1 Samuel 25

1 Samuel died. Everyone in Israel gathered to mourn for him, and they buried him at his home in Ramah. David left and went to the Desert of Paran.

And Samuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran.

2 A man from Maon was very wealthy. He had property in Carmel and owned one thousand goats and three thousand sheep. He was in Carmel shearing them.

And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

3 The man's name was Nabal, and his wife's name was Abigail. She was a wise and beautiful woman, but her husband was cruel and treated people badly. He was a descendant of Caleb.

Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.

4 David was in the wilderness, and he heard that Nabal was shearing sheep.

And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep.

5 So David sent ten of his young men and told them, “Go and see Nabal at Carmel. Greet him in my name, and say hello from me.

And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name:

6 Tell him, ‘I wish you a long life! Peace to you and your family, and may everything you do prosper.

And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast.

7 Now I've heard that you are busy shearing. When your shepherds were with us, we didn't mistreat them, and nothing belonging to them was stolen all the time they were in Carmel.

And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds which were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there ought missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel.

8 Check with your men and they'll confirm it. Please be kind to my men, especially since we've come on this day of celebration. Please give whatever food you can to us and to your good friend David.’”

Ask thy young men, and they will shew thee. Wherefore let the young men find favour in thine eyes: for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants, and to thy son David.

9 David's young men arrived, gave Nabal this message from David, and waited for his reply.

And when David’s young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased.

10 “Who does this ‘David, son of Jesse’ think he is?” Nabal replied. “Nowadays there are many servants on the run from their masters!

And Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now a days that break away every man from his master.

11 Why should I take the bread and water I've supplied, and the meat I've slaughtered for my shearers, and hand it over to these strangers? I don't even know where they're from!”

Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be?

12 So David's men turned around and went back the way they came. When they got back they told David everything Nabal had said.

So David’s young men turned their way, and went again, and came and told him all those sayings.

13 “Everyone, put on your swords!” David ordered. They all put on their swords, and David did too. About four hundred followed David, while two hundred remained behind to guard their gear.

And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the stuff.

14 In the meantime one of Nabal's men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, “David sent some messengers from the wilderness to bring greetings to our master, but he only insulted them.

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

15 David's men were always very good to us and they never mistreated us. All the time we were out in the fields with them nothing was stolen from us.

But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields:

16 They were like a protective wall to us, both day and night, during the whole time we were with them looking after the sheep.

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

17 You should know what happened and consider what you should do about it. Disaster is about to strike our master and his whole family, but he's so obnoxious no one can talk sense into him!”

Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him.

18 Abigail quickly gathered together two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep already slaughtered, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred raisin cakes, and two hundred fig cakes, and then loaded everything on donkeys.

Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two skins of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched grain, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys.

19 She told her men, “Go on ahead. I'll follow you.” But she didn't say anything to her husband Nabal.

And she said unto her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she told not her husband Nabal.

20 As Abigail was riding her donkey through a mountain valley, she saw David and his men descending towards her, and she met them.

And it was so, as she rode on the donkey, that she came down by the covert of the hill, and, behold, David and his men came down against her; and she met them.

21 David had just been complaining, “So much for my protecting everything that belonged to this man in the wilderness! Nothing at all was stolen from him, and yet what does he do? Pay me back evil for good!

Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he hath requited me evil for good.

22 May God punish me very severely if I leave even a single one of his men alive by morning!”

So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.

23 When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off the donkey, and bowed before him, her face to the ground.

And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the donkey, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground,

24 Falling at his feet in respect, she said, “Sir, I accept full responsibility for what's happened. Please listen to what I, your servant, have to say.

And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid.

25 Please don't concern yourself with this worthless man Nabal. His name means ‘fool,’ and he is really foolish! As for me, your servant, I didn't even see the men you sent.

Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send.

26 Now, sir, as the Lord lives and as you live, the Lord has kept you from shedding blood and from taking your own revenge. Sir, may your enemies and those who want to do you harm be like Nabal.

Now therefore, my lord, as Yhwh liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing Yhwh hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.

27 Please accept this present that I, your servant, have brought to you, sir, and give it to your men.

And now this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought unto my lord, let it even be given unto the young men that follow my lord.

28 Please forgive any offense that I, your servant, have committed, for the Lord is sure to set up a dynasty for you that will last for a long time, because you, sir, fight the battles of the Lord. Wickedness should not be found in you as long as you live.

I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for Yhwh will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of Yhwh, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days.

29 If anyone pursues you and tries to kill you, then your life will remain bound up with those the Lord your God looks after, safe in his care. But he will throw away the lives of your enemies like stones from a sling.

Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with Yhwh thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling.

30 So when the Lord has done for you, sir, everything good he promised, and has made you ruler over Israel,

And it shall come to pass, when Yhwh shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel;

31 you won't have feelings of remorse or a guilty conscience over unnecessary bloodshed or of taking your own revenge. And when the Lord has done these good things for you, sir, please remember me, your maidservant.”

That this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged himself: but when Yhwh shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thine handmaid.

32 Then David said to Abigail, “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet me today!

And David said to Abigail, Blessed be Yhwh God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me:

33 May you be rewarded for your wise decisions, for preventing me from shedding blood today and taking my own revenge.

And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand.

34 On the contrary, as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has kept me from harming you, if you hadn't rushed to meet me, then definitely not a single one of Nabal's men would have been left alive by dawn.”

For in very deed, as Yhwh God of Israel liveth, which hath kept me back from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.

35 David accepted from Abigail what she had brought him, and told her, “You may go home in peace, because I agree with your advice and grant your request.”

So David received of her hand that which she had brought him, and said unto her, Go up in peace to thine house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person.

36 When Abigail got back home to Nabal, he was in the house, partying like a king. He was feeling very merry, and he was very drunk. So she didn't tell him anything until the morning.

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

37 When Nabal had sobered up the next morning, his wife told him what had happened. When he heard what she had to say he had a heart attack and was paralyzed.

But it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.

38 About ten days later the Lord struck Nabal down and he died.

And it came to pass about ten days after, that Yhwh smote Nabal, that he died.

39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Praise the Lord who has supported me against Nabal's insult and has kept me from doing evil. For the Lord made Nabal's wickedness fall back on himself.” Then David sent a message to Abigail, asking for her to marry him.

And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be Yhwh, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil: for Yhwh hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to him to wife.

40 When David's men arrived at Carmel, they said to Abigail, “David has sent us to you to bring you back to become his wife.”

And when the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, they spake unto her, saying, David sent us unto thee, to take thee to him to wife.

41 She stood up, then bowed down low, and said, “I am David's maidservant. I am prepared to serve and to wash the feet of my master's servants.”

And she arose, and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.

42 Abigail quickly got on a donkey and, with her five female servants, went back with David's men and became his wife.

And Abigail hasted, and arose, and rode upon a donkey, with five damsels of hers that went after her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife.

43 David had also married Ahinoam of Jezreel. So they both were his wives.

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

44 However, Saul had given his daughter Michal, David's wife, to Paltiel, son of Laish. He was from Gallim.

But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Phalti the son of Laish, which was of Gallim.