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
1Now Samuel died; and all Israel assembled and mourned for him, and they buried him in his house at Ramah.
Then David rose and went down to the wilderness of Paran. 2And there was a man in Maon, whose business was in Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. 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 of good understanding and beautiful, but the man was churlish and ill-behaved; he was a 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 greet him in my name. 6And thus you shall salute him: ‘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, and 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 on a feast day. Pray, 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, “Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants nowadays who are breaking away from their masters. 11Shall I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to 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 gird on his sword!” And every man of them girded on his sword; David also girded on his sword; and about four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred remained with the baggage.
14But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, “Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed at them. 15Yet the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, and we did not miss anything when we were in the fields, as long as we went with them; 16they were 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; for evil is determined against our master and against all his house, and he is so ill-natured that one cannot speak to him.”
18Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two skins of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched grain, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, 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 rode on the ass, 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, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him; and he has returned me evil for good. 22God do so to David#25.22 Gk Compare Syr: Heb the enemies of 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 made haste, and alighted from the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed to the ground. 24She fell at his feet and said, “Upon me alone, my lord, be the guilt; pray let your handmaid speak in your ears, and hear the words of your handmaid. 25Let not my lord regard this ill-natured fellow, 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 your handmaid did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent. 26Now then, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, seeing the Lord has restrained you from bloodguilt, and from taking vengeance with your own hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be as Nabal. 27And now let this present which your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. 28Pray forgive the trespass of your handmaid; for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is 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 he 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 over Israel, 31my lord shall have no cause of grief, or pangs of conscience, for having shed blood without cause or for my lord taking vengeance himself. And when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your handmaid.”
32And David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! 33Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from avenging myself with my own hand! 34For as surely as the Lord the God of Israel lives, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had made haste 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, “Go up in peace to your house; see, I have hearkened to your voice, and I have granted your petition.”
36And Abigail came to Nabal; and lo, he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk; so she told him nothing at all until the morning light. 37And in 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 the Lord smote Nabal; and he died.
39When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the Lord who has avenged the insult I received at the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from evil; the Lord has returned the evil-doing of Nabal upon his own head.” Then David sent and wooed Abigail, to make her his wife. 40And when 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 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 made haste and rose and mounted on an ass, and her five maidens attended her; she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife.
43David also took Ahino-am of Jezreel; and 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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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America