Kings I 25

1 And Samuel died, and all Israel assembled, and bewailed him, and they bury him in his house in Armathaim: and David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Maon.

Samuel died; and all Israel gathered themselves together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Maon.

2 And there was a man in Maon, and his flocks were in Carmel, and [he was] a very great man; and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand she-goats: and he happened to be shearing his flock in Carmel.

There was a man in Maon, 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.

3 And the man's name [was] Nabal, and his wife's name [was] Abigaia: and his wife [was] of good understanding and very beautiful in person: but the man [was] harsh, and evil in his doings, and the man [was] churlish.

Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail. And the woman was intelligent and beautiful, but the man was harsh and evil in his dealings; and the man was a Calebite.

4 And David heard in the wilderness, that Nabal the Carmelite was shearing his sheep.

David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep.

5 And David sent ten young men, and he said to the young men, Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and ask him in my name how he is.

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.

6 And thus shall ye say, May thou and thy house seasonably prosper, and all thine be in prosperity.

Thus you are to say to my brother, 'Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have.

7 And now, behold, I have heard that thy shepherds who were with is in the wilderness are shearing thy sheep, and we hindered them not, neither did we demand any thing from them all the time they were in Carmel.

And now, look, I have heard that you have shearers. Now your shepherds have been with us in the wilderness, and we did not hurt them, neither was there anything missing from them, all the while they were in Carmel.

8 Ask thy servants, and they will tell thee. Let then thy servants find grace in thine eyes, for we are come on a good day; give we pray thee, whatsoever thy hand may find, to thy son David.

Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let the young men find favor in your eyes; for we come in a good day. Please give whatever comes to your hand, to your servants, and to your son David.'"

9 So the servants come and speak these words to Nabal, according to all these words in the name of David.

And David's young men came and spoke to Nabal according to all those words, in the name of David. But he became arrogant.

10 And Nabal sprang up, and answered the servants of David, and said, Who [is] David? and who [is] the son of Jessae? Now-a-days there is abundance of servants who depart every one from his master.

Nabal answered David's servants, and said, "Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants who break away from their masters these days.

11 And shall I take my bread, and my wine, and my beasts that I have slain for my shearers, and shall I give them to men of whom I know not whence they are?

Shall I then take my bread, and my wine, and my meat that I have slaughtered for the shearers of my sheep, and give it to men who I do not know where they come from?"

12 So the servants of David turned back, and returned, and came and reported to David according to these words.

So David's young men turned on their way, and went back, and came and told him according to all these words.

13 And David said to his men, Gird on every man his sword. And they went up after David, about four hundred men: and two hundred abode with the stuff.

David said to his men, "Every man put on his sword." So every man put on his sword. David also put on his sword. About four hundred men followed David; and two hundred stayed by the baggage.

14 And one of the servants reported to Abigaia the wife of Nabal, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our lord; but he turned away from them.

But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, "Look, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master; and he railed at them.

15 And the men were very good to us; they did not hinder us, neither did they demand from us any thing all the days that we were with them.

But the men were very good to us, and we were not hurt, nor did we miss anything as long as we went with them, when we were in the fields.

16 And when we were in the field, they were as a wall round about us, both by night and by day, all the days that we were with them feeding the flock.

They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.

17 And now do thou consider, and see what thou wilt do; for mischief is determined against our lord and against his house; and he [is] a vile character, and one cannot speak to him.

Now therefore know and consider what you will do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his house; for he is such a worthless fellow that one can't speak to him."

18 And Abigaia hasted, and took two hundred loaves, and two vessels of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five ephahs of fine flour, and one homer of dried grapes, and two hundred cakes of figs, and put them upon asses.

Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread, two bottles of wine, five sheep ready dressed, five measures of parched grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys.

19 And she said to her servants, Go on before me, and behold I come after you: but she told not her husband.

She said to her young men, "Go on before me. Look, I come after you." But she did not tell her husband, Nabal.

20 And it came to pass when she had mounted her ass and was going down by the covert of the mountain, behold, David and his men came down to meet her, and she met them.

It was so, as she rode on her donkey, and came down by the covert of the mountain, that look, David and his men came down toward her; and she met them.

21 And David said, Perhaps I have kept all his possessions in the wilderness that he should wrong me, and we did not order the taking anything of all his goods; yet he has rewarded me evil for good.

Now David had said, "Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained to him. He has returned me evil for good.

22 So God do to David and more also, if I leave one male of all that belong to Nabal until the morning.

God do so to David, and more also, if I leave of all that belongs to him by the morning light so much as one who urinates on a wall."

23 And Abigaia saw David, and she hasted and alighted from her ass; and she felt before David on her face, and did obeisance to him, [bowing] to the ground

When Abigail saw David, she hurried, and got off from her donkey, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground.

24 [even] to his feet, and said, On me, my lord, be my wrong: let, I pray thee, thy servant speak in thine ears, and hear thou the words of thy servant.

She fell at his feet, and said, "On me, my lord, on me be the iniquity; and please let your handmaid speak in your ears. Hear the words of your handmaid.

25 Let not my lord, I pray thee, take to heart this pestilent man, for according to his name, so is he; Nabal [is] his name, and folly [is] with him: but I thy handmaid saw not the servants of my lord whom thou didst send.

Please do not let my lord regard this worthless fellow, even 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 And now, my lord, [as] the Lord lives, and thy soul lives, as the Lord has kept thee from coming against innocent blood, and from executing vengeance for thyself, now therefore let thine enemies, and those that seek evil against my lord, become as Nabal.

Now therefore, my lord, as YHWH lives, and as your soul lives, since YHWH has withheld you from blood guiltiness, and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now therefore let your enemies, and those who seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.

27 And now accept this token of goodwill, which thy servant has brought to my lord, and thou shalt give it to the servants that wait on my lord.

Now this present which your servant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord.

28 Remove, I pray thee, the trespass of thy servant; for the Lord will surely make for my lord a sure house, for the Lord fights the battles of my lord, and there shall no evil be ever found in thee.

Please forgive the trespass of your handmaid. For YHWH will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord fights the battles of YHWH; and evil shall not be found in you all your days.

29 And [if] a man shall rise up persecuting thee and seeking thy life, yet shall the life of my lord be bound up in the bundle of life with the Lord God, and thou shalt whirl the life of thine enemies [as] in the midst of a sling.

Though men may rise up to pursue you, and to seek your soul, yet the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with YHWH your God. He will sling out the souls of your enemies, as from the hollow of a sling.

30 And it shall be when the Lord shall have wrought for my lord all the good things he has spoken concerning thee, and shall appoint thee to be ruler over Israel;

It shall come to pass, when YHWH has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you, and shall have appointed you prince over Israel,

31 then this shall not be an abomination and offence to my lord, to have shed innocent blood without cause, and for my lord to have avenged himself: and so may the Lord do good to my lord, and thou shalt remember thine handmaid to do her good.

that this shall be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. When YHWH has dealt well with my lord, then remember your handmaid."

32 And David said to Abigaia, Blessed [be] the Lord God of Israel, who sent thee this very day to meet me:

David said to Abigail, "Blessed is YHWH, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me.

33 and blessed [be] thy conduct, and blessed [be] thou, who hast hindered me this very day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself.

Blessed is your discretion, and blessed are you, that have kept me this day from blood guiltiness, and from avenging myself with my own hand.

34 But surely as the Lord God of Israel lives, who hindered me this day from doing thee harm, if thou hadst not hasted and come to meet me, then I said, There shall [surely] not be left to Nabal till the morning one male.

For indeed, as YHWH, the God of Israel, lives, who has withheld me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely there wouldn't have been left to Nabal by the morning light so much as one who urinates on a wall."

35 And David took of her hand all that she brought to him, and said to her, Go in peace to thy house: see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and accepted thy petition.

So David received of her hand that which she had brought him: and he said to her, "Go up in peace to your house. Look, I have listened to your voice, and have granted your request."

36 And Abigaia came to Nabal: and, behold, he had a banquet in this house, as the banquet of a king, and the heart of Nabal [was] merry within him, and he [was] very drunken: and she told him nothing great or small till the morning light.

Abigail came to Nabal; and look, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk. Therefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.

37 And it came to pass in the morning, when Nabal recovered from his wine, his wife told him these words; and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.

It happened 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.

38 And it came to pass after about ten days, that the Lord smote Nabal, and he died.

It happened about ten days after, that YHWH struck Nabal, so that he died.

39 And David heard it and said, Blessed [be] the Lord, who has judged the cause of my reproach at the hand of Nabal, and has delivered his servant from the power of evil; and the Lord has returned the mischief of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and spoke concerning Abigaia, to take her to himself for a wife.

When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, "Blessed is YHWH, who has taken my side in the matter of Nabal's insult, and has kept back his servant from evil. YHWH has returned the evildoing of Nabal on his own head." David sent and spoke concerning Abigail, to take her to him as wife.

40 So the servants of David came to Abigaia to Carmel, and spoke to her, saying, David has sent us to thee, to take thee to himself for a wife.

When the servants of David had come to Abigail to Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, "David has sent us to you, to take you to him as wife."

41 And she arose, and did reverence with her face to the earth, and said, Behold, thy servant [is] for an handmaid to wash the feet of thy servants.

She arose, and bowed herself with her face to the earth, and said, "Look, your handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord."

42 And Abigaia arose, and mounted her ass, and five damsels followed her: and she went after the servants of David, and became his wife.

Abigail hurried, and arose, and rode on a donkey, with five female servants of hers who followed her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife.

43 And David took Achinaam out of Jezrael, and they were both his wives.

David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and they both became his wives.

44 And Saul gave Melchol his daughter, David's wife, to Phalti the son of Amis who was of Romma.

Now Saul had given Mikal his daughter, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.