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.

[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 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.

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 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.

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

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

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

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.

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 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;

‘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 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.

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

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 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.

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 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?

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 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.

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

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.

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 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;

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 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;

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

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 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.

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 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,

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

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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

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 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.

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 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.

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

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

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.

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 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.

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 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,

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 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.

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 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;

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

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

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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

About ten days later Yahweh struck him [again] 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.

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 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.

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

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 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.

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

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

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

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].