1 Samuel 25
25
The Death of Samuel
1 # ch. 28:3 Now Samuel died. And all Israel assembled #Gen. 50:10; [Num. 20:29; Deut. 34:8] and mourned for him, and they buried him #[1 Kgs. 2:34] in his house at #ch. 1:19 Ramah.
David and Abigail
Then David rose and went down to #Num. 10:12the wilderness of Paran. 2And there was a man in #ch. 23:24 Maon whose business was in #Josh. 15:55 Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. #[Gen. 38:13; 2 Sam. 13:23]He was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was discerning and beautiful, but the man was harsh and badly behaved; #[ch. 30:14]he was a Calebite. 4David heard in the wilderness that Nabal #[See ver. 2 above]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 greet him in my name. 6And thus you shall greet him: #[1 Chr. 12:18; Matt. 10:13; Luke 10:5]‘Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. 7I hear that you have shearers. Now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, #ver. 15, 21and they missed nothing 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 eyes, for we come #Esth. 8:17; 9:19, 22on a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.’”
9When David’s young men came, they said all this to Nabal in the name of David, and then they waited. 10And Nabal answered David’s servants, #[Judg. 9:28] “Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? #[Judg. 12:4]There are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters. 11Shall I take #[Judg. 8:6] my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it to #[ch. 22:2]men who come from I do not know where?” 12So David’s young men turned away and came back and told him all this. 13And David said to his men, “Every man strap on his sword!” And every man of them strapped on his sword. David also strapped on his sword. And #ch. 23:13; 27:2; [ch. 22:2] about four hundred men went up after David, #ch. 23:13; 27:2; [ch. 22:2] while two hundred #ch. 30:24remained with the baggage.
14But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master, and he railed at them. 15Yet the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, #ver. 7, 21and we did not miss anything when we were in the fields, as long as we went with them. 16They were #[Job 1:10]a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. 17Now therefore know this and consider what you should do, #[ch. 20:7] for harm is determined against our master and against all his house, and he is such #Deut. 13:13a worthless man that one cannot speak to him.”
18Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves and two skins of wine and five sheep already prepared and five seahs#25:18 A seah was about 7 quarts or 7.3 liters of parched grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys. 19And she said to her young men, “Go on before me; behold, I come after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. 20And as she rode on the donkey and came down under cover of the mountain, behold, David and his men came down toward her, and she met them. 21Now David had said, “Surely in vain have I guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, #ver. 7, 15 so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him, and he has #Ps. 109:5; [Prov. 17:13]returned me evil for good. 22#See Ruth 1:17God do so to the enemies of David#25:22 Septuagint to David and more also, if by morning I leave so much as one male of all who belong to him.”
23When Abigail saw David, she hurried #Josh. 15:18; Judg. 1:14; [Gen. 24:64] and got down from the donkey #ver. 41; Ruth 2:10and fell before David on her face and bowed to the ground. 24She fell at his feet and said, #[2 Sam. 14:9]“On me alone, my lord, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant. 25Let not my lord regard #[See ver. 17 above]this worthless fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal#25:25 Nabal means fool is his name, and folly is with him. But I your servant did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent. 26Now then, my lord, #See ch. 20:3 as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, because #[Gen. 20:6] the Lord has restrained you from bloodguilt and from #[Rom. 12:19; Heb. 10:30] saving with your own hand, now then #[2 Sam. 18:32]let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be as Nabal. 27And now let this #ch. 30:26; Gen. 33:11; [2 Kgs. 5:15]present that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. 28Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For the Lord will certainly make my lord #1 Kgs. 11:38; [ch. 2:35; 2 Sam. 7:11, 27; 1 Kgs. 9:5; 1 Chr. 17:10, 25] a sure house, because my lord #ch. 18:17is fighting the battles of the Lord, and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live. 29If men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the Lord your God. And the lives of your enemies #Jer. 10:18he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling. 30And when the Lord has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you and has appointed you prince#25:30 Or leader over Israel, 31my lord shall have no cause of grief or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for my lord #[See ver. 26 above]working salvation himself. And when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.”
32And David said to Abigail, #Gen. 24:27; Ps. 41:13; 72:18; Luke 1:68“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! 33Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, #[See ver. 26 above] who have kept me this day from bloodguilt #[See ver. 26 above]and from working salvation with my own hand! 34For as surely #See Ruth 3:13 as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, #[See ver. 26 above]who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there had not been left to Nabal so much as one male.” 35Then David received from her hand what she had brought him. And he said to her, #See ch. 1:17“Go up in peace to your house. See, I have obeyed your voice, and I have granted your petition.”
36And Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, #[2 Sam. 13:23] he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart #[2 Sam. 13:28; 1 Kgs. 21:7] was merry within him, for he was very drunk. So she told him nothing #ch. 22:15at all until the morning light. 37In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. 38And about ten days later #ch. 26:10the Lord struck Nabal, and he died.
39When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, #[See ver. 32 above] “Blessed be the Lord who has #See ch. 24:15 avenged the insult I received at the hand of Nabal, #ver. 26, 33, 34 and has kept back his servant from wrongdoing. #1 Kgs. 2:44; [Ps. 7:16; Ezek. 17:19] The Lord has returned the evil of Nabal on his own head.” Then David sent and #[Song 8:8]spoke to Abigail, to take her as his wife. 40When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, “David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife.” 41And she rose #[Ruth 2:10]and bowed with her face to the ground and said, “Behold, your handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.” 42And Abigail hurried and rose and mounted a donkey, and her five young women attended her. She followed the messengers of David and became his wife.
43David also took Ahinoam of #Josh. 15:56 Jezreel, #ch. 27:3; 30:5; 2 Sam. 2:2; 3:2, 3; 1 Chr. 3:1and both of them became his wives. 44Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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1 Samuel 25
25
Death of Samuel
1#Nu 20:29; Dt 34:8Now Samuel died. And all the children of Israel gathered together and mourned him, and they buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David arose and went down to the Wilderness of Paran.
David, Nabal, and Abigail
2#Jos 15:55; 1Sa 23:24Now there was a man in Maon whose work was in Carmel. He was a rich man with three thousand sheep and a thousand goats, and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3The man’s name was Nabal and the name of his wife Abigail. She was a woman of good understanding and beautiful, but the man was harsh and evil in his actions and he was a Calebite.
4David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. 5So David sent out ten young men, and David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal and greet him in my name. 6#1Ch 12:18; Lk 10:5And thus you will you say to him who lives in prosperity, ‘Peace be to you and peace to your house, and to all that you have, peace.
7#1Sa 25:21“ ‘I have heard that you have shearers. Now your shepherds were with us. We did not harm them nor did they miss anything all the days they were in Carmel. 8#Est 9:19; Ne 8:10–12Ask your young men and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we have come on a good day. 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.
10#Jdg 9:28And Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, “Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? Today many servants are breaking away each one from his master. 11#Jdg 8:6Should I then take my bread, and my water, and my meat, that which I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men whose origins are unknown?”
12So David’s young men turned themselves around and went back. And they came and reported to him all these words. 13#1Sa 23:13David said to his men, “Each man strap on his sword.” And each man strapped on his sword. David also put on his sword, and four hundred men went up after David. But two hundred stayed with the baggage.
14Now one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “Listen, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to bless our master; and he railed against them. 15#1Sa 25:7; 25:21But the men were very good to us, and we were not harmed, nor did we miss anything, all the days we went about with them in the field. 16#Job 1:10; Ex 14:22They were a wall to us both by night and day, all the days we were with them keeping the flocks. 17#1Sa 20:7; Dt 13:13Now therefore know and consider what you will do, for evil is determined against our master and against all his household. He is such a worthless man that one cannot speak to him.”
18#2Sa 16:1Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves, two bottles of wine, five prepared sheep, five measures#Likely about 60 pounds, or 27 kilograms. of roasted grain, a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and she loaded them on donkeys. 19#Ge 32:20; 32:16And she said to her servants, “Go on before me. See, I will be coming after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.
20And as she was riding on the donkey and going down into the cover of the mountain, David and his men were coming down to meet her and she met them. 21#Pr 17:13Now David had said, “Surely in vain have I guarded all that this man has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him. And he has returned me evil for good. 22#1Sa 3:17; 20:13So may God do unto the enemies of David and more also, if by morning I leave even one male of all who belong to him.”
23#1Sa 20:41; Jos 15:18When Abigail saw David, she hurriedly got down from the donkey and fell before David upon her face. And she bowed herself to the ground. 24#2Sa 14:9So she fell at his feet and said, “Against me alone, my lord, is the guilt. Please let your handmaid speak in your ears, and hear the words of your handmaid. 25#1Sa 25:17Please do not let my lord set his heart against this worthless man, against Nabal. For as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name and folly is with him. But I, your handmaid, did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent. 26#2Sa 18:32; Ge 20:6Now my lord, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, because the Lord has restrained you from coming in bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now let your enemies, and those seeking to do evil to my lord, be as Nabal. 27#Ge 33:11; 1Sa 30:26Now let this blessing which your maidservant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord.
28#1Sa 18:17; 2Sa 7:11“Please forgive the transgression of your handmaid, for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord fights the battles of the Lord, and evil will not be found in you all your days. 29#Jer 10:18Even if a man rises to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord will be bound in the bundle of the living with the Lord your God. But the lives of your enemies He will sling out, as from the hollow of a sling. 30#1Sa 13:14It will be, when the Lord does for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you and has appointed you ruler over Israel, 31#Ge 40:14that this will be no grief to you, nor an offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. But when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your handmaid.”
32#Lk 1:68; Ge 24:27David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord, God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me. 33#1Sa 25:26And blessed is your discretion, and blessed are you who have kept me this day from coming to shed blood and from avenging myself with my own hand. 34For as the Lord, the God of Israel lives, who has restrained me from injuring you, if you had not hurried to come and meet me, surely there would not have been left even one male to Nabal by the morning light.”
35#Ge 19:21; 1Sa 20:42So David received from her hand what she had brought him and said to her, “Go up in peace to your house. See, I have obeyed your voice, and have granted your request.”
36#1Sa 25:19; 2Sa 13:23Abigail came to Nabal, and he was feasting in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk. Therefore she told him nothing until the morning light. 37But in the morning when the wine was gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things. And his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. 38#1Sa 26:10And about ten days after that, the Lord struck Nabal and he died.
39#1Sa 25:26; 25:34When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed is the Lord, who has defended the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept His servant from evil. For the Lord has returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head.”
And David sent and spoke with Abigail, to take her as his wife. 40When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, “David has sent us to you to take you as his wife.”
41#Ru 2:10She arose, and bowed herself on her face to the ground, and said, “Here is your handmaid, a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.” 42#Ge 24:61–67Abigail hurriedly arose and rode on a donkey with her five young women who attended her. And she went after the messengers of David and became his wife. 43#Jos 15:56; 1Sa 27:3David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel. So both of them were his wives. 44#1Sa 18:27; 2Sa 3:14But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Paltiel the son of Laish who was from Gallim.
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