1 Samuel 25

1 And Samuel dies, and all Israel is gathered, and mourns for him, and buries him in his house, in Ramah; and David rises and goes down to the wilderness of Paran.

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.

2 And [there is] a man in Maon, and his work [is] in Carmel; and the man [is] very great, and he has three thousand sheep and one thousand goats; and he is shearing his flock in Carmel.

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.

3 And the name of the man [is] Nabal, and the name of his wife [is] Abigail, and the woman [is] of good understanding, and of beautiful form, and the man [is] hard and evil [in his] doings; and he [is] a Calebite.

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.

4 And David hears in the wilderness that Nabal is shearing his flock,

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

5 and David sends ten young men, and David says to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, and you have come to Nabal, and asked of him in my name of welfare,

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.

6 and said thus to the living: And peace to you, and peace to your house, and peace to all that you have!

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

7 And now, I have heard that you have shearers; now, the shepherds whom you have have been with us, we have not put them to shame, nor has anything been looked after by them, all the days of their being in Carmel.

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.

8 Ask your young men, and they declare [it] to you, and the young men find grace in your eyes, for we have come on a good day; please give that which your hand finds to your servants and to your son, to David.”

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.

9 And the young men of David come in, and speak to Nabal according to all these words, in the name of David—and rest.

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

10 And Nabal answers the servants of David and says, “Who [is] David, and who [is] the son of Jesse? Have servants been multiplied today who are each breaking away from his master?

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.

11 And have I taken my bread, and my water, and my flesh, which I slaughtered for my shearers, and have given [it] to men whom I have not known where they [are] from?”

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?

12 And the young men of David turn on their way, and turn back, and come in, and declare to him according to all these words.

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

13 And David says to his men, “Each gird on his sword”; and they each gird on his sword, and David also girds on his sword, and about four hundred men go up after David, and two hundred have remained by the vessels.

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.

14 And one young man of the youths has declared [it] to Abigail wife of Nabal, saying, “Behold, David has sent messengers out of the wilderness to bless our lord, and he flies on them;

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.

15 and the men [are] very good to us, and have not put us to shame, and we have not looked after anything all the days we have gone up and down with them, in our being in the field;

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.

16 they have been a wall to us both by night and by day, all the days of our being with them, feeding the flock.

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

17 And now, know and consider what you do; for evil has been determined against our lord, and against all his house, and he [is] too much a son of worthlessness to be spoken to.”

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.

18 And Abigail hurries, and takes two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep, prepared, and five measures of roasted grain, and one hundred bunches of raisins, and two hundred bunches of figs, and sets [them] on the donkeys.

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:

19 And she says to her young men, “Pass over before me; behold, I am coming after you”; and she has not declared [it] to her husband Nabal;

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

20 and it has come to pass, she is riding on the donkey and is coming down in the secret part of the hill-country, and behold, David and his men are coming down to meet her, and she meets them.

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.

21 And David said, “Surely in vain I have kept all that this [one] has in the wilderness, and nothing has been looked after of all that he has, and he turns back to me evil for good;

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.

22 thus God does to the enemies of David, and thus He adds, if I leave of all that he has until the morning light—of those sitting on the wall.”

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.

23 And Abigail sees David, and hurries and comes down from off the donkey, and falls on her face before David, and bows herself to the earth,

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.

24 and falls at his feet and says, “On me, my lord, the iniquity; and please let your handmaid speak in your ear, and hear the words of your handmaid.

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.

25 Please do not let my lord set his heart to this man of worthlessness, on Nabal, for as his name [is] so [is] he; Nabal [is] his name, and folly [is] with him; and I, your handmaid, did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent;

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.

26 and now, my lord, YHWH lives, and your soul lives, in that YHWH has withheld you from coming in with blood, and to save your hand from yourself—now let your enemies be as Nabal, even those seeking evil toward my lord.

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.

27 And now, this blessing which your maidservant has brought to my lord—it has been given to the young men who are going up and down at the feet of my lord.

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.

28 Please bear with the transgression of your handmaid, for YHWH certainly makes a steadfast house for my lord; for my lord has fought the battles of YHWH, and evil is not found in you [all] your days.

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.

29 And man rises to pursue you and to seek your soul, and the soul of my lord has been bound in the bundle of life with your God YHWH; as for the soul of your enemies, He slings them out in the midst of the hollow of the sling.

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.

30 And it has been, when YHWH does to my lord according to all the good which He has spoken concerning you, and appointed you for leader over Israel,

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,

31 that this is not to you for a stumbling-block, and for an offense of heart to my lord—either to shed blood for nothing, or my lord’s restraining himself; and YHWH has done good to my lord, and you have remembered your handmaid.”

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.

32 And David says to Abigail, “Blessed [is] YHWH, God of Israel, who has sent you to meet me this day,

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:

33 and blessed [is] your discretion, and blessed [are] you in that you have restrained me this day from coming in with blood, and to restrain my hand to myself.

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

34 And yet, YHWH lives, God of Israel, who has kept me back from doing evil with you, for unless you had hurried, and come to meet me, surely there had not been left to Nabal until the morning light, of those sitting on the wall.”

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.

35 And David receives from her hand that which she has brought to him, and he has said to her, “Go up in peace to your house; see, I have listened to your voice, and accept your face.”

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.

36 And Abigail comes to Nabal, and behold, he has a banquet in his house, like a banquet of the king, and the heart of Nabal [is] glad within him, and he [is] drunk to excess, and she has not declared anything to him, little or much, until the morning light.

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.

37 And it comes to pass in the morning, when the wine is gone out from Nabal, that his wife declares these things to him, and his heart dies within him, and he has been as a stone.

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.

38 And it comes to pass [in] about ten days, that YHWH strikes Nabal and he dies,

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

39 and David hears that Nabal [is] dead and says, “Blessed [is] YHWH who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and His servant has kept back from evil, and YHWH has turned back the wickedness of Nabal on his own head”; and David sends and speaks with Abigail, to take her to himself for a wife.

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.

40 And the servants of David come to Abigail at Carmel, and speak to her, saying, “David has sent us to you to take you to himself for a wife.”

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.

41 And she rises and bows herself—face to the earth—and says, “Behold, your handmaid [is] for a maidservant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.”

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.

42 And Abigail hurries and rises, and rides on the donkey; and [there are] five of her young women who are going at her feet; and she goes after the messengers of David, and is to him for a wife.

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.

43 And David has taken Ahinoam from Jezreel, and they are—even both of them—for wives to him;

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

44 and Saul gave his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Phalti son of Laish, who [is] of Gallim.

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