1 Samuel 25

1 [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.

And death came to Samuel; and all Israel came together, weeping for him, and put his body in its resting-place in his house at Ramah. Then David went down to the waste land of Maon.

2 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.

Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel; he was a great man and had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats: and he was cutting the wool of his sheep in Carmel.

3 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].

Now this man was named Nabal, and his wife's name was Abigail: she was a woman of good sense and pleasing looks: but the man was cruel and evil in his ways; he was of the family of Caleb.

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

And David had word in the waste land that Nabal was cutting the wool of his sheep.

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

And David sent ten young men, and said to them, Go up to Carmel and go to Nabal, and say kind words to him in my name;

6 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.

And say this to my brother, May all be well for you: peace be to you and your house and all you have.

7 ‘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.

I have had word that you have wool-cutters: now the keepers of your sheep have been with us, and we have done them no evil, and taken nothing of theirs while they were in Carmel.

8 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.’”

If your young men are questioned they will say the same thing. So now, let my young men have grace in your eyes, for we are come at a good time; please give anything you may have by you to your servants and to your son David.

9 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.

And when David's young men came, they said all this to Nabal, in David's name, and said nothing more.

10 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].

And Nabal gave them his answer and said, Who is David? who is the son of Jesse? there are a number of servants in these days running away from their masters.

11 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]

Am I to take my bread and my wine and the meat I have got ready for my wool-cutters and give it to men coming from I have no idea where?

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

So David's young men, turning away, went back and gave him an account of everything he had said.

13 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.

And David said to his men, Put on your swords, every one of you. And every man put on his sword; and David did the same; and about four hundred men went up with David, and two hundred kept watch over their goods.

14 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.

But one of the young men said to Nabal's wife Abigail, David sent men from the waste land to say kind words to our master, and he gave them a rough answer.

15 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.

But these men have been very good to us; they did us no wrong and nothing of ours was touched while we were with them in the fields:

16 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.

But day and night they were like a wall round us while we were with them, looking after the sheep.

17 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].”

So now, give thought to what you are going to do; for evil is in store for our master and all his house: for he is such a good-for-nothing person that it is not possible to say anything to him.

18 [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.

Then Abigail quickly took two hundred cakes of bread and two skins full of wine and five sheep ready for cooking and five measures of dry grain and a hundred parcels of dry grapes and two hundred cakes of figs, and put them on asses.

19 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].

And she said to her young men, Go on in front of me and I will come after you. But she said nothing to her husband Nabal.

20 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.

Now while she was going down under cover of the mountain on her ass, David and his men came down against her, and suddenly she came face to face with them.

21 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].

Now David had said, What was the use of my taking care of this man's goods in the waste land, so that there was no loss of anything which was his? he has only given me back evil for good.

22 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!”

May God's punishment be on David, if when morning comes there is so much as one male of his people still living.

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

And when Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her ass, falling down on her face before him.

24 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.

And falling at his feet she said, May the wrong be on me, my lord, on me: let your servant say a word to you, and give ear to the words of your servant.

25 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.

Let my lord give no attention to Nabal, that good-for-nothing: for as his name is, so is he, a man without sense: but I, your servant, did not see the young men whom my lord sent.

26 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.

So now, my lord, by the living God and by your living soul, seeing that the Lord has kept you from the crime of blood and from taking into your hands the punishment for your wrongs, may all your haters, and those who would do evil to my lord, be like Nabal.

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

And let this offering, which your servant gives to my lord, be given to the young men who are with my lord.

28 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.

And may the sin of your servant have forgiveness: for the Lord will certainly make your family strong, because my lord is fighting in the Lord's war; and no evil will be seen in you all your days.

29 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.

And though a man has taken up arms against you, putting your life in danger, still the soul of my lord will be kept safe among the band of the living with the Lord your God; and the souls of those who are against you he will send violently away from him, like stones from a bag.

30 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.

And when the Lord has done for my lord all those good things which he has said he will do for you, and has made you a ruler over Israel;

31 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.”

Then you will have no cause for grief, and my lord's heart will not be troubled because you have taken life without cause and have yourself given punishment for your wrongs: and when the Lord has been good to you, then give a thought to your servant.

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

And David said to Abigail, May the Lord, the God of Israel, be praised, who sent you to me today:

33 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.

A blessing on your good sense and on you, who have kept me today from the crime of blood and from taking into my hands the punishment for my wrongs.

34 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.”

For truly, by the living Lord, the God of Israel, who has kept me from doing you evil, if you had not been so quick in coming to me and meeting me, by dawn there would not have been in Nabal's house so much as one male living.

35 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.”

Then David took from her hands her offering: and he said to her, Go back to your house in peace; see, I have given ear to your voice, and taken your offering with respect.

36 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].

And Abigail went back to Nabal; and he was feasting in his house like a king; and Nabal's heart was full of joy, for he had taken much wine; so she said nothing to him till dawn came.

37 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].

And in the morning, when the effect of the wine was gone, Nabal's wife gave him an account of all these things, and all the heart went out of him, and he became like stone.

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

And about ten days after, the Lord sent disease on Nabal and death came to him.

39 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.

And David, hearing that Nabal was dead, said, May the Lord be praised, who has taken up my cause against Nabal for the shame which he put on me, and has kept back his servant from evil, and has sent on Nabal's head the reward of his evil-doing. And David sent word to Abigail, desiring to take her as his wife.

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

And when David's servants came to Carmel, to Abigail, they said to her, David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife.

41 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.”

And she got up, and going down on her face to the earth, said, See, I am ready to be a servant-girl, washing the feet of the servants of my lord.

42 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.

Then Abigail got up quickly and went on her ass, with five of her young women, after the men whom David had sent; and she became David's wife.

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

And David had taken Ahinoam of Jezreel, to be his wife; these two were his wives.

44 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].

Now Saul had given his daughter Michal, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish of Gallim.