak to him.

Nowe therefore take heede, and see what thou shalt doe: for euill will surely come vpon our master, and vpon all his familie: for he is so wicked that a man can not speake to him.

18 Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves, and two vessels of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of dry figs, and laid them upon asses:

Then Abigail made haste, and tooke two hundreth cakes, and two bottels of wine, and fiue sheepe ready dressed, and fiue measures of parched corne, and an hundreth frailes of raisins, and two hundreth of figs, and laded them on asses.

19 And she said to her servants: Go before me: behold I will follow after you: but she told not her husband Nabal.

Then she said vnto her seruants, Go ye before me: beholde, I will come after you: yet she tolde not her husband Nabal.

20 And when she had gotten upon an ass, and was coming down to the foot of the mountain, David and his men came down over against her, and she met them.

And as shee rode on her asse, shee came downe by a secret place of the mountaine, and beholde, Dauid and his men came downe against her, and she met them.

21 And David said: Truly in vain have I kept all that belonged to this man in the wilderness, and nothing was lost of all that pertained unto him: and he hath returned me evil for good.

And Dauid said, In deede I haue kept all in vaine that this fellow had in the wildernesse, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained vnto him: for he hath requited me euill for good.

22 May God do so and so, and add more to the foes of David, if I leave of all that belong to him till the morning, any that pisseth against the wall.

So and more also doe God vnto the enemies of Dauid: for surely I will not leaue of all that he hath, by the dawning of the day, any that pisseth against the wall.

23 And when Abigail saw David she made haste and lighted off the ass, and fell before David, on her face, and adored upon the ground.

And when Abigail sawe Dauid, she hasted and lighted off her asse, and fell before Dauid on her face, and bowed her selfe to the ground,

24 And she fell at his feet, and said: Upon me let this iniquity be, my lord: let thy handmaid speak, I beseech thee, in thy ears: and hear the words of thy servant.

And fel at his feete, and sayd, Oh, my lord, I haue committed the iniquitie, and I pray thee, let thine handmayde speake to thee, and heare thou the wordes of thine handmayde.

25 Let not my lord the king, I pray, regard this naughty man Nabal: for according to his name, he is a fool, and folly is with him: but I thy handmaid did not see thy servants, my lord, whom thou sentest.

Let not my lorde, I pray thee, regard this wicked man Nabal: for as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and follie is with him: but I thine handmayde sawe not the yong men of my lord whom thou sentest.

26 Now therefore, my lord, the Lord liveth, and thy soul liveth, who hath withholden thee from coming to blood, and hath saved thy hand to thee: and now let thy enemies be as Nabal, and all they that seek evil to my lord.

Now therefore my lord, as the Lord liueth, and as thy soule liueth (the Lord, I say, that hath withholden thee from comming to shedde blood, and that thine hand should not saue thee) so now thine enemies shall be as Nabal, and they that intend to doe my lord euill.

27 Wherefore receive this blessing, which thy handmaid hath brought to thee, my lord: and give it to the young men that follow thee, my lord.

And now, this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought vnto my lorde, let it be giuen vnto the yong men, that follow my lord.

28 Forgive the iniquity of thy handmaid: for the Lord will surely make for my lord a faithful house, because thou, my lord, fightest the battles of the Lord: let not evil therefore be found in thee all the days of thy life.

I pray thee, forgiue the trespasse of thine handmaide: for the Lord will make my lorde a sure house, because my lord fighteth the battels of the Lord, and none euill hath bene found in thee in all thy life.

29 For if a man at any time shall rise, and persecute thee, and seek thy life, the soul of my lord shall be kept, as in the bundle of the living, with the Lord thy God: but the souls of thy enemies shall be whirled, as with the violence and whirling of a sling.

Yet a man hath risen vp to persecute thee, and to seeke thy soule, but the soule of my lorde shall be bounde in the bundel of life with the Lord thy God: and the soule of thine enemies shall God cast out, as out of the middle of a sling.

30 And when the Lord shall have done to thee, my lord, all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have made thee prince over Israel,

And when the Lord shall haue done to my lord al the good that he hath promised thee, and shall haue made thee ruler ouer Israel,

31 This shall not be an occasion of grief to thee, and a scruple of heart to my lord, that thou hast shed innocent blood, or hast revenged thyself: and when the Lord shall have done well by my lord, thou shalt remember thy handmaid.

Then shall it be no griefe vnto thee, nor offence of minde vnto my lord, that he hath not shed blood causelesse, nor that my lorde hath not preserued him selfe: and when the Lord shall haue dealt well with my lorde, remember thine handmaide.

32 And David said to Abigail: Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, who sent thee this day to meet me, and blessed be thy speech:

Then Dauid said to Abigail, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meete me.

33 And blessed be thou, who hast kept me today, from coming to blood, and revenging me with my own hand.

And blessed be thy counsel, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from comming to shed blood, and that mine hand hath not saued me.

34 Otherwise as the Lord liveth the God of Israel, who hath withholden me from doing thee any evil: if thou hadst not quickly come to meet me, there had not been left to Nabal by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.

For in deede, as the Lord God of Israel liueth, who hath kept me backe from hurting thee, except thou haddest hasted and met mee, surely there had not bene left vnto Nabal by the dawning of the day, any that pisseth against the wall.

35 And David received at her hand all that she had brought him, and said to her: Go in peace into thy house, behold I have heard thy voice, and have honoured thy face.

Then Dauid receiued of her hande that which she had brought him, and said to her, Goe vp in peace to thine house: beholde, I haue heard thy voyce, and haue graunted thy petition.

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

So Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he made a feast in his house, like the feast of a King, and Nabals heart was merie within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore shee tolde him nothing, neither lesse nor more, vntil the morning arose.

37 But early in the morning when Nabal had digested his wine, his wife told him these words, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.

Then in the morning when the wine was gone out of Nabal, his wife tolde him those wordes, and his heart died within him, and he was like a stone.

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

And about ten dayes after, the Lord smote Nabal, that he dyed.

39 And when David had heard that Nabal was dead, he said: Blessed be the Lord, who hath judged the cause of my reproach at the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil, and the Lord hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his head. Then David sent and treated with Abigail, that he might take her to himself for a wife.

Now when Dauid heard, that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the Lord that hath iudged the cause of my rebuke of ye hand of Nabal, and hath kept his seruant from euil: for the Lord hath recompensed the wickednesse of Nabal vpon his owne head. Also Dauid sent to commune with Abigail to take her to his wife.

40 And David’s servants came to Abigail to Carmel, and spoke to her, saying: David hath sent us to thee, to take thee to himself for a wife.

And whe the seruants of Dauid were come to Abigail to Carmel, they spake vnto her, saying, Dauid sent vs to thee, to take thee to his wife.

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

And she arose, and bowed her selfe on her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let thine handmayde be a seruant to wash the feete of the seruants of my lord.

42 And Abigail arose, and made haste, and got upon an ass, and five damsels went with her, her waiting maids, and she followed the messengers of David, and became his wife.

And Abigail hasted, and arose, and rode vpon an asse, and her fiue maides folowed her, and she went after the messengers of Dauid, and was his wife.

43 Moreover David took also Achinoam of Jezrahel: and they were both of them his wives.

Dauid also tooke Ahinoam of Izreel, and they were both his wiues.

44 But Saul gave Michol his daughter, David’s wife, to Phalti, the son of Lais, who was of Gallium.

Now Saul had giuen Michal his daughter Dauids wife to Phalti the sonne of Laish, which was of Gallim.