1 Samuel 25

1 Forsothe Samuel was deed; and al Israel was gaderid to gidere, and thei biweiliden hym greetly, and birieden hym in his hows in Ramatha. And Dauid roos, and yede doun in to deseert of Faran.

And Samuel died, and all Israel assembled, and bewailed him, and they bury him in his house in Armathaim: and David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Maon.

2 Forsothe a `man was in Maon, and his possessioun was in Carmele, and thilke man was ful greet, and thre thousynde scheep and a thousynde geet `weren to hym; and it bifelde that his flocke was clippid in Carmele.

And there was a man in Maon, and his flocks were in Carmel, and [he was] a very great man; and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand she-goats: and he happened to be shearing his flock in Carmel.

3 Forsothe the name of that man was Nabal, and the name of his wijf was Abigail; and thilke womman was moost prudent and fair; forsothe hir hosebond was hard and ful wickid and malicious; sotheli he was of the kyn of Caleph.

And the man's name [was] Nabal, and his wife's name [was] Abigaia: and his wife [was] of good understanding and very beautiful in person: but the man [was] harsh, and evil in his doings, and the man [was] churlish.

4 Therfor whanne Dauid hadde herde in deseert, that Nabal clippide his floc,

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

5 he sente ten yonge men, and seide to hem, Stie ye in to Carmele, and ye schulen come to Nabal, and ye schulen grete hym of my name pesibli;

And David sent ten young men, and he said to the young men, Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and ask him in my name how he is.

6 and ye schulen seie thus, Pees be to my britheren and to thee, and pees be to thin hows, and pees be to alle thingis, `what euer thingis thou hast.

And thus shall ye say, May thou and thy house seasonably prosper, and all thine be in prosperity.

7 Y herde that thi scheepherdis, that weren with vs in deseert, clippiden thi flockis; we weren neuere diseseful to hem, nether ony tyme ony thing of the floc failide to hem, in al time in which thei weren with vs in Carmele;

And now, behold, I have heard that thy shepherds who were with is in the wilderness are shearing thy sheep, and we hindered them not, neither did we demand any thing from them all the time they were in Carmel.

8 axe thi children, and thei schulen schewe to thee. Now therfor thi children fynde grace in thin iyen; for in a good dai we camen to thee; what euer thing thin hond fyndith, yyue to thi seruauntis, and to thi sone Dauid.

Ask thy servants, and they will tell thee. Let then thy servants find grace in thine eyes, for we are come on a good day; give we pray thee, whatsoever thy hand may find, to thy son David.

9 And whanne the children of Dauid hadden come, thei spaken to Nabal alle these wordis in the name of Dauid, and helden pees.

So the servants come and speak these words to Nabal, according to all these words in the name of David.

10 Forsoth Nabal answeride to the children of Dauid, and seide, Who is Dauith? and who is the sone of Isai? To dai seruauntis encreesiden that fleen her lords.

And Nabal sprang up, and answered the servants of David, and said, Who [is] David? and who [is] the son of Jessae? Now-a-days there is abundance of servants who depart every one from his master.

11 Therfor schal Y take my looues and my watris, and the fleischis of beestis, whiche Y haue slayn to my schereris, and schal Y yyue to men, whiche Y knowe not of whennus thei ben?

And shall I take my bread, and my wine, and my beasts that I have slain for my shearers, and shall I give them to men of whom I know not whence they are?

12 Therfor the children of Dauid yeden ayen bi her weie; and thei turneden ayen, and camen, and telden to hym alle wordis whiche Nabal hadde seid.

So the servants of David turned back, and returned, and came and reported to David according to these words.

13 Thanne Dauid seide to hise children, Ech man be gird with his swerd. And alle men weren gird with her swerdis, and Dauid also was gird with his swerd; and as foure hundrid men sueden Dauid, forsothe two hundrid leften at the fardels.

And David said to his men, Gird on every man his sword. And they went up after David, about four hundred men: and two hundred abode with the stuff.

14 Forsothe oon of hise children telde to Abigail, wijf of Nabal, and seide, Lo! Dauid sente messangeris fro deseert, that thei schulden blesse oure lord, and he turnede hem awey;

And one of the servants reported to Abigaia the wife of Nabal, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our lord; but he turned away from them.

15 these men weren good ynow, and not diseseful to vs, and no thing perischide `in ony tyme in al the tyme in which we lyueden with hem in deseert;

And the men were very good to us; they did not hinder us, neither did they demand from us any thing all the days that we were with them.

16 thei weren to vs for a wal, bothe in niyt and in dai, in alle daies in whiche we lesewiden flockis at hem.

And when we were in the field, they were as a wall round about us, both by night and by day, all the days that we were with them feeding the flock.

17 Wherfor biholde thou, and thenke, what thou schalt do; for malice is fillid ayens thin hosebonde, and ayens `thin hows; and he is the sone of Belial, so that no man may speke to him.

And now do thou consider, and see what thou wilt do; for mischief is determined against our lord and against his house; and he [is] a vile character, and one cannot speak to him.

18 Therfor Abigail hastide, and took two hundrid looues, and two vessels of wyn, and fyue whetheris sodun, and seuene buyschelis and an half of flour, and an hundrid bundles of dried grape, and two hundrid gobetis of dried figus; and puttide on assis,

And Abigaia hasted, and took two hundred loaves, and two vessels of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five ephahs of fine flour, and one homer of dried grapes, and two hundred cakes of figs, and put them upon asses.

19 and seide to hir children, Go ye bifor me; lo! Y schal sue you `aftir the bak. Forsothe sche schewide not to hir hosebonde Nabal.

And she said to her servants, Go on before me, and behold I come after you: but she told not her husband.

20 Therfor whanne sche hadde stied on the asse, and cam doun `at the roote of the hil, and Dauid and hise men camen doun in to the comyng `of hir; whiche also sche mette.

And it came to pass when she had mounted her ass and was going down by the covert of the mountain, behold, David and his men came down to meet her, and she met them.

21 And Dauid seide, Verili in veyn Y haue kept alle thingis that weren of this Nabal in the deseert, and no thing perischide of alle thingis that perteyneden to hym, and he hath yolde to me yuel for good.

And David said, Perhaps I have kept all his possessions in the wilderness that he should wrong me, and we did not order the taking anything of all his goods; yet he has rewarded me evil for good.

22 The Lord do these thingis, and adde these thingis to the enemyes of Dauid, if Y schal leeue of alle thingis that perteynen to him til the morewe a pisser to the wal.

So God do to David and more also, if I leave one male of all that belong to Nabal until the morning.

23 Sotheli whanne Abigail siy Dauid, sche hastide, and yede doun of the asse; and sche fel doun bifor Dauid on hir face, and worschipide on the erthe.

And Abigaia saw David, and she hasted and alighted from her ass; and she felt before David on her face, and did obeisance to him, [bowing] to the ground

24 And sche felde doun to hise feet, and seide, My lord the kyng, this wickydnesse be in me; Y biseche, speke thin handmayden in thin eeris, and here thou the wordis of thi seruauntesse;

[even] to his feet, and said, On me, my lord, be my wrong: let, I pray thee, thy servant speak in thine ears, and hear thou the words of thy servant.

25 Y preie, my lord the kyng, sette not his herte on this wickid man Nabal, for bi his name he is a fool, and foli is with hym; but, my lord, Y thin handmayde siy not thi children, whiche thou sentist.

Let not my lord, I pray thee, take to heart this pestilent man, for according to his name, so is he; Nabal [is] his name, and folly [is] with him: but I thy handmaid saw not the servants of my lord whom thou didst send.

26 Now therfor, my lord, the Lord lyueth, and thi soule lyueth, which Lord forbeed thee, lest thou schuldist come in to blood, and he sauede thi soule to thee; and now thin enemyes, and thei that seken yuel to my lord, be maad as Nabal.

And now, my lord, [as] the Lord lives, and thy soul lives, as the Lord has kept thee from coming against innocent blood, and from executing vengeance for thyself, now therefore let thine enemies, and those that seek evil against my lord, become as Nabal.

27 Wherfor resseyue thou this blessyng, which thin handmaide brouyte to thee, my lord, and yyue thou to the children that suen thee, my lord.

And now accept this token of goodwill, which thy servant has brought to my lord, and thou shalt give it to the servants that wait on my lord.

28 Do thou awey the wickidnesse of thi seruauntesse; for the Lord makynge schal make a feithful hows to thee, my lord, for thou, my lord, fiytist the batels of the Lord; therfor malice be not foundun in thee in alle dais of thi lijf.

Remove, I pray thee, the trespass of thy servant; for the Lord will surely make for my lord a sure house, for the Lord fights the battles of my lord, and there shall no evil be ever found in thee.

29 For if a man risith ony tyme, and pursueth thee, and sekith thi lijf, the lijf of my lord schal be kept as in a bundel of lyuynge trees, at thi Lord God; forsothe the soule of thin enemyes schal be hurlid round aboute as in feersnesse, and sercle of a slynge.

And [if] a man shall rise up persecuting thee and seeking thy life, yet shall the life of my lord be bound up in the bundle of life with the Lord God, and thou shalt whirl the life of thine enemies [as] in the midst of a sling.

30 Therfor whanne the Lord hath do to thee, my lord, alle these goode thingis, whiche he spak of thee, and hath ordeyned thee duyk on Israel,

And it shall be when the Lord shall have wrought for my lord all the good things he has spoken concerning thee, and shall appoint thee to be ruler over Israel;

31 this schal not be in to siyyng and in to doute of herte to thee, my lord, that thou hast sched out giltles blood, ether that thou hast vengid thee. And whanne the Lord hath do wel to thee, my lord, thou schalt haue mynde on thin handmaide, and thou schalt do wel to hir.

then this shall not be an abomination and offence to my lord, to have shed innocent blood without cause, and for my lord to have avenged himself: and so may the Lord do good to my lord, and thou shalt remember thine handmaid to do her good.

32 And Dauid seide to Abigail, Blessid be the Lord God of Israel, that sente thee to dai in to my comyng, and blessid be thi speche;

And David said to Abigaia, Blessed [be] the Lord God of Israel, who sent thee this very day to meet me:

33 and blessid be thou, that hast forbede me, lest Y yede to blood, and vengide me with myn hond;

and blessed [be] thy conduct, and blessed [be] thou, who hast hindered me this very day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself.

34 ellis the Lord God of Israel lyueth, which forbeed me, `lest Y dide yuel to thee, if thou haddist not soone come in to `metyng to me, a pissere to the wal schulde not haue left to Nabal til to the morewe liyt.

But surely as the Lord God of Israel lives, who hindered me this day from doing thee harm, if thou hadst not hasted and come to meet me, then I said, There shall [surely] not be left to Nabal till the morning one male.

35 Therfor Dauid resseyuede of hir hond alle thingis whiche sche hadde brouyt to hym; and he seide to hir, Go thou in pees in to thin hows; lo! Y herde thi vois, and Y onouride thi face.

And David took of her hand all that she brought to him, and said to her, Go in peace to thy house: see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and accepted thy petition.

36 Forsothe Abigail cam to Nabal; and, lo! a feeste was to him in his hows, as the feeste of a kyng; and the herte of Nabal was iocounde, for he was `drunkun greetli; and sche schewide not to hym a word litil ether greet til the morewe.

And Abigaia came to Nabal: and, behold, he had a banquet in this house, as the banquet of a king, and the heart of Nabal [was] merry within him, and he [was] very drunken: and she told him nothing great or small till the morning light.

37 Forsothe in the morewtid, whanne Nabal hadde defied the wiyn, his wijf schewide to hym alle these wordis; and his herte was almest deed with ynne, and he was maad as a stoon.

And it came to pass in the morning, when Nabal recovered from his wine, his wife told him these words; and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.

38 And whanne ten daies hadden passid, the Lord smoot Nabal, and he was deed.

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

39 Which thing whanne Dauid hadde herd, Nabal deed, he seide, Blessid be the Lord God, that vengide the cause of my schenschip of the hond of Nabal, and kepte his seruaunt fro yuel, and the Lord yeldide the malice of Nabal in to the heed of hym. Therfor Dauid sente, and spak to Abigail, that he wolde take hir wijf to hym.

And David heard it and said, Blessed [be] the Lord, who has judged the cause of my reproach at the hand of Nabal, and has delivered his servant from the power of evil; and the Lord has returned the mischief of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and spoke concerning Abigaia, to take her to himself for a wife.

40 And the children of Dauid camen to Abigail in to Carmele, and spaken to hir, and seiden, Dauid sente vs to thee, that he take thee in to wijf to hym.

So the servants of David came to Abigaia to Carmel, and spoke to her, saying, David has sent us to thee, to take thee to himself for a wife.

41 And sche roos, and worschipide lowe to erthe, and seide, Lo! thi seruauntesse be in to an handmayde, that sche waische the feet of the seruauntis of my lord.

And she arose, and did reverence with her face to the earth, and said, Behold, thy servant [is] for an handmaid to wash the feet of thy servants.

42 And Abigail hastide, and roos, and stiede on an asse; and fyue damesels, sueris of hir feet, yeden with hir, and sche suede the messangeris of Dauid, and was maad wijf to hym.

And Abigaia arose, and mounted her ass, and five damsels followed her: and she went after the servants of David, and became his wife.

43 But also Dauid took Achynoem of Jezrael, and euer eithir was wijf to hym;

And David took Achinaam out of Jezrael, and they were both his wives.

44 forsothe Saul yaf Mycol his douytir, wijf of Dauid, to Phalti, the sone of Lais, that was of Gallym.

And Saul gave Melchol his daughter, David's wife, to Phalti the son of Amis who was of Romma.