1Samuel 25

Samuel’s Death

25NOW SAMUEL died, and all the Israelites assembled and mourned for him, and buried him at his house in Ramah. David arose and went to the Wilderness of Paran.H8050H4191H3478H6908H5594H6912H1004H7414H1732H6965H3381H4057H6290

Nabal and Abigail

2A very rich man was in Maon, whose possessions {and} business were in Carmel. He had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats, and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.H376H4584H4639H3760H376H3966H1419H7969H505H6629H505H5795H1494H6629H37603The man's name was Nabal and his wife's name was Abigail; she was a woman of good understanding, and beautiful. But the man was rough and evil in his doings; he was a Calebite.H8034H376H5037H8034H802H26H802H2896H7922H3303H8389H376H7186H7451H4611H36144David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep.H1732H8085H4057H5037H1494H66295And David sent out ten young men and said to [them], Go up to Carmel to Nabal and greet him in my name;H1732H7971H6235H5288H1732H559H5288H5927H3760H935H5037H7592H7965H80346And salute him thus: Peace be to you and to your house and to all that you have.H559H2416H7965H7965H1004H79657I have heard 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.H8085H1494H7462H3637H3972H6485H3117H37608Ask your young men and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your sight, for we come at an opportune time. I pray you, give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.H7592H5288H5046H5288H4672H2580H5869H935H2896H3117H5414H4672H3027H5650H1121H17329And when David's young men came, they said all this to Nabal in the name of David, and then paused.H1732H5288H935H1696H5037H1697H8034H1732H511710And Nabal answered David's servants and said, Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants nowadays who are each breaking away from his master.H5037H6030H1732H5650H559H1732H1121H3448H7231H5650H3117H6555H376H6440H11311Shall I then take my bread and my water, and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men when I do not know where they belong?H3947H3899H4325H2878H2873H1494H5414H582H304512So David's young men turned away, and came and told him all that was said.H1732H5288H2015H1870H7725H935H5046H169713And David said to his men, Every man gird on his sword. And they did so, and David also girded on his sword; and there went up after David about 400 men, and 200 remained with the baggage.H1732H559H582H2296H376H2719H2296H376H2719H1732H2296H2719H5927H310H1732H702H3967H376H3967H3427H362714But one of Nabal's young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master, and he railed at them.H259H5288H5046H26H5037H802H559H1732H7971H4397H4057H1288H113H586015But David's men were very good to us, and we were not harmed, nor did we miss anything as long as we went with them, when we were in the fields.H582H3966H2896H3637H6485H3972H3117H1980H770416They were a wall to us night and day, all the time we were with them keeping the sheep.H2346H3915H3119H3117H7462H662917So know this and consider what you will do, for evil is determined against our master and all his house. For he is such a wicked man that one cannot speak to him.H3045H7200H6213H7451H3615H113H1004H1121H1100H1696

Abigail Intercedes

18Then Abigail made haste and took 200 loaves, two skins of wine, five sheep already dressed, five measures of parched grain, 100 clusters of raisins, and 200 cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys.H26H4116H3947H3967H3899H8147H5035H3196H2568H6629H6213H2568H5429H7039H3967H6778H3967H1690H7760H254319And she said to her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she did not tell her husband Nabal.H559H5288H5674H6440H935H310H5046H376H503720As she rode on her donkey, she came down hidden by the mountain, and behold, David and his men came down opposite her, and she met them.H7392H2543H3381H5643H2022H1732H582H3381H7125H629821Now David had said, Surely in vain have I protected all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him; and he has repaid me evil for good.H1732H559H8267H8104H2088H4057H3972H6485H7725H7451H289622May God do so, and more also, to David if I leave of all who belong to him one male alive by morning.H3541H3254H6213H430H341H1732H7604H5704H1242H216H8366H702323When Abigail saw David, she hastened and lighted off the donkey, and fell before David on her face and did obeisance.H26H7200H1732H4116H3381H2543H5307H639H1732H6440H7812H77624Kneeling at his feet she said, Upon me alone let this guilt be, my lord. And let your handmaid, I pray you, speak in your presence, and hear the words of your handmaid.H5307H7272H559H113H5771H519H1696H241H8085H1697H58925Let not my lord, I pray you, regard this foolish {and} wicked fellow Nabal, for as his name is, so is he--Nabal [foolish, wicked] is his name, and folly is with him. But I, your handmaid, did not see my lord's young men whom you sent.H7760H113H3820H376H1100H5037H8034H5037H8034H5039H519H7200H5288H113H797126So now, my lord, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, seeing that the Lord has prevented you from bloodguiltiness and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be as Nabal.H113H3068H2416H5315H2416H3068H4513H935H1818H3467H3027H341H1245H7451H113H503727And now this gift, which your handmaid has brought my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord.H1293H8198H935H113H5414H5288H1980H7272H11328Forgive, I pray you, the trespass of your handmaid, for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the Lord's battles, and evil has not been found in you all your days.H5375H6588H519H3068H6213H6213H113H539H1004H113H3898H4421H3068H7451H4672H311729Though man is risen up to pursue you and to seek your life, yet the life of my lord shall be bound in the living bundle with the Lord your God. And the lives of your enemies--them shall He sling out as out of the center of a sling.H120H6965H7291H1245H5315H5315H113H6887H6872H2416H3068H430H5315H341H7049H8432H3709H705030And when the Lord has done to my lord according to all the good that He has promised concerning you and has made you ruler over Israel,H3068H6213H113H2896H1696H6680H5057H347831This shall be no staggering grief to you or cause for pangs of conscience to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause or that my lord has avenged himself. And when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then [earnestly] remember your handmaid.H6330H4383H3820H113H8210H1818H2600H113H3467H3068H3190H113H2142H51932And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, Who sent you this day to meet me.H1732H559H26H1288H3068H430H3478H7971H3117H712533And blessed be your discretion {and} advice, and blessed be you who have kept me today from bloodguiltiness and from avenging myself with my own hand.H1288H2940H1288H3607H3117H935H1818H3467H302734For as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, Who has prevented me from hurting you, if you had not hurried and come to meet me, surely by morning there would not have been left so much as one male to Nabal.H199H3068H430H3478H2416H4513H7489H3884H4116H935H7125H3498H5037H1242H216H8366H702335So David accepted what she had brought him and said to her, Go up in peace to your house. See, I have hearkened to your voice and have granted your petition.H1732H3947H3027H935H559H5927H7965H1004H7200H8085H6963H5375H644036And Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was holding a feast in his house like the feast of a king. And [his] heart was merry, for he was very drunk; so she told him nothing at all until the morning light.H26H935H5037H4960H1004H4960H4428H5037H3820H2896H3966H7910H5046H1697H6996H1419H1242H21637But in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, and his wife told him these things, his heart died within him and he became [paralyzed, helpless as] a stone.H1242H3196H3318H5037H802H5046H1697H3820H4191H7130H6838And about ten days after that, the Lord smote Nabal and he died.H6235H3117H3068H5062H5037H4191

David Marries Abigail

39When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the Lord, Who has pleaded the cause of my reproach at the hand of Nabal, and kept His servant from evil. For the Lord has returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to him as his wife.H1732H8085H5037H4191H559H1288H3068H7378H7379H2781H3027H5037H2820H5650H7451H3068H7725H7451H5037H7218H1732H7971H1696H26H3947H80240And when the servants of David had come to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, David sent us to you to take you to him to be his wife.H5650H1732H935H26H3760H1696H559H1732H7971H3947H80241And she arose and bowed herself to the earth and said, Behold, let your handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.H6965H7812H639H776H559H519H8198H7364H7272H5650H11342And Abigail hastened and arose and rode on a donkey, with five of her maids who followed her, and she went after the messengers of David and became his wife.H26H4116H6965H7392H2543H2568H5291H1980H7272H3212H310H4397H1732H80243David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel, and they both became his wives.H1732H3947H293H3157H8147H80244Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Phalti son of Laish, who was of Gallim.H7586H5414H4324H1323H1732H802H6406H1121H3919H1554