1 Samuel 25
1. And Samuel died * ; and all the Israelites were gathered together * , and lamented * him, and buried * him in his house at Ramah. And David arose * , and went down * to the wilderness of Paran.
2. And 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. Now the name of the man was Nabal;and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.
4. And David heard * in the wilderness that Nabal did shear * his sheep.
5. And David sent out * ten young men, and David said * unto the young men, Get you up * to Carmel, and go * to Nabal, and greet * him in my name:
6. And thus shall ye say * to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast.
7. And now I have heard * that thou hast shearers * : now thy shepherds * which were with us, we hurt * them not, neither was there ought missing * unto them, all the while they were in Carmel.
8. Ask * thy young men, and they will shew * thee. Wherefore let the young men find * favour in thine eyes: for we come * in a good day: give * , I pray thee, whatsoever cometh * to thine hand unto thy servants, and to thy son David.
9. And when David's young men came * , they spake * to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased * .
10. And Nabal answered * David's servants, and said * , Who is David?and who is the son of Jesse? there be many * servants now a days that break away * every man from his master.
11. Shall I then take * my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed * for my shearers * , and give * it unto men, whom I know * not whence they be?
12. So David's young men turned * their way, and went again * , and came * and told * him all those sayings.
13. And David said * unto 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 stuff.
14. But one of the young men told * Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying * , Behold, David sent * messengers out of the wilderness to salute * our master; and he railed * on them.
15. But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt * , neither missed * we any thing, as long as we were conversant * with them, when we were in the fields:
16. They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping * the sheep.
17. Now therefore know * and consider * what thou wilt do * ; for evil is determined * against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak * to him.
18. Then Abigail made haste * , and took * two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed * , and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid * them on asses.
19. And she said * unto her servants, Go on * before me; behold, I come * after you. But she told * not her husband Nabal.
20. And it was so, as she rode * on the ass, that she came down * by the covert of the hill, and, behold, David and his men came down * against * her; and she met * them.
21. Now David had said * , Surely in vain have I kept * all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed * of all that pertained unto him: and he hath requited * me evil for good.
22. So and more * also do * God unto the enemies * of David, if I leave * of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth * against the wall.
23. And when Abigail saw * David, she hasted * , and lighted off * the ass, and fell * before David on her face, and bowed * herself to the ground,
24. And fell * at his feet, and said * , Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak * in thine audience, and hear * the words of thine handmaid.
25. Let * not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal:for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw * not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send * .
26. Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the LORD hath withholden * thee from coming * to shed blood, and from avenging * thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies * , and they that seek * evil to my lord, be as Nabal.
27. And now this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought * unto my lord, let it even be given * unto the young men that follow * my lord.
28. I pray thee, forgive * the trespass of thine handmaid: for the LORD will certainly * make * my lord a sure * house; because my lord fighteth * the battles of the LORD, and evil hath not been found * in thee all thy days.
29. Yet a man is risen * to pursue * thee, and to seek * thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound * in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies * , them shall he sling out * , as out of the middle of a sling.
30. And it shall come to pass, when the LORD shall have done * to my lord according to all the good that he hath spoken * concerning thee, and shall have appointed * thee ruler over Israel;
31. That this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed * blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged * himself: but when the LORD shall have dealt well * with my lord, then remember * thine handmaid.
32. And David said * to Abigail,Blessed * be the LORD God of Israel, which sent * thee this day to meet * me:
33. And blessed * be thy advice, and blessed * be thou, which hast kept * me this day from coming * to shed blood, and from avenging * myself with mine own hand.
34. For in very deed, as the LORD God of Israel liveth, which hath kept me back * from hurting * thee, except thou hadst hasted * and come * to meet * me, surely there had not been left * unto Nabal by the morning light any that pisseth * against the wall.
35. So David received * of her hand that which she had brought * him, and said * unto her, Go up * in peace to thine house; see * , I have hearkened * to thy voice, and have accepted * thy person.
36. And 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 very drunken: wherefore she told * him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.
37. But it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out * of Nabal, and his wife had told * him these things,that his heart died * within him, and he became as a stone.
38. And it came to pass about ten days after, that the LORD smote * Nabal, that he died * .
39. And when David heard * that Nabal was dead * , he said * , Blessed * be the LORD, that hath pleaded * the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept * his servant from evil: for the LORD hath returned * the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent * and communed * with Abigail, to take * her to him to wife.
40. And when the servants of David were come * to Abigail to Carmel, they spake * unto her, saying * , David sent * us unto thee, to take * thee to him to wife.
41. And she arose * , and bowed * herself on her face to the earth, and said * , Behold, let thine handmaid be a servant to wash * the feet of the servants of my lord.
42. And Abigail hasted * , and arose * , and rode * upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that went * after her; and she went * after the messengers of David, and became his wife.
43. David also took * Ahinoam of Jezreel; and they were also both of them his wives.
44. But Saul had given * Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Phalti the son of Laish, which was of Gallim.
