1 Samuel 25

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

[Soon after that], Samuel died, and all the Israeli people gathered and mourned for him. They buried his body outside his home in Ramah. Then David and his men moved to the Maon Desert.

2 And there was a man in Ma'on, whose business was in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was, while they were shearing his sheep, at Carmel.

In Maon [town] there was a man who owned land in Carmel, [a nearby village]. He was very rich; he owned 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats.

3 Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigayil: and the woman was of good understanding, and of a beautiful form; but the man was hard-hearted and evil in his deeds; and he was of the house of Caleb.

His name was Nabal; he was a descendant of Caleb. His wife Abigail was a wise and beautiful woman, but Nabal was very cruel and treated people very unkindly [IDM].

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

One day while David [and his men] were in the desert, someone told him that Nabal was cutting the wool from his sheep.

5 And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and ask him in my name after his well-being.

So David told ten of his men, “Go to Nabal at Carmel and greet him for me.

6 And ye shall say, May it thus be throughout thy life; and peace be to thee, and peace be to thy house, and unto all that thou hast be peace.

Then tell to him this message from me, ‘I wish/desire that things will go well for you and your family and for everything that you possess.

7 And now have I heard that thou hast sheep-shearers: now thy shepherds have been with us, we have not injured them, neither hath there aught been missing unto them, all the time they were at Carmel.

‘heard people say that you are cutting the wool from your sheep. Previously, when your shepherds were among us, we did not harm them. All the time that your shepherds were among us at Camel, we did not steal any sheep from them.

8 Ask thy young men, and they will tell it thee. Therefore let the young men find favor in thy eyes; for on a festive day are we come: give, I pray thee, whatsoever thy hand is capable of unto thy servants, and to thy son, to David.

You can ask your servants if this is true, and they will tell you [that it is true]. We have come here at a time when you are celebrating, so I ask you to please be kind to us and give these men whatever extra food you have, for me, David, and my men to eat.’”

9 And David's young men came, and they spoke to Nabal in accordance with all these words in the name of David; and then they ceased.

When David’s men arrived where Nabal was, they gave David’s message to him, and they waited [for him to reply]. But Nabal spoke harshly to them.

10 And Nabal answered the servants of David, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? now-a-days there are many servants that break away every one from his master.

He said to them, “Who [does] this man, this son of Jesse, [think that he] is? [DOU, RHQ] There are many slaves who are running away from their masters at the present time, [and it seems to me that he is just one of them].

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

I give bread and water to the men who are cutting the wool from my sheep, and I give them meat from animals that I have slaughtered. Why should I take some of those things and give them to a group of outlaws [RHQ]? (Who knows where they have come from?/I do not even know where they have come from.)” [RHQ]

12 And David's young men turned about on their way, and returned, and came and told him in accordance with all these words.

Then David’s men returned and told him what Nabal had said.

13 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 baggage.

When David heard that, he told his men, “[We are going to kill Nabal; ] fasten your swords!” So he fastened on his sword and about 400 men fastened on their swords and went with David. There were 200 of his men who stayed with their supplies.

14 But one of the young men told Abigayil, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master; but he hath spoken rudely to them.

One of Nabal’s servants [found out what David and his men were planning to do, so he] went to Nabal’s wife Abigail and said to her, “David sent some messengers from the desert to greet our master Nabal, but Nabal only yelled at them.

15 Whereas the men have been very good unto us; and we have not been injured, neither have we missed any thing, all the time that we went about with them, while we were in the field:

All the time that we were in the fields close to them, those men of David were very kind to us. They did not harm us. They did not steal anything from us.

16 A wall were they around us both by night and by day, all the time we were with them, feeding the flocks.

They protected us during the daytime and during the night. They were like a wall [MET] around us to protect us while we were taking care of our sheep.

17 And now know and consider what thou canst do; for evil is determined on against our master, and against all his household; and he is too greatly a worthless man for me to speak to him.

So now you should think about it and decide what you can do. [If you do not do something, ] terrible things will happen to our master and to all his family. Nabal is an extremely wicked man, with the result that [he will not heed anyone when] that person tries to tell him anything [that he should do].”

18 And Abigayil made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.

[When] Abigail [heard that, she] very quickly gathered 200 loaves [of bread], and also got two leather bags full of wine, the meat from five sheep, a bushel of roasted grain, 100 packs of raisins, and 200 packs of dried figs. She put all those things on donkeys.

19 And she said unto her young men, Pass on before me: behold, I come after you. But to her husband Nabal she told nothing.

Then she told her servants, “Go ahead of me. I will follow you.” But she did not tell her husband [what she was going to do].

20 And it was so, as she was riding on the ass, and coming down by the covert of the mount, that, behold, David and his men came down toward her; and she met them.

David and his men [had left the place where they were staying and were on the road to Nabal’s property. They] were coming down a hill when they met Abigail.

21 Now David had said, Yea, for naught only have I guarded all that belongeth to this fellow in the wilderness, so that not the least was missed of all that pertained unto him; and he hath requited me evil instead of good.

David had been saying to his men, “It was useless for us to protect that man and all his possessions here in this desert. We did not steal anything that belonged to him, but he has done evil to me in return for our good [things we did for him].

22 So may God do unto the enemies of David, and do so yet farther, if I leave of all that pertaineth to him by the morning light, as much as a dog.

I hope/desire that God will strike me and kill me [IDM] if he or even one of his men [IDM] is still alive tomorrow morning!”

23 And when Abigayil saw David, she hastened, and alighted off the ass, and fell down before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground.

When Abigail saw David, she quickly got down from her donkey and bowed before him, with her face touching the ground.

24 And she fell at his feet, and said, On me, me, my lord, is the fault: and let thy hand-maid, I pray thee, speak in thy hearing, and listen to the words of thy hand-maid.

Then she prostrated herself at David’s feet and said to him, “Sir, I deserve to be punished [for what my husband has done]. Please listen to what I say to you.

25 Let not my Lord, I pray thee, turn his heart unto this worthless man, unto Nabal; for as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and meanness is with him; but I thy hand-maid did not see the young men of my Lord, whom thou didst send.

Please do not pay attention to [IDM] what this worthless man Nabal has said. His name means ‘fool’, and he surely is a foolish man. But I, who am [willing to be] your servant, did not see the messengers whom you sent to him.

26 And now, my lord, as the Eternal liveth, and as thy soul liveth, it is the Lord who hath withholden thee from coming to blood-guiltiness, and from helping thyself with thy own hand; and now may like Nabal be thy enemies, and those that seek [to do] my Lord evil.

Yahweh has prevented you from getting revenge on anyone and killing anyone. I hope/desire that as surely as Yahweh lives and as surely as you live, your enemies will be [cursed] like Nabal will be.

27 And now this present which thy hand-maid hath brought unto my Lord, let it even be given unto the young men that follow in the train my Lord.

I have brought a gift for you and for the men who are with you.

28 Pardon, I pray thee, the trespass of thy hand-maid; for the Lord will certainly make for my lord an enduring house; because the battles of the Lord doth my lord fight, and evil will not be found in thee all thy days.

Please forgive me if I have done anything wrong to you. Yahweh will surely [reward you by] allowing many of your descendants to become kings of Israel, because you are fighting the battles that Yahweh [wants you to fight]. And [I know that] throughout all your life you have not done anything wrong.

29 And though a man is risen up to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: yet will the soul of my Lord be bound in the bond of life with the Lord thy God; and the soul of thy enemies will he hurl away, as out of the middle of the sling.

Even when those who are trying to kill you pursue you, you are safe, because Yahweh your God takes care of you. You will be [protected as though you were] [MET] a bundle that he has safely tied up. But your enemies will [disappear as fast as stones] that are hurled from a sling.

30 And it shall come to pass, when the Lord will do to my lord, in accordance with all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and will ordain thee as ruler over Israel,

Yahweh has promised to do good things for you, and he will do what he has promised. And he will cause you to become the ruler of the Israeli people.

31 That this shall not be unto thee as a cause of offense and as a reproach of heart unto my lord, both by having shed blood without cause, and by my lord having righted himself; and when the Lord will do good unto my lord, then do thou remember thy hand-maid.

When that happens, [you will be glad that you did not kill any] people in Nabal’s household. You will not think that you deserve to be punished for having taken revenge yourself and killed innocent people. And when Yahweh enables you to successfully [become the king], please do not forget [to be kind to] me.”

32 And David said to Abigayil, Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent thee this day to meet me;

David replied to Abigail, “I praise Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [worship], because he sent you to [talk with] me.

33 And blessed be thy intelligence, and blessed be thou, who hast prevented me this day from coming unto blood-guiltiness, and from helping myself with my own hand.

I hope/desire that Yahweh will bless you for being very wise. You have prevented me from taking revenge myself and killing many people [MTY] today.

34 But truly, as the Lord the God of Israel liveth, who hath withdrawn me from injuring thee, except thou hadst hastened and come to meet me, surely there would not have been left unto Nabal by the morning-light so much as a dog.

Just as surely as Yahweh the God whom we Israelis [worship] is alive, he has prevented me from harming you. If you had not come quickly to talk to me, neither Nabal nor even one of Nabal’s men [IDM] would be still alive tomorrow morning.”

35 And David took out of her hand that which she had brought him; and unto her he said, Go up in peace to thy house: see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have respected thy presence.

Then David accepted the gifts that Abigail had brought to him. He said to her, “I hope/desire that things will go well for you. I have heard what you said, and I will do what you have requested.”

36 And Abigayil 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, and he was exceedingly drunken; wherefore she told him not a word, either little or great, until the morning-light.

When Abigail returned to Nabal, he was in his house, having a big celebration like kings have. He was very drunk and feeling very happy. So Abigail did not say anything to him that night [about her meeting with David].

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

The next morning, when he was no longer drunk, she told him everything [that had happened when she talked with David]. [Immediately] (he had a stroke/a blood vessel burst in his brain) and he became paralyzed [MET].

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

About ten days later Yahweh struck him [again] and he died.

39 And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the Lord, who hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath withheld his servant from evil; and the wickedness of Nabal hath the Lord returned upon his own head. And David sent and applied for Abigayil, to take her to himself for wife.

After David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Praise Yahweh! Nabal insulted me, but Yahweh (vindicated me/got revenge for me). He has prevented me from [doing anything] wrong. And he has punished Nabal for the wrong that he did.” Then David sent [messengers] to Abigail, to ask her if she would become his wife.

40 And the servants of David came to Abigayil to Carmel, and they spoke unto her, saying, David hath sent us unto thee, to take thee to himself for wife.

His servants went to Carmel and said to Abigail, “David sent us to take you to become his wife.”

41 Thereupon she arose, and bowed herself with her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let thy hand-maid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.

Abigail bowed down with her face touching the ground. Then she told [the messengers to tell David], “[I am happy to become your wife]. I will be your servant. And I am willing to wash the feet of your slaves.”

42 And Abigayil hastened, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with her five damsels that went in her train; and she went after the messengers of David, and she became his wife.

Abigail quickly got on her donkey and went with David’s messengers. Five of her maids went with her. [When she arrived where David was, ] she became his wife.

43 David also took Achino'am of Yizre'el; and both of them became thus his wives.

David had previously married Ahinoam, a woman from Jezreel [town near Carmel]. So both Abigail and Ahinoam were now David’s wives.

44 But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Palti, the son of Layish, who was of Gallim.

King Saul’s daughter Michal was also David’s wife, but Saul had given her to Laish’s son Paltiel, who was from Gallim [town].