1 Samuel 25
1 And Samuel dieth, and all Israel are gathered, and mourn for him, and bury him in his house, in Ramah; and David riseth and goeth down unto the wilderness of Paran.
Samuel died. Everyone in Israel gathered to mourn for him, and they buried him at his home in Ramah. David left and went to the Desert of Paran.
2 And [there is] a man in Maon, and his work [is] in Carmel; and the man [is] very great, and he hath three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats; and he is shearing his flock in Carmel.
A man from Maon was very wealthy. He had property in Carmel and owned one thousand goats and three thousand sheep. He was in Carmel shearing them.
3 And the name of the man [is] Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail, and the woman [is] of good understanding, and of fair form, and the man [is] hard and evil [in] doings; and he [is] a Calebite.
The man's name was Nabal, and his wife's name was Abigail. She was a wise and beautiful woman, but her husband was cruel and treated people badly. He was a descendant of Caleb.
4 And David heareth in the wilderness that Nabal is shearing his flock,
David was in the wilderness, and he heard that Nabal was shearing sheep.
5 and David sendeth ten young men, and David saith to the young men, 'Go ye up to Carmel, and ye have come in unto Nabal, and asked of him in my name of welfare,
So David sent ten of his young men and told them, “Go and see Nabal at Carmel. Greet him in my name, and say hello from me.
6 and said thus: To life! and thou, peace; and thy house, peace; and all that thou hast — peace!
Tell him, ‘I wish you a long life! Peace to you and your family, and may everything you do prosper.
7 and, now, I have heard that thou hast shearers; now, the shepherds whom thou hast have been with us, we have not put them to shame, nor hath anything been looked after by them, all the days of their being in Carmel.
Now I've heard that you are busy shearing. When your shepherds were with us, we didn't mistreat them, and nothing belonging to them was stolen all the time they were in Carmel.
8 'Ask thy young men, and they declare to thee, and the young men find grace in thine eyes, for on a good day we have come; give, I pray thee, that which thy hand findeth, to thy servants, and to thy son, to David.'
Check with your men and they'll confirm it. Please be kind to my men, especially since we've come on this day of celebration. Please give whatever food you can to us and to your good friend David.’”
9 And the young men of David come in, and speak unto Nabal according to all these words, in the name of David — and rest.
David's young men arrived, gave Nabal this message from David, and waited for his reply.
10 And Nabal answereth the servants of David and saith, 'Who [is] David, and who the son of Jesse? to-day have servants been multiplied who are breaking away each from his master;
“Who does this ‘David, son of Jesse’ think he is?” Nabal replied. “Nowadays there are many servants on the run from their masters!
11 and I have 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 whence they [are]!'
Why should I take the bread and water I've supplied, and the meat I've slaughtered for my shearers, and hand it over to these strangers? I don't even know where they're from!”
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 David's men turned around and went back the way they came. When they got back they told David everything Nabal had said.
13 And David saith to his men, 'Gird ye on each his sword;' and they gird on each his sword, and David also girdeth on his sword, and there go up after David about four hundred men, and two hundred have remained by the vessels.
“Everyone, put on your swords!” David ordered. They all put on their swords, and David did too. About four hundred followed David, while two hundred remained behind to guard their gear.
14 And to Abigail wife of Nabal hath one young man of the youths declared, saying, 'Lo, David hath sent messengers out of the wilderness to bless our lord, and he flieth upon them;
In the meantime one of Nabal's men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, “David sent some messengers from the wilderness to bring greetings to our master, but he only insulted 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;
David's men were always very good to us and they never mistreated us. All the time we were out in the fields with them nothing was stolen from us.
16 a wall they have been unto us both by night and by day, all the days of our being with them, feeding the flock.
They were like a protective wall to us, both day and night, during the whole time we were with them looking after the sheep.
17 'And, now, know and consider what thou dost; for evil hath been determined against our lord, and against all his house, and he [is] too much a son of worthlessness to be spoken to.'
You should know what happened and consider what you should do about it. Disaster is about to strike our master and his whole family, but he's so obnoxious no one can talk sense into him!”
18 And Abigail hasteth, and taketh two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep, prepared, and five measures of roasted corn, and a hundred bunches of raisins, and two hundred bunches of figs, and setteth [them] on the asses.
Abigail quickly gathered together two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep already slaughtered, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred raisin cakes, and two hundred fig cakes, and then loaded everything on donkeys.
19 And she saith to her young men, 'Pass over before me; lo, after you I am coming;' and to her husband Nabal she hath not declared [it];
She told her men, “Go on ahead. I'll follow you.” But she didn't say anything to her husband Nabal.
20 and it hath come to pass, she is riding on the ass and is coming down in the secret part of the hill-country, and lo, David and his men are coming down to meet her, and she meeteth them.
As Abigail was riding her donkey through a mountain valley, she saw David and his men descending towards her, and she met them.
21 And David said, 'Only, in vain I have kept all that this [one] hath in the wilderness, and nothing hath been looked after of all that he hath, and he turneth back to me evil for good;
David had just been complaining, “So much for my protecting everything that belonged to this man in the wilderness! Nothing at all was stolen from him, and yet what does he do? Pay me back evil for good!
22 thus doth God do to the enemies of David, and thus He doth add, if I leave of all that he hath till the light of the morning — of those sitting on the wall.'
May God punish me very severely if I leave even a single one of his men alive by morning!”
23 And Abigail seeth David, and hasteth and cometh down from off the ass, and falleth before David on her face, and boweth herself to the earth,
When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off the donkey, and bowed before him, her face to the ground.
24 and falleth at his feet and saith, 'On me, my lord, the iniquity; and let, I pray thee, thy handmaid speak in thine ear, and hear the words of thy handmaid.
Falling at his feet in respect, she said, “Sir, I accept full responsibility for what's happened. Please listen to what I, your servant, have to say.
25 'Let not, I pray thee, 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, thine handmaid, did not see the young men of my lord whom thou didst send;
Please don't concern yourself with this worthless man Nabal. His name means ‘fool,’ and he is really foolish! As for me, your servant, I didn't even see the men you sent.
26 and now, my lord, Jehovah liveth, and thy soul liveth, in that Jehovah hath withheld thee from coming in with blood, and to save thy hand to thee — now let thine enemies be as Nabal, even those seeking evil unto my lord.
Now, sir, as the Lord lives and as you live, the Lord has kept you from shedding blood and from taking your own revenge. Sir, may your enemies and those who want to do you harm be like Nabal.
27 'And, now, this blessing which thy maid-servant hath brought to my lord — it hath been given to the young men who are going up and down at the feet of my lord.
Please accept this present that I, your servant, have brought to you, sir, and give it to your men.
28 'Bear, I pray thee, with the transgression of thy handmaid, for Jehovah doth certainly make to my lord a stedfast house; for the battles of Jehovah hath my lord fought, and evil is not found in thee [all] thy days.
Please forgive any offense that I, your servant, have committed, for the Lord is sure to set up a dynasty for you that will last for a long time, because you, sir, fight the battles of the Lord. Wickedness should not be found in you as long as you live.
29 And man riseth to pursue thee and to seek thy soul, and the soul of my lord hath been bound in the bundle of life with Jehovah thy God; as to the soul of thine enemies, He doth sling them out in the midst of the hollow of the sling.
If anyone pursues you and tries to kill you, then your life will remain bound up with those the Lord your God looks after, safe in his care. But he will throw away the lives of your enemies like stones from a sling.
30 'And it hath been, when Jehovah doth to my lord according to all the good which He hath spoken concerning thee, and appointed thee for leader over Israel,
So when the Lord has done for you, sir, everything good he promised, and has made you ruler over Israel,
31 that this is not to thee for a stumbling-block, and for an offence of heart to my lord — either to shed blood for nought, or my lord's restraining himself; and Jehovah hath done good to my lord, and thou hast remembered thy handmaid.'
you won't have feelings of remorse or a guilty conscience over unnecessary bloodshed or of taking your own revenge. And when the Lord has done these good things for you, sir, please remember me, your maidservant.”
32 And David saith to Abigail, 'Blessed [is] Jehovah, God of Israel, who hath sent thee this day to meet me,
Then David said to Abigail, “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet me today!
33 and blessed [is] thy discretion, and blessed [art] thou in that thou hast restrained me this day from coming in with blood, and to restrain my hand to myself.
May you be rewarded for your wise decisions, for preventing me from shedding blood today and taking my own revenge.
34 And yet, Jehovah liveth, God of Israel, who hath kept me back from doing evil with thee, for unless thou hadst hasted, and dost come to meet me, surely there had not been left to Nabal till the light of the morning, of those sitting on the wall.'
On the contrary, as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has kept me from harming you, if you hadn't rushed to meet me, then definitely not a single one of Nabal's men would have been left alive by dawn.”
35 And David receiveth from her hand that which she hath brought to him, and to her he hath said, 'Go up in peace to thy house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and accept thy face.'
David accepted from Abigail what she had brought him, and told her, “You may go home in peace, because I agree with your advice and grant your request.”
36 And Abigail cometh in unto Nabal, and lo, he hath a banquet in his house, like a banquet of the king, and the heart of Nabal [is] glad within him, and he [is] drunk unto excess, and she hath not declared to him anything, less or more, till the light of the morning.
When Abigail got back home to Nabal, he was in the house, partying like a king. He was feeling very merry, and he was very drunk. So she didn't tell him anything until the morning.
37 And it cometh to pass in the morning, when the wine is gone out from Nabal, that his wife declareth to him these things, and his heart dieth within him, and he hath been as a stone.
When Nabal had sobered up the next morning, his wife told him what had happened. When he heard what she had to say he had a heart attack and was paralyzed.
38 And it cometh to pass, [in] about ten days, that Jehovah smiteth Nabal, and he dieth,
About ten days later the Lord struck Nabal down and he died.
39 and David heareth that Nabal [is] dead, and saith, 'Blessed [is] Jehovah who hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and His servant hath kept back from evil, and the wickedness of Nabal hath Jehovah turned back on his own head;' and David sendeth and speaketh with Abigail, to take her to him for a wife.
When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Praise the Lord who has supported me against Nabal's insult and has kept me from doing evil. For the Lord made Nabal's wickedness fall back on himself.” Then David sent a message to Abigail, asking for her to marry him.
40 And the servants of David come in unto Abigail at Carmel, and speak unto her, saying, 'David hath sent us unto thee to take thee to him for a wife.'
When David's men arrived at Carmel, they said to Abigail, “David has sent us to you to bring you back to become his wife.”
41 And she riseth and boweth herself — face to the earth — and saith, 'Lo, thy handmaid [is] for a maid-servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.'
She stood up, then bowed down low, and said, “I am David's maidservant. I am prepared to serve and to wash the feet of my master's servants.”
42 And Abigail hasteth and riseth, and rideth on the ass; and five of her young women who are going at her feet; and she goeth after the messengers of David, and is to him for a wife.
Abigail quickly got on a donkey and, with her five female servants, went back with David's men and became his wife.
43 And Ahinoam hath David taken from Jezreel, and they are — even both of them — to him for wives;
David had also married Ahinoam of Jezreel. So they both were his wives.
44 and Saul gave Michal his daughter, wife to David, to Phalti son of Laish, who [is] of Gallim.
However, Saul had given his daughter Michal, David's wife, to Paltiel, son of Laish. He was from Gallim.
