1 Samuel 25
25
Samuel’s Death
1Now Samuel died; and all Israel assembled and mourned for him, and they buried him at his house in Ramah. Then David left and went down to the Wilderness of Paran.
Nabal and Abigail
2Now there was a man in Maon whose business and possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very rich. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats, and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel 3(now the man’s name was Nabal and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was intelligent and beautiful in appearance, but the man was harsh and evil in his dealings; he was a #25:3 I.e. a descendant of Caleb.Calebite). 4David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. 5So David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel and go to Nabal, and #25:5 Lit ask him of his peace (welfare). It was customary to greet someone by asking him of his welfare (Heb shalom), like “How are you?” However, David specifies the greeting in v 6 without the actual question, so the question here (v 5) is just a way of saying, “greet him.”greet him in my name; 6and this is what you shall say, ‘#25:6 Lit To life!Have a long life! Peace be to you, and peace to your house, and peace to all that you have. 7Now I have heard that you have shearers. Now your shepherds have been with us and we have not harmed them, nor were they missing anything all the time they were in Carmel. 8Ask your young men and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your sight [and be well-treated], for we have come on a #25:8 The time of shearing was a time of celebration and generosity.good (festive) day. #25:8 David and his men had given protection to Nabal’s flocks and shepherds, and it was appropriate for David to ask for compensation for this service.Please, give whatever you find at hand to your servants and to your son David.’ ”
9When David’s young men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all these words in the name of David; then they waited. 10But Nabal answered David’s servants and said, “Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? #25:10 Nabal was insulting David and his men by implying that as far as he was concerned, they could be nothing but runaway slaves.There are many servants today, each of whom is breaking away from his master. 11So should I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men when I do not know where they are from?” 12So David’s young men made their way back and returned; and they came and told him everything that was said [to them by Nabal]. 13David said to his men, “Each man put on your sword.” So each man put on his sword. David also put on his sword, and about four hundred men went up behind David while two hundred stayed back with the provisions and supplies.
14But one of Nabal’s young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “Listen, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to bless (greet) our master, and he shouted at them [in contempt]. 15But David’s men were very good to us, and we were not harmed or treated badly, nor did we miss anything as long as we were with them, when we were in the fields. 16They were a wall [of protection] to us both night and day, all the time that we were with them tending the sheep. 17Now then, know this and consider what you should do, for evil is [already] planned against our master and against all his household; but he is such a #25:17 Lit son of Belial.worthless and wicked man that one cannot speak [reasonably] to him.”
Abigail Intercedes
18Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread, two jugs of wine, five sheep already prepared [for roasting], five measures of roasted grain, a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and loaded them on donkeys. 19She said to her young men (servants), “Go on ahead of me; behold, I am coming after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. 20It happened that as she was riding on her donkey and coming down by [way of] the hidden part of the mountain, that suddenly David and his men were coming down toward her, and she met them. 21Now David had said, “Surely in vain I have protected and guarded all that this man has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missing of all that belonged to him; and he has repaid me evil for good. 22May God do so to the enemies of David, and more also, if by morning I leave [alive] even one #25:22 Lit who urinates against a wall.male of any who belong to him.”
23When Abigail saw David, she hurried and dismounted from the donkey, and #25:23 Lit fell.kneeled face downward before David and bowed down to the ground [in respect]. 24#25:24 Lit Falling.Kneeling at his feet she said, “My lord, let the blame and guilt be on me alone. And please let your maidservant speak #25:24 Lit in your ears.to you, and listen to the words of your maidservant. 25Please do not let my lord #25:25 Lit set his heart to.pay attention to this worthless man, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal (fool) is his #25:25 Nabal means “worthless, good for nothing.”name and foolishness (stupidity) is with him; but I your maidservant did not see my lord’s young men whom you sent.
26So now, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, since the Lord has prevented you from shedding blood, and from avenging yourself by your own hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord, be as [self-destructive as] Nabal. 27Now this gift, which your maidservant has brought my lord, let it be given to the young men who #25:27 Lit walk at the feet of.accompany and follow my lord. 28Please forgive the transgression of your maidservant; for the Lord will certainly make my lord a secure and enduring house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the Lord, and evil will not be found in you all your days. 29Should anyone rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, then the life of my lord will be bound in the [precious] bundle of the living with the Lord your God; but the lives of your enemies—those He will hurl out as from the center of a sling. 30And it will happen when the Lord does for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken (promised) concerning you, and appoints you ruler over Israel, 31that this [incident] will not cause grief or [bring] a troubled conscience to my lord, both by having shed blood without cause and by my lord having avenged himself. When the Lord deals well with my lord, then remember [with favor] your maidservant.”
32David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet me this day. 33And blessed be your discretion and discernment, and blessed be you, who has kept me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself by my own hand. 34Nevertheless, as the Lord the God of Israel lives, who has prevented me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, most certainly by the morning light there would not have been left to Nabal so much as one male.” 35So David #25:35 Lit took from her hand.accepted what she had brought to him and said to her, “Go up to your house in peace. See, I have listened to you and have #25:35 Lit lifted up your face, an idiom used in various positive ways, probably based on the idea of a superior person permitting someone to look him in the eye.granted your request.”
36Then Abigail came to Nabal, and he was holding a feast in his house [for the shearers], like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s #25:36 Lit heart.mood was joyous because he was very drunk; so she told him nothing at all until the morning light. 37But in the morning, when #25:37 Lit the wine had gone out of.Nabal was sober, and his wife told him these things, his #25:37 Nabal probably suffered a stroke.heart died within him and he became [paralyzed and helpless] like a stone. 38About ten days later, the Lord struck Nabal and he died.
David Marries Abigail
39When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach [suffered] at the hand of Nabal and has kept His servant from [retaliating with] evil. For the Lord has returned the wickedness of Nabal on his own head.” Then David sent word to Abigail, proposing to take her as his wife. 40When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, “David sent us to you to take you [to him] to be his wife.” 41And she stood and bowed with her face to the ground and said, “Behold, your maidservant is [ready to be] a maid to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.” 42Then Abigail quickly got up, and rode on a donkey, with five of her maidens who #25:42 Lit walked at her feet.attended her; and she followed the messengers of David and became his wife.
43David had also taken Ahinoam of Jezreel, and they both became his wives.
44But Saul had given Michal his [younger] daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was from Gallim.
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1 Samuel 25: AMP
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1 Samuel 25
25
Death of Samuel. 1Samuel died, and all Israel gathered to mourn him; they buried him at his home in Ramah.#1 Sm 28:3; Sir 46:13–20. Then David went down to the wilderness of Paran.
Nabal and Abigail. 2There was a man of Maon who had property in Carmel; he was very wealthy, owning three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. At the time, he was present for the shearing of his flock in Carmel.#1 Sm 23:24; Jos 15:55. 3The man’s name was Nabal and his wife was Abigail. The woman was intelligent and attractive, but Nabal, a Calebite, was harsh and bad-mannered.#1 Sm 27:3; Dt 1:35–36; Jos 14:6–15; 1 Chr 2:42, 45. 4While in the wilderness, David heard that Nabal was shearing his flock, 5so he sent ten young men, instructing them: “Go up to Carmel. Pay Nabal a visit and greet him in my name. 6Say to him, ‘Peace be with you, my brother, and with your family, and with all who belong to you. 7I have just heard that shearers are with you. Now, when your shepherds were with us, we did them no injury, neither did they miss anything while they were in Carmel. 8Ask your servants and they will tell you. Look kindly on these young men, since we come at a festival time. Please give your servants and your son David#Your son David: this kinship language may reflect a political or social relationship between Nabal and David. Nabal, however, does not acknowledge it. whatever you can.’”
9When David’s young men arrived, they delivered the entire message to Nabal in David’s name, and then waited. 10But Nabal answered the servants of David: “Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? Nowadays there are many servants who run away from their masters. 11Must I take my bread, my wine, my meat that I have slaughtered for my own shearers, and give them to men who come from who knows where?” 12So David’s young men retraced their steps and on their return reported to him all that had been said. 13Thereupon David said to his men, “Let everyone strap on his sword.” And everyone did so, and David put on his own sword. About four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred remained with the baggage.
14Abigail, Nabal’s wife, was informed of this by one of the servants, who said: “From the wilderness David sent messengers to greet our master, but he screamed at them. 15Yet these men were very good to us. We were not harmed, neither did we miss anything all the while we were living among them during our stay in the open country. 16Day and night they were a wall of protection for us, the whole time we were pasturing the sheep near them. 17Now, see what you can do, for you must realize that otherwise disaster is in store for our master and for his whole house. He is such a scoundrel that no one can talk to him.” 18Abigail quickly got together two hundred loaves, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of pressed raisins, and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on donkeys. 19She then said to her servants, “Go on ahead; I will follow you.” But to her husband Nabal she said nothing.
20Hidden by the mountain, she came down riding on a donkey, as David and his men were coming down from the opposite direction. When she met them, 21David had just been saying: “Indeed, it was in vain that I guarded all this man’s possessions in the wilderness, so that nothing of his was missing. He has repaid good with evil. 22May God do thus to David, and more, if by morning I leave a single male alive among all those who belong to him.”#1 Kgs 16:11; 21:21; 2 Kgs 9:8. 23As soon as Abigail saw David, she dismounted quickly from the donkey and, falling down, bowed low to the ground before David in homage.
24As she fell at his feet she said: “My lord, let the blame be mine. Please let your maidservant speak to you; listen to the words of your maidservant.#2 Sm 14:9. 25My lord, do not pay any attention to that scoundrel Nabal, for he is just like his name. His name means fool,#Hebrew nabal means “fool” (cf. Is 32:5–7). Abigail, on the other hand, acts wisely to save herself and her household by offering prudent counsel to the future king of Israel. and he acts the fool. I, your maidservant, did not see the young men whom my lord sent. 26Now, therefore, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as you live, the Lord has kept you from shedding blood and from avenging yourself by your own hand. May your enemies and those who seek to harm my lord become as Nabal!#Abigail, encouraging David to trust in God’s promise, anticipates that some misfortune will shortly overtake Nabal, as in fact it does (vv. 37–38). #Dt 20:4; Jgs 7:2. 27Accept this gift, then, which your maidservant has brought for my lord, and let it be given to the young men who follow my lord. 28Please forgive the offense of your maidservant, for the Lord shall certainly establish a lasting house for my lord, because my lord fights the battles of the Lord. Let no evil be found in you your whole life long.#1 Kgs 11:38. 29If any adversary pursues you to seek your life, may the life of my lord be bound in the bundle of the living#The bundle of the living: the figure is perhaps taken from the practice of tying up valuables in a kerchief or bag for safekeeping. Abigail desires that David enjoy permanent peace and security, but that his enemies be subject to constant agitation and humiliation like a stone whirled about, cast out of the sling, and thereafter disregarded. in the care of the Lord your God; may God hurl out the lives of your enemies as from the hollow of a sling.#Ps 69:28. 30And when the Lord fulfills for my lord the promise of success he has made concerning you, and appoints you as ruler over Israel,#1 Sm 13:14; 2 Sm 3:10. 31you shall not have any regrets or burdens on your conscience, my lord, for having shed innocent blood or for having rescued yourself. When the Lord bestows good on my lord, remember your maidservant.” 32David said to Abigail: “Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet me today. 33Blessed is your good judgment and blessed are you yourself. Today you have prevented me from shedding blood and rescuing myself with my own hand. 34Otherwise, as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has kept me from harming you, if you had not come so promptly to meet me, by dawn Nabal would not have had so much as one male left alive.” 35David then took from her what she had brought him and said to her: “Go to your home in peace! See, I have listened to your appeal and have granted your request.”
Nabal’s Death. 36When Abigail came to Nabal, he was hosting a banquet in his house like that of a king, and Nabal was in a festive mood and very drunk. So she said not a word to him until daybreak the next morning. 37But then, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him what had happened. At this his heart died within him, and he became like a stone. 38About ten days later the Lord struck Nabal and he died. 39Hearing that Nabal was dead, David said: “Blessed be the Lord, who has defended my cause against the insult from Nabal, and who restrained his servant from doing evil, but has repaid Nabal for his evil deeds.”
David Marries Abigail and Ahinoam. David then sent a proposal of marriage to Abigail.#1 Kgs 2:44. 40When David’s servants came to Abigail in Carmel, they said to her, “David has sent us to make his proposal of marriage to you.” 41Rising and bowing to the ground, she answered, “Let your maidservant be the slave who washes the feet of my lord’s servants.” 42She got up immediately, mounted a donkey, and followed David’s messengers, with her five maids attending her. She became his wife. 43#1 Sm 27:3. David also married Ahinoam of Jezreel. Thus both of them were his wives. 44But Saul gave David’s wife Michal, Saul’s own daughter, to Palti, son of Laish, who was from Gallim.#1 Sm 18:20; 27:3; 30:5; 2 Sm 2:2, 13–16; 1 Chr 3:1.
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