1 Samuel 25
25
David and Abigail
1And Samuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah.
And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran. 2And there was a man in Ma´on, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Ab´igail; and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb. 4And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep. 5And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name: 6and thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast. 7And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds which were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there aught missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel. 8Ask thy young men, and they will show thee. Wherefore let the young men find favor in thine eyes; for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants, and to thy son David.
9And when David's young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased. 10And Nabal answered David's servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants nowadays that break away every man from his master. 11Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be? 12So David's young men turned their way, and went again, and came and told him all those sayings. 13And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the stuff.
14But one of the young men told Ab´igail, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed on them. 15But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields. 16They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. 17Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Be´li-al, that a man cannot speak to him.
18Then Ab´igail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses. 19And she said unto her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she told not her husband Nabal. 20And it was so, as she rode on the ass, that she came down by the covert of the hill, and, behold, David and his men came down against her; and she met them. 21Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he hath requited me evil for good. 22So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.
23And when Ab´igail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, 24and fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid. 25Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Be´li-al, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal#25.25 That is, Fool. is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send. 26Now therefore, my lord, as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the Lord hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal. 27And now this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought unto my lord, let it even be given unto the young men that follow my lord. 28I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the Lord, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days. 29Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling. 30And it shall come to pass, when the Lord shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel; 31that this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offense of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged himself: but when the Lord shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thine handmaid.
32And David said to Ab´igail, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me: 33and blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand. 34For in very deed, as the Lord God of Israel liveth, which hath kept me back from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall. 35So David received of her hand that which she had brought him, and said unto her, Go up in peace to thine house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person.
36And Ab´igail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light. 37But it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. 38And it came to pass about ten days after, that the Lord smote Nabal, that he died.
39And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the Lord, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil: for the Lord hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Ab´igail, to take her to him to wife. 40And when the servants of David were come to Ab´igail to Carmel, they spake unto her, saying, David sent us unto thee, to take thee to him to wife. 41And she arose, and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord. 42And Ab´igail hasted, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that went after her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife.
43David also took Ahin´o-am of Jezreel; and they were also both of them his wives. 44But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Phalti the son of La´ish, which was of Gallim.
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1 Samuel 25: KJVAAE
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
1 Samuel 25
25
Samuel Dies
1Samuel died, and people from all over Israel gathered to mourn for him when he was buried at his home#25.1 at his home: Hebrew “in his house.” Family tombs were sometimes underneath the house or in the courtyard of the home. in Ramah. Meanwhile, David moved his camp to Paran Desert.#25.1 Paran Desert: Hebrew; some manuscripts of one ancient translation “Maon Desert.”
Abigail Keeps David from Killing Innocent People
2-3Nabal was a very rich man who lived in Maon. He owned 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats, which he kept at Carmel.#25.2,3 Carmel: About one and a half kilometers north of Maon in the Southern Desert of Judah. His wife Abigail was sensible and beautiful, but he was from the Caleb clan#25.2,3 from the Caleb clan: Or “behaved like a dog.” and was rough and mean.
4One day, Nabal was in Carmel where his servants were cutting the wool from his sheep. David was in the desert when he heard about it. 5-6So he sent ten men to Carmel with this message for Nabal:
I hope that you and your family are healthy and that all is going well for you. 7I've heard that you are cutting the wool from your sheep.
When your shepherds were with us in Carmel, we didn't harm them, and nothing was ever stolen from them. 8Ask your shepherds, and they'll tell you the same thing.
My servants are your servants, and you are like a father to me. This is a day for celebrating,#25.8 celebrating: Cutting the wool from the sheep was a time for celebrating as well as for working. so please be kind and share some of your food with us.
9David's men went to Nabal and gave him David's message, then they waited for Nabal's answer.
10This is what he said:
Who does this David think he is? That son of Jesse is just one more slave on the run from his master, and there are too many of them these days. 11What makes you think I would take my bread, my water, and the meat that I've had cooked for my own servants#25.11 servants: Hebrew “shearers,” the servants who cut the wool from the sheep. and give it to you? Besides, I'm not sure that David sent you!#25.11 I'm not sure … sent you: Or “I don't know where you come from.”
12The men returned to their camp and told David everything Nabal had said.
13“Everybody get your swords!” David ordered.
They all strapped on their swords. Two hundred men stayed behind to guard the camp, but the other 400 followed David.
14-16Meanwhile, one of Nabal's servants told Abigail:
David's men were often nearby while we were taking care of the sheep in the fields. They were very good to us, they never hurt us, and nothing was ever stolen from us while they were nearby. With them around day or night, we were as safe as we would have been inside a walled city.
David sent some messengers from the desert to wish our master well, but he shouted insults at them. 17He's a bully who won't listen to anyone.
Isn't there something you can do? Please think of something! Or else our master and his family and everyone who works for him are all doomed.
18Abigail quickly got together 200 loaves of bread, two large clay jars of wine, the meat from five sheep, a large sack of roasted grain, 100 handfuls of raisins, and 200 handfuls of dried figs. She loaded all the food on donkeys 19and told her servants, “Take this on ahead, and I'll catch up with you.” She didn't tell her husband Nabal what she was doing.
20Abigail was riding her donkey on the path that led around the hillside, when suddenly she met David and his men heading straight at her.
21David had just been saying, “I surely wasted my time guarding Nabal's things in the desert and keeping them from being stolen! I was good to him, and now he pays me back with insults. 22I swear that by morning, there won't be a man or boy left from his family or his servants' families. I pray that God will punish me#25.22 me: One ancient translation; Hebrew “my enemies.” if I don't do it!”
23Abigail quickly got off her donkey and bowed down in front of David. 24Then she said:
Sir, please let me explain! 25Don't pay any attention to that good-for-nothing Nabal. His name means “fool,” and it really fits him!
I didn't see the men you sent, 26-27but please take this gift of food that I've brought and share it with your followers. The Lord has kept you from taking revenge and from killing innocent people. But I hope your enemies and anyone else who wants to harm you will end up like Nabal. I swear this by the living Lord and by your life.
28Please forgive me if I say a little more. The Lord will always protect you and your family, because you fight for him. I pray that you won't ever do anything evil as long as you live. 29The Lord your God will keep you safe when your enemies try to kill you. But he will snatch away their lives quicker than you can throw a rock from a sling.
30The Lord has promised to do many good things for you, even to make you the ruler of Israel. The Lord will keep his promises to you, 31and now your conscience will be clear, because you won't be guilty of taking revenge and killing innocent people.
When the Lord does all those good things for you, please remember me.
32David told her:
I praise the Lord God of Israel! He must have sent you to meet me today. 33And you should also be praised. Your good sense kept me from taking revenge and killing innocent people. 34If you hadn't come to meet me so quickly, every man and boy in Nabal's family and in his servants' families would have been killed by morning. I swear by the living Lord God of Israel who protected you that this is the truth.
35David accepted the food Abigail had brought. “Don't worry,” he said. “You can go home now. I'll do what you asked.”
36Abigail went back home and found Nabal throwing a party fit for a king. He was very drunk and feeling good, so she didn't tell him anything that night. 37But when he sobered up the next morning, Abigail told him everything that had happened. Nabal had a heart attack, and he lay in bed as still as a stone. 38Ten days later, the Lord took his life.
39-40David heard that Nabal had died. “I praise the Lord!” David said. “He has judged Nabal guilty for insulting me. The Lord kept me from doing anything wrong, and he made sure that Nabal hurt only himself with his own evil.”
David and Abigail Are Married
Abigail was still at Carmel. So David sent messengers to ask her if she would marry him.
41She bowed down and said, “I would willingly be David's slave and wash his servants' feet.”
42Abigail quickly got ready and went back with David's messengers. She rode on her donkey, while five of her servant women walked alongside. She and David were married as soon as she arrived.
43David had earlier married Ahinoam from the town of Jezreel, so both she and Abigail were now David's wives.#25.43 wives: Having more than one wife was allowed in those times. 44#2 S 3.14-16. Meanwhile, Saul had arranged for Michal#25.44 Michal: David's first wife (see 18.20—19.17). to marry Palti the son of Laish, who came from the town of Gallim.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.