1 Samuel 25

David and Nabal

1Now Samuel died. All the Israelites met and had a time of sadness for him. They buried him at his home in Ramah.

Then David moved to the Desert of Maon.# Some early Greek copies say “Maon.” The Hebrew copies say “Paran.” 2A man in Maon who had land at Carmel was very rich. He had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats. He was cutting the wool off his sheep at Carmel. 3His name was Nabal, and he was a descendant of Caleb. His wife was named Abigail. She was a wise and beautiful woman. But Nabal was cruel and mean.

4David was in the desert. He heard that Nabal was cutting the wool from his sheep. 5So he sent ten young men. He told them, “Go to Nabal at Carmel. Greet him for me. 6Say to Nabal, ‘May you and your family have good health! And may all who belong to you have good health. 7I have heard that you are cutting the wool from your sheep. When your shepherds were with us, we did nothing wrong to them. All the time your shepherds were at Carmel, we stole nothing from them. 8Ask your servants, and they will tell you. We come at a happy time. So for this reason, be kind to my young men. Please give them anything you can find for them. Please do this for your son David.’”

9When the men arrived, they gave the message to Nabal. But Nabal insulted them. 10He answered them, “Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many slaves are running away from their masters today! 11I have bread and water. And I have meat that I killed for my servants who cut the wool. But I won’t give it to men I don’t know.”

12David’s men went back and told him all Nabal had said. 13Then David said to them, “Put on your swords!” So they put on their swords, and David put on his also. About 400 men went with David. But 200 men stayed with the supplies.

14One of Nabal’s servants spoke to Abigail, Nabal’s wife. He said, “David sent messengers from the desert to greet our master. But Nabal insulted them. 15These men were very good to us. They did nothing wrong to us. They stole nothing from us during all the time we were out in the field with them. 16Night and day they protected us. They were like a wall around us while we were with them caring for the sheep. 17Now think about it, and decide what you can do. Terrible trouble is coming to our master and all his family. Nabal is such a wicked man that no one can even talk to him.”

18Abigail hurried. She took 200 loaves of bread, 2 leather bags full of wine and 5 cooked sheep. She took about a bushel of cooked grain, 100 cakes of raisins and 200 cakes of pressed figs. She put all these on donkeys. 19Then she told her servants, “Go on. I’ll follow you.” But she did not tell her husband.

20Abigail rode her donkey and came down into the mountain ravine. There she met David and his men coming down toward her.

21David had just said, “It’s been useless! I watched over Nabal’s property in the desert. I made sure none of his sheep were missing. I did good to him, but he has paid me back with evil. 22May God punish me terribly if I let just one of Nabal’s family live until tomorrow.”

23When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey. She bowed facedown on the ground before David. 24She lay at David’s feet. She said, “My master, let the blame be on me! Please let me talk to you! Listen to what I say. 25My master, don’t pay attention to this worthless man Nabal. He is the same as his name. His name means ‘fool,’ and he is truly foolish. But I, your servant, didn’t see the men you sent. 26The Lord has kept you from killing and punishing people yourself. As surely as the Lord lives and as surely as you live, may your enemies become like Nabal! 27I have brought a gift to you. Please give it to the men who follow you. 28Please forgive my wrong. The Lord will certainly let your family have many kings. He will do this because you fight his battles. As long as you live, people will find nothing bad in you. 29A man might chase you to kill you. But the Lord your God will keep you alive. He will throw away your enemies’ lives as he would throw a stone from a sling. 30The Lord will keep all his promises about good things for you. He will make you leader over Israel. 31Then you won’t feel guilty. You won’t have problems about killing innocent people and punishing them yourself. Please remember me when the Lord brings you success.”

32David answered Abigail, “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel. He sent you to meet me. 33May you be blessed for your wisdom. You have kept me from killing or punishing people today. 34As surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, he has kept me from hurting you. If you hadn’t come quickly to meet me, no one belonging to Nabal would have lived until tomorrow.”

35Then David accepted Abigail’s gifts. He told her, “Go home in peace. I have heard your words, and I will do what you have asked.”

Nabal’s Death

36When Abigail went back to Nabal, he was in the house. He was eating like a king. He was very drunk and in a good mood. So she told him nothing until the next morning. 37In the morning he was not drunk. Then his wife told him everything. His heart failed him, and he became like a stone. 38About ten days later the Lord struck Nabal and caused him to die.

39When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Praise the Lord! Nabal insulted me, but the Lord has supported me! He has kept me from doing wrong. And the Lord caused Nabal to die because he did wrong.”

Then David sent a message to Abigail. He asked her to become his wife. 40His servants went to Carmel and spoke to Abigail. They said, “David sent us to take you so you can become his wife.”

41Abigail bowed facedown on the ground. She said, “I am your servant. I’m ready to serve you. I’m ready to wash the feet of my master’s servants.” 42Abigail quickly got on a donkey and went with David’s messengers. She had five maids following her. And she became David’s wife.

43David also had married Ahinoam of Jezreel. So they were both David’s wives. 44Saul’s daughter Michal was also David’s wife. But Saul had given her to Paltiel son of Laish. Paltiel was from Gallim.

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1 Samuel 25: ICB

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1 Samuel 25

The Death of Samuel

1Samuel died, and all the Israelites came together and mourned for him. Then they buried him at his home in Ramah.

David and Abigail

After this, David went to the wilderness of Paran. 2-3There was a man of the clan of Caleb named Nabal, who was from the town of Maon, and who owned land near the town of Carmel. He was a very rich man, the owner of three thousand sheep and one thousand goats. His wife Abigail was beautiful and intelligent, but he was a mean, bad-tempered man.

Nabal was shearing his sheep in Carmel, 4and David, who was in the wilderness, heard about it, 5so he sent ten young men with orders to go to Carmel, find Nabal, and give him his greetings. 6He instructed them to say to Nabal: “David sends you greetings, my friend, with his best wishes for you, your family, and all that is yours. 7He heard that you were shearing your sheep, and he wants you to know that your shepherds have been with us and we did not harm them. Nothing that belonged to them was stolen all the time they were at Carmel. 8Just ask them, and they will tell you. We have come on a feast day, and David asks you to receive us kindly. Please give what you can to us your servants and to your dear friend David.”

9David's men delivered this message to Nabal in David's name. Then they waited there, 10and Nabal finally answered, “David? Who is he? I've never heard of him! The country is full of runaway slaves nowadays! 11I'm not going to take my bread and water, and the animals I have butchered for my sheepshearers, and give them to people who come from I don't know where!”

12David's men went back to him and told him what Nabal had said. 13“Buckle on your swords!” he ordered, and they all did. David also buckled on his sword and left with about four hundred of his men, leaving two hundred behind with the supplies.

14One of Nabal's servants said to Nabal's wife Abigail, “Have you heard? David sent some messengers from the wilderness with greetings for our master, but he insulted them. 15Yet they were very good to us; they never bothered us, and all the time we were with them in the fields, nothing that belonged to us was stolen. 16They protected us day and night the whole time we were with them looking after our flocks. 17Please think this over and decide what to do. This could be disastrous for our master and all his family. He is so mean that he won't listen to anybody!”

18Abigail quickly gathered two hundred loaves of bread, two leather bags full of wine, five roasted sheep, two bushels of roasted grain, a hundred bunches of raisins, and two hundred cakes of dried figs, and loaded them on donkeys. 19Then she said to the servants, “You go on ahead and I will follow you.” But she said nothing to her husband.

20She was riding her donkey around a bend on a hillside when suddenly she met David and his men coming toward her. 21David had been thinking, “Why did I ever protect that fellow's property out here in the wilderness? Not a thing that belonged to him was stolen, and this is how he pays me back for the help I gave him! 22May God strike me#25.22: One ancient translation me; Hebrew my enemies. dead if I don't kill every last one of those men before morning!”

23When Abigail saw David, she quickly dismounted and threw herself on the ground 24at David's feet, and said to him, “Please, sir, listen to me! Let me take the blame. 25Please, don't pay any attention to Nabal, that good-for-nothing! He is exactly what his name means—a fool!#25.25: a fool: This is the meaning of the Hebrew name Nabal. I wasn't there when your servants arrived, sir. 26It is the Lord who has kept you from taking revenge and killing your enemies. And now I swear to you by the living Lord that your enemies and all who want to harm you will be punished like Nabal. 27Please, sir, accept this present I have brought you, and give it to your men. 28Please forgive me, sir, for any wrong I have done. The Lord will make you king, and your descendants also, because you are fighting his battles; and you will not do anything evil#25.28: you will not do anything evil; or no evil will happen to you. as long as you live. 29If anyone should attack you and try to kill you, the Lord your God will keep you safe, as someone guards a precious treasure. As for your enemies, however, he will throw them away, as someone hurls stones with a sling. 30And when the Lord has done all the good things he has promised you and has made you king of Israel, 31then you will not have to feel regret or remorse, sir, for having killed without cause or for having taken your own revenge. And when the Lord has blessed you, sir, please do not forget me.”

32David said to her, “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you today to meet me! 33Thank God for your good sense and for what you have done today in keeping me from the crime of murder and from taking my own revenge. 34The Lord has kept me from harming you. But I swear by the living God of Israel that if you had not hurried to meet me, all of Nabal's men would have been dead by morning!” 35Then David accepted what she had brought him and said to her, “Go back home and don't worry. I will do what you want.”

36Abigail went back to Nabal, who was at home having a feast fit for a king. He was drunk and in a good mood, so she did not tell him anything until the next morning. 37Then, after he had sobered up, she told him everything. He suffered a stroke and was completely paralyzed. 38Some ten days later the Lord struck Nabal and he died.

39When David heard that Nabal had died, he said, “Praise the Lord! He has taken revenge on Nabal for insulting me and has kept me his servant from doing wrong. The Lord has punished Nabal for his evil.”

Then David sent a proposal of marriage to Abigail. 40His servants went to her at Carmel and said to her, “David sent us to take you to him to be his wife.”

41Abigail bowed down to the ground and said, “I am his servant, ready to wash the feet of his servants.” 42She rose quickly and mounted her donkey. Accompanied by her five maids, she went with David's servants and became his wife.

43David had married Ahinoam from Jezreel, and now Abigail also became his wife. 44#2 S 3.14-16 Meanwhile, Saul had given his daughter Michal, who had been David's wife, to Palti son of Laish, who was from the town of Gallim.

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