1 Samuel 25

1 Samuel died. Everyone in Israel gathered to mourn for him, and they buried him at his home in Ramah. David left and went to the Desert of Paran.

Now Samuel died. All Israel gathered together and mourned for him, and they buried him in his house at Ramah. Then David rose and went down to the wilderness of Paran.

2 A man from Maon was very wealthy. He had property in Carmel and owned one thousand goats and three thousand sheep. He was in Carmel shearing them.

There was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel. The man was very wealthy. He had three thousand sheep and one thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

3 The man's name was Nabal, and his wife's name was Abigail. She was a wise and beautiful woman, but her husband was cruel and treated people badly. He was a descendant of Caleb.

The man's name was Nabal, and the name of his wife was Abigail. The woman was intelligent and beautiful in appearance. But the man was harsh and evil in his dealings. He was a descendant of the house of Caleb.

4 David was in the wilderness, and he heard that Nabal was shearing sheep.

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

5 So David sent ten of his young men and told them, “Go and see Nabal at Carmel. Greet him in my name, and say hello from me.

So David sent ten young men. David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, go to Nabal, and greet him in my name.

6 Tell him, ‘I wish you a long life! Peace to you and your family, and may everything you do prosper.

You will say to him, 'Live in prosperity. Peace to you and peace to your house, and peace be to all that you have.

7 Now I've heard that you are busy shearing. When your shepherds were with us, we didn't mistreat them, and nothing belonging to them was stolen all the time they were in Carmel.

I hear that you have shearers. Your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, and they missed nothing the whole time they were in Carmel.

8 Check with your men and they'll confirm it. Please be kind to my men, especially since we've come on this day of celebration. Please give whatever food you can to us and to your good friend David.’”

Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Now let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we have come on a festive day. Please give whatever you have on hand to your servants and to your son David.'”

9 David's young men arrived, gave Nabal this message from David, and waited for his reply.

When David's young men arrived, they said all of this to Nabal on David's behalf and then waited.

10 “Who does this ‘David, son of Jesse’ think he is?” Nabal replied. “Nowadays there are many servants on the run from their masters!

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

11 Why should I take the bread and water I've supplied, and the meat I've slaughtered for my shearers, and hand it over to these strangers? I don't even know where they're from!”

Should 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?”

12 So David's men turned around and went back the way they came. When they got back they told David everything Nabal had said.

So David's young men turned away and came back, and told him everything that was said.

13 “Everyone, put on your swords!” David ordered. They all put on their swords, and David did too. About four hundred followed David, while two hundred remained behind to guard their gear.

David said to his men, “Every man strap on his sword.” So every man strapped on his sword. David also strapped on his sword. About four hundred men followed after David, and two hundred stayed by the baggage.

14 In the meantime one of Nabal's men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, “David sent some messengers from the wilderness to bring greetings to our master, but he only insulted them.

But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife; he said, “David sent messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master, and he insulted them.

15 David's men were always very good to us and they never mistreated us. All the time we were out in the fields with them nothing was stolen from us.

Yet the men were very good to us. We were not harmed and did not miss anything as long as we went with them when we were in the fields.

16 They were like a protective wall to us, both day and night, during the whole time we were with them looking after the sheep.

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

17 You should know what happened and consider what you should do about it. Disaster is about to strike our master and his whole family, but he's so obnoxious no one can talk sense into him!”

Therefore know this and consider what you will do, for evil is plotted against our master, and against his whole house. He is such a worthless fellow that one cannot reason with him.”

18 Abigail quickly gathered together two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep already slaughtered, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred raisin cakes, and two hundred fig cakes, and then loaded everything on donkeys.

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

19 She told her men, “Go on ahead. I'll follow you.” But she didn't say anything to her husband Nabal.

She said to her young men, “Go on before me, and I will come after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

20 As Abigail was riding her donkey through a mountain valley, she saw David and his men descending towards her, and she met them.

As she rode on her donkey and came down by the cover of the mountain, David and his men came down toward her, and she met them.

21 David had just been complaining, “So much for my protecting everything that belonged to this man in the wilderness! Nothing at all was stolen from him, and yet what does he do? Pay me back evil for good!

Now 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 May God punish me very severely if I leave even a single one of his men alive by morning!”

May God do so to me, David, and more also, if by the morning I leave so much as one male of all who belong to him.”

23 When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off the donkey, and bowed before him, her face to the ground.

When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got down from her donkey and lay before David facedown and bowed herself to the ground.

24 Falling at his feet in respect, she said, “Sir, I accept full responsibility for what's happened. Please listen to what I, your servant, have to say.

She lay at his feet and said, “On me alone, my master, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak to you, and listen to the words of your servant.

25 Please don't concern yourself with this worthless man Nabal. His name means ‘fool,’ and he is really foolish! As for me, your servant, I didn't even see the men you sent.

Let not my master regard this worthless fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and folly is with him. But I your servant did not see the young men of my master, whom you sent.

26 Now, sir, as the Lord lives and as you live, the Lord has kept you from shedding blood and from taking your own revenge. Sir, may your enemies and those who want to do you harm be like Nabal.

Now then, my master, as Yahweh lives, and as you live, since Yahweh has restrained you from bloodshed, and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now let your enemies, and those who seek to do evil to my master, be like Nabal.

27 Please accept this present that I, your servant, have brought to you, sir, and give it to your men.

Now let this present that your servant has brought to my master be given to the young men who follow my master.

28 Please forgive any offense that I, your servant, have committed, for the Lord is sure to set up a dynasty for you that will last for a long time, because you, sir, fight the battles of the Lord. Wickedness should not be found in you as long as you live.

Please forgive the trespass of your servant, for Yahweh will certainly make my master a sure house, because my master is fighting the battles of Yahweh; and evil will not be found in you so long as you live.

29 If anyone pursues you and tries to kill you, then your life will remain bound up with those the Lord your God looks after, safe in his care. But he will throw away the lives of your enemies like stones from a sling.

Though men rise up to pursue you to take your life, yet the life of my master will be bound in the bundle of the living by Yahweh your God; and he will sling away the lives of your enemies, as from the pocket of a sling.

30 So when the Lord has done for you, sir, everything good he promised, and has made you ruler over Israel,

Yahweh will have done for my master everything he promised you, and has appointed you leader over Israel.

31 you won't have feelings of remorse or a guilty conscience over unnecessary bloodshed or of taking your own revenge. And when the Lord has done these good things for you, sir, please remember me, your maidservant.”

This will not be a staggering burden for you—that you have poured out innocent blood, or because my master attempted to rescue himself. For when Yahweh will do good for my master, remember your servant.”

32 Then David said to Abigail, “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet me today!

David said to Abigail, “May Yahweh, the God of Israel, be blessed, he who sent you to meet me today.

33 May you be rewarded for your wise decisions, for preventing me from shedding blood today and taking my own revenge.

Your wisdom is blessed and you are blessed, because you have kept me today from bloodshed and from avenging myself with my own hand!

34 On the contrary, as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has kept me from harming you, if you hadn't rushed to meet me, then definitely not a single one of Nabal's men would have been left alive by dawn.”

For in truth, as Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, he who has kept me from hurting you, unless you had hurried to come meet me, there would certainly have not been left to Nabal so much as one male baby by morning.”

35 David accepted from Abigail what she had brought him, and told her, “You may go home in peace, because I agree with your advice and grant your request.”

So David received from her hand what she had brought him; he said to her, “Go up in peace to your house; see, I have listened to your voice and have accepted you.”

36 When Abigail got back home to Nabal, he was in the house, partying like a king. He was feeling very merry, and he was very drunk. So she didn't tell him anything until the morning.

Abigail went back to Nabal; behold, 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.

37 When Nabal had sobered up the next morning, his wife told him what had happened. When he heard what she had to say he had a heart attack and was paralyzed.

It came about in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, that his wife told him these things; his heart died within him, and he became like a stone.

38 About ten days later the Lord struck Nabal down and he died.

It came about ten days later that Yahweh attacked Nabal so that he died.

39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Praise the Lord who has supported me against Nabal's insult and has kept me from doing evil. For the Lord made Nabal's wickedness fall back on himself.” Then David sent a message to Abigail, asking for her to marry him.

When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “May Yahweh be blessed, who has taken up the cause of my insult from the hand of Nabal and has kept back his servant from evil. He has turned Nabal's evil action back on his own head.” Then David sent and spoke to Abigail, to take her to himself as wife.

40 When David's men arrived at Carmel, they said to Abigail, “David has sent us to you to bring you back to become his wife.”

When David's servants had come to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her and said, “David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife.”

41 She stood up, then bowed down low, and said, “I am David's maidservant. I am prepared to serve and to wash the feet of my master's servants.”

She arose, bowed herself with her face to the ground, and said, “See, your female servant is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my master.”

42 Abigail quickly got on a donkey and, with her five female servants, went back with David's men and became his wife.

Abigail hurried and arose, and rode on a donkey with five servant girls of hers who followed her; and she followed David's messengers and became his wife.

43 David had also married Ahinoam of Jezreel. So they both were his wives.

Now David had also taken Ahinoam of Jezreel as a wife; both of them became his wives.

44 However, Saul had given his daughter Michal, David's wife, to Paltiel, son of Laish. He was from Gallim.

Also, Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Paltiel son of Laish, who was of Gallim.