1 Samuel 25
25
1And 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.
2And [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.
3And 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.
4And David heareth in the wilderness that Nabal is shearing his flock,
5and 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,
6and said thus: To life! and thou, peace; and thy house, peace; and all that thou hast — peace!
7and, 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.
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.’
9And the young men of David come in, and speak unto Nabal according to all these words, in the name of David — and rest.
10And 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;
11and 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]!’
12And the young men of David turn on their way, and turn back, and come in, and declare to him according to all these words.
13And 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.
14And 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;
15and 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;
16a wall they have been unto us both by night and by day, all the days of our being with them, feeding the flock.
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.’
18And 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.
19And 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];
20and 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.
21And 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;
22thus 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.’
23And 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,
24and 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.
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;
26and 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.
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.
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.
29And 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.
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,
31that 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.’
32And David saith to Abigail, ‘Blessed [is] Jehovah, God of Israel, who hath sent thee this day to meet me,
33and 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.
34And 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.’
35And 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.’
36And 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.
37And 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.
38And it cometh to pass, [in] about ten days, that Jehovah smiteth Nabal, and he dieth,
39and 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.
40And 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.’
41And 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.’
42And 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.
43And Ahinoam hath David taken from Jezreel, and they are — even both of them — to him for wives;
44and Saul gave Michal his daughter, wife to David, to Phalti son of Laish, who [is] of Gallim.
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1 Samuel 25: YLT98
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
1 Samuel 25
25
1And Samuel died; and all Israel were gathered together, and lamented him; and they buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose and went down to the wilderness of Paran.
2And there was a man at Maon, whose business was at Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats; and he was shearing his sheep at Carmel. 3And the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail; and the woman was of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance; but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was a Calebite. 4And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. 5Then 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. 6And thus shall ye say: Long life to thee! and peace be to thee, and peace be to thy house, and peace be to all that thou hast! 7And now I have heard that thou hast shearers; now thy shepherds who were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there aught missed by them, all the while they were in Carmel. 8Ask thy young men, and they will tell thee. Therefore let the young men find favour in thine eyes; for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee, what thy hand may find to thy servants, and to thy son David. 9And David's young men came, and spoke 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 are many servants now-a-days that break away every man from his master. 11And shall I take my bread, and my water, and my flesh which I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men whom I know not whence they are?
12And David's young men turned their way, and went back, and came and reported to him according to all those words. 13And David said to 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 baggage. 14And one of Nabal's young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to bless our master; and he has insulted them. 15And the men were very good to us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we anything, as long as we companied with them, when we were in the fields. 16They were a wall to us both by night and day, all the while we were with them feeding the sheep. 17And now know and consider what thou wilt do, for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household; and he is such a son of Belial, that one cannot speak to him.
18And Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two skin-bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and a hundred raisin-cakes, and two hundred fig-cakes, and laid them on asses. 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 was riding on the ass, and coming down by the covert of the hill, behold, David and his men came down opposite to her; and she met them. 21Now David had said, Surely, in vain have I kept all that this man had in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that was his; and he has requited me evil for good. 22So and more also do God#GodHebrew: Elohim to the enemies of David, if I leave of all that is his by the morning light any male. 23And when Abigail 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 the iniquity be; but let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine ears, and hear the words of thy handmaid. 25Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, Nabal; for as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and folly is with him; and I thy handmaid did not see the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send. 26And now, my lord, as Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing Jehovah has restrained thee from coming with bloodshed, 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 thy bondmaid has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men that follow my lord. 28I pray thee, forgive the transgression of thy handmaid: for Jehovah will certainly make my lord a lasting house; because my lord fights the battles of Jehovah, and evil has not been found in thee all thy days. 29And if a man is risen up to pursue thee and to seek thy life, the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with Jehovah thy God#GodHebrew: Elohim and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out from the hollow of the sling. 30And it shall come to pass, when Jehovah shall do to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning thee, and shall appoint thee ruler over Israel, 31that this shall be no stumbling-block to thee, nor offence of heart for my lord, either that thou hast shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. And when Jehovah shall deal well with my lord, then remember thy handmaid.
32And David said to Abigail, Blessed be Jehovah, the God#GodHebrew: Elohim of Israel, who sent thee this day to meet me. 33And blessed be thy discernment, and blessed be thou, who hast kept me this day from coming with bloodshed, and from avenging myself with mine own hand. 34But indeed, as Jehovah the God#GodHebrew: Elohim of Israel liveth, who has restrained me from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, there had not been left to Nabal by the morning light any male. 35So David received of her hand what she had brought him, and said to her, Go up in peace to thy house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person.
36And Abigail 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 drunken to excess; so she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light. 37And it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, that his wife told him these things; and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. 38And it came to pass in about ten days that Jehovah smote Nabal, and he died. 39And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be Jehovah, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from evil; but Jehovah has returned Nabal's evil upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her as his wife. 40And the servants of David came to Abigail to Carmel, and spoke to her, saying, David has sent us to thee, to take thee as his wife. 41And she arose and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let thy handmaid be a bondwoman to wash the feet of the servants of my lord. 42And Abigail hasted, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that followed her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife. 43David had also taken Ahinoam of Jizreel; and they became, even both of them, his wives. 44But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Phalti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.
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First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.