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.
Samuel died; and all Israel gathered themselves together and mourned for him, and buried him at his house at Ramah. Then 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.
There was a man in Maon whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great. 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. This woman was intelligent and had a beautiful face; but the man was surly and evil in his doings. He was of the house of Caleb.
4 David was in the wilderness, and he heard that Nabal was shearing sheep.
David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing 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.
David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, “Go 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.
Tell him, ‘Long life to you! Peace be to you! Peace be to your house! Peace be to all that you have!
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.
Now I have heard that you have shearers. Your shepherds have now been with us, and we didn’t harm them. Nothing was missing from them all the time 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 your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let the young men find favour in your eyes, for we come on a good day. Please give whatever comes to your hand to your servants and to your son David.’”
9 David's young men arrived, gave Nabal this message from David, and waited for his reply.
When David’s young men came, they spoke to Nabal all those words in the name of David, and waited.
10 “Who does this ‘David, son of Jesse’ think he is?” Nabal replied. “Nowadays there are many servants on the run from their masters!
Nabal answered David’s servants and said, “Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants who break away from their masters these days.
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, my water, and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men who I don’t know where they come from?”
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 on their way and went back, and came and told him all these words.
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.
David said to his men, “Every man put on his sword!” Every man put on his sword. David also put on his sword. About four hundred men followed David, and two hundred stayed by the baggage.
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 greet our master; and he insulted 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 to us, and we were not harmed, and we didn’t miss anything as long as we went 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 to us both by night and by 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 you will do; for evil is determined against our master and against all his house, for he is such a worthless fellow that one can’t 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 hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread, two containers of wine, five sheep ready dressed, five seahs of parched grain, one 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.
She said to her young men, “Go on before me. Behold, I am coming after you.” But she didn’t tell 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.
As she rode on her donkey, and came down hidden by the mountain, behold, David and his men came down towards 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 I have kept all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained to him. He has returned me evil for good.
22 May God punish me very severely if I leave even a single one of his men alive by morning!”
God do so to the enemies of David, and more also, if I leave of all that belongs to him by the morning light so much as one who urinates on a wall.”
23 When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off the donkey, and bowed before him, her face to the ground.
When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got off her 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.
She fell at his feet and said, “On me, my lord, on me be the blame! Please let your servant speak in your ears. Hear the words of your servant.
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.
Please don’t let my lord pay attention to this worthless fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and folly is with him; but I, your servant, didn’t see my lord’s young men whom you sent.
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 the LORD lives and as your soul lives, since the LORD has withheld you from blood guiltiness and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now therefore let your enemies and those who 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.
Now this present which your servant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who 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.
Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord fights the LORD’s battles. Evil will not be found in you all your 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.
Though men may rise up to pursue you and to seek your soul, yet the soul of my lord will be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD your God. He will sling out the souls of your enemies as from a sling’s pocket.
30 So when the Lord has done for you, sir, everything good he promised, and has made you ruler over Israel,
It will come to pass, when the LORD has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you prince 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 to you, nor offence of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. When the LORD has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.”
32 Then David said to Abigail, “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet me today!
David said to Abigail, “Blessed is the LORD, the God of Israel, who sent you today to meet me!
33 May you be rewarded for your wise decisions, for preventing me from shedding blood today and taking my own revenge.
Blessed is your discretion, and blessed are you, who have kept me today from blood guiltiness, and from avenging myself with my 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 indeed, as the LORD the God of Israel lives, who has withheld me from harming you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely there wouldn’t have been left to Nabal by the morning light so much as one who urinates on a 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 from her hand that which she had brought him. Then he said to her, “Go up in peace to your house. Behold, I have listened to your voice and have granted your request.”
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.
Abigail came to Nabal; and behold, he held a feast in his house like the feast of a king. Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk. Therefore she told him nothing 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.
In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things; and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.
38 About ten days later the Lord struck Nabal down and he died.
About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal, so 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.
When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed is the LORD, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from evil. The LORD has returned the evildoing of Nabal on his own head.” David sent and spoke concerning Abigail, to take her to himself as 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.”
When David’s servants had come to Abigail to Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, “David has sent us to you, to take you to him as 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.”
She arose and bowed herself with her face to the earth, and said, “Behold, your servant is 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.
Abigail hurriedly arose and rode on a donkey with her five maids who followed 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 both became his wives.
44 However, Saul had given his daughter Michal, David's wife, to Paltiel, son of Laish. He was from Gallim.
Now Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.
