^{1 Ref} And 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.

^{2 Ref} And `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.

^{3 Ref} And 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.

^{4 Ref} And David heareth in the wilderness that Nabal is shearing his flock,

^{5 Ref} and 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,

^{6 Ref} and said thus: To life! and thou, peace; and thy house, peace; and all that thou hast -- peace!

^{7 Ref} and, 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 Ref} `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.'

^{9 Ref} And the young men of David come in, and speak unto Nabal according to all these words, in the name of David -- and rest.

^{10 Ref} And 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;

^{11 Ref} and 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'!'

^{12 Ref} And the young men of David turn on their way, and turn back, and come in, and declare to him according to all these words.

^{13 Ref} And 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.

^{14 Ref} And 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;

^{15 Ref} and 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;

^{16 Ref} a wall they have been unto us both by night and by day, all the days of our being with them, feeding the flock.

^{17 Ref} `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.'

^{18 Ref} And 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.

^{19 Ref} And 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';

^{20 Ref} and 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.

^{21 Ref} And 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;

^{22 Ref} thus 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.'

^{23 Ref} And 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,

^{24 Ref} and 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 Ref} `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;

^{26 Ref} and 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 Ref} `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 Ref} `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.

^{29 Ref} And 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 Ref} `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,

^{31 Ref} that 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.'

^{32 Ref} And David saith to Abigail, `Blessed `is' Jehovah, God of Israel, who hath sent thee this day to meet me,

^{33 Ref} and 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.

^{34 Ref} And 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.'

^{35 Ref} And 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.'

^{36 Ref} And 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.

^{37 Ref} And 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.

^{38 Ref} And it cometh to pass, `in' about ten days, that Jehovah smiteth Nabal, and he dieth,

^{39 Ref} and 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.

^{40 Ref} And 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.'

^{41 Ref} And 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.'

^{42 Ref} And 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.

^{43 Ref} And Ahinoam hath David taken from Jezreel, and they are -- even both of them -- to him for wives;

^{44 Ref} and Saul gave Michal his daughter, wife to David, to Phalti son of Laish, who `is' of Gallim.

^{1 Ref} 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 Paran.

^{2 Ref} 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 Ref} Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail; and the woman was of good understanding, and of a beautiful face: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.

^{4 Ref} David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep.

^{5 Ref} 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 Ref} and thus shall you tell him who lives [in prosperity], Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have.

^{7 Ref} Now I have heard that you have shearers: your shepherds have now been with us, and we did them no hurt, neither was there anything missing to them, all the while they were in Carmel.

^{8 Ref} 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 Ref} When David's young men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased.

^{10 Ref} Nabal answered David's servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there are many servants now-a-days who break away every man from his master.

^{11 Ref} Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men who I don't know where they come from?

^{12 Ref} So David's young men turned on their way, and went back, and came and told him according to all these words.

^{13 Ref} David said to his men, Gird you on every man his sword. 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 baggage.

^{14 Ref} But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to Greet our master; and he railed at them.

^{15 Ref} But the men were very good to us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we anything, as long as we went with them, when we were in the fields:

^{16 Ref} they were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.

^{17 Ref} 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 Ref} Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched grain, and one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys.

^{19 Ref} She said to her young men, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she didn't tell her husband, Nabal.

^{20 Ref} It was so, as she rode on her donkey, and came down by the covert of the mountain, that behold, David and his men came down toward her; and she met them.

^{21 Ref} 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: and he has returned me evil for good.

^{22 Ref} God do so to the enemies of David, and more also, if I leave of all that belongs to him by the morning light so much as one man-child.

^{23 Ref} When Abigail saw David, she hurried, and alighted from her donkey, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground.

^{24 Ref} 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 Ref} Please don't 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 didn't see the young men of my lord, whom you did send.

^{26 Ref} Now therefore, my lord, as Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, seeing Yahweh 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 Ref} Now this present which your servant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord.

^{28 Ref} Please forgive the trespass of your handmaid: for Yahweh will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord fights the battles of Yahweh; and evil shall not be found in you all your days.

^{29 Ref} Though men be risen up to pursue you, and to seek your soul, yet the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with Yahweh your God; and the souls of your enemies, them shall he sling out, as from the hollow of a sling.

^{30 Ref} It shall come to pass, when Yahweh shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you, and shall have appointed you prince over Israel,

^{31 Ref} 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 Yahweh shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember your handmaid.

^{32 Ref} David said to Abigail, Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me:

^{33 Ref} and blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, that have kept me this day from blood guiltiness, and from avenging myself with my own hand.

^{34 Ref} For in very deed, as Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, who has withheld me from hurting you, except 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 man-child.

^{35 Ref} So David received of her hand that which she had brought him: and he said to her, Go up in peace to your house; behold, I have listened to your voice, and have accepted your person.

^{36 Ref} 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: therefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.

^{37 Ref} 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 Ref} It happened about ten days after, that Yahweh struck Nabal, so that he died.

^{39 Ref} When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be Yahweh, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from evil: and the evil-doing of Nabal has Yahweh returned on his own head. David sent and spoke concerning Abigail, to take her to him as wife.

^{40 Ref} When the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, David has sent us to you, to take you to him as wife.

^{41 Ref} She arose, and bowed herself with her face to the earth, and said, Behold, your handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.

^{42 Ref} Abigail hurried, and arose, and rode on a donkey, with five ladies of hers who followed her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife.

^{43 Ref} David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and they became both of them his wives.

^{44 Ref} Now Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.

^{1 Ref} And death came to Samuel; and all Israel came together, weeping for him, and put his body in its resting-place in his house at Ramah. Then David went down to the waste land of Maon.

^{2 Ref} Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel; he was a great man and had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats: and he was cutting the wool of his sheep in Carmel.

^{3 Ref} Now this man was named Nabal, and his wife's name was Abigail: she was a woman of good sense and pleasing looks: but the man was cruel and evil in his ways; he was of the family of Caleb.

^{4 Ref} And David had word in the waste land that Nabal was cutting the wool of his sheep.

^{5 Ref} And David sent ten young men, and said to them, Go up to Carmel and go to Nabal, and say kind words to him in my name;

^{6 Ref} And say this to my brother, May all be well for you: peace be to you and your house and all you have.

^{7 Ref} I have had word that you have wool-cutters: now the keepers of your sheep have been with us, and we have done them no evil, and taken nothing of theirs while they were in Carmel.

^{8 Ref} If your young men are questioned they will say the same thing. So now, let my young men have grace in your eyes, for we are come at a good time; please give anything you may have by you to your servants and to your son David.

^{9 Ref} And when David's young men came, they said all this to Nabal, in David's name, and said nothing more.

^{10 Ref} And Nabal gave them his answer and said, Who is David? who is the son of Jesse? there are a number of servants in these days running away from their masters.

^{11 Ref} Am I to take my bread and my wine and the meat I have got ready for my wool-cutters and give it to men coming from I have no idea where?

^{12 Ref} So David's young men, turning away, went back and gave him an account of everything he had said.

^{13 Ref} And David said to his men, Put on your swords, every one of you. And every man put on his sword; and David did the same; and about four hundred men went up with David, and two hundred kept watch over their goods.

^{14 Ref} But one of the young men said to Nabal's wife Abigail, David sent men from the waste land to say kind words to our master, and he gave them a rough answer.

^{15 Ref} But these men have been very good to us; they did us no wrong and nothing of ours was touched while we were with them in the fields:

^{16 Ref} But day and night they were like a wall round us while we were with them, looking after the sheep.

^{17 Ref} So now, give thought to what you are going to do; for evil is in store for our master and all his house: for he is such a good-for-nothing person that it is not possible to say anything to him.

^{18 Ref} Then Abigail quickly took two hundred cakes of bread and two skins full of wine and five sheep ready for cooking and five measures of dry grain and a hundred parcels of dry grapes and two hundred cakes of figs, and put them on asses.

^{19 Ref} And she said to her young men, Go on in front of me and I will come after you. But she said nothing to her husband Nabal.

^{20 Ref} Now while she was going down under cover of the mountain on her ass, David and his men came down against her, and suddenly she came face to face with them.

^{21 Ref} Now David had said, What was the use of my taking care of this man's goods in the waste land, so that there was no loss of anything which was his? he has only given me back evil for good.

^{22 Ref} May God's punishment be on David, if when morning comes there is so much as one male of his people still living.

^{23 Ref} And when Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her ass, falling down on her face before him.

^{24 Ref} And falling at his feet she said, May the wrong be on me, my lord, on me: let your servant say a word to you, and give ear to the words of your servant.

^{25 Ref} Let my lord give no attention to Nabal, that good-for-nothing: for as his name is, so is he, a man without sense: but I, your servant, did not see the young men whom my lord sent.

^{26 Ref} So now, my lord, by the living God and by your living soul, seeing that the Lord has kept you from the crime of blood and from taking into your hands the punishment for your wrongs, may all your haters, and those who would do evil to my lord, be like Nabal.

^{27 Ref} And let this offering, which your servant gives to my lord, be given to the young men who are with my lord.

^{28 Ref} And may the sin of your servant have forgiveness: for the Lord will certainly make your family strong, because my lord is fighting in the Lord's war; and no evil will be seen in you all your days.

^{29 Ref} And though a man has taken up arms against you, putting your life in danger, still the soul of my lord will be kept safe among the band of the living with the Lord your God; and the souls of those who are against you he will send violently away from him, like stones from a bag.

^{30 Ref} And when the Lord has done for my lord all those good things which he has said he will do for you, and has made you a ruler over Israel;

^{31 Ref} Then you will have no cause for grief, and my lord's heart will not be troubled because you have taken life without cause and have yourself given punishment for your wrongs: and when the Lord has been good to you, then give a thought to your servant.

^{32 Ref} And David said to Abigail, May the Lord, the God of Israel, be praised, who sent you to me today:

^{33 Ref} A blessing on your good sense and on you, who have kept me today from the crime of blood and from taking into my hands the punishment for my wrongs.

^{34 Ref} For truly, by the living Lord, the God of Israel, who has kept me from doing you evil, if you had not been so quick in coming to me and meeting me, by dawn there would not have been in Nabal's house so much as one male living.

^{35 Ref} Then David took from her hands her offering: and he said to her, Go back to your house in peace; see, I have given ear to your voice, and taken your offering with respect.

^{36 Ref} And Abigail went back to Nabal; and he was feasting in his house like a king; and Nabal's heart was full of joy, for he had taken much wine; so she said nothing to him till dawn came.

^{37 Ref} And in the morning, when the effect of the wine was gone, Nabal's wife gave him an account of all these things, and all the heart went out of him, and he became like stone.

^{38 Ref} And about ten days after, the Lord sent disease on Nabal and death came to him.

^{39 Ref} And David, hearing that Nabal was dead, said, May the Lord be praised, who has taken up my cause against Nabal for the shame which he put on me, and has kept back his servant from evil, and has sent on Nabal's head the reward of his evil-doing. And David sent word to Abigail, desiring to take her as his wife.

^{40 Ref} And when David's servants came to Carmel, to Abigail, they said to her, David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife.

^{41 Ref} And she got up, and going down on her face to the earth, said, See, I am ready to be a servant-girl, washing the feet of the servants of my lord.

^{42 Ref} Then Abigail got up quickly and went on her ass, with five of her young women, after the men whom David had sent; and she became David's wife.

^{43 Ref} And David had taken Ahinoam of Jezreel, to be his wife; these two were his wives.

^{44 Ref} Now Saul had given his daughter Michal, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish of Gallim.