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.

1. The day Samuel died, all Israel gathered together to mourn him; after which they buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David went down to the desert of Maon.

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.

2. A very rich man, owner of three thousand sheep and a thousand goats, lived there and had his farm 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.

3. This man was named Nabal; his wife, Abigail. The woman was intelligent and beautiful; but the man himself, a Calebite, was rough and ill-mannered. He was at the time shearing his sheep in Carmel.

4. And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep.

4. When David heard in the desert that Nabal was shearing 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:

5. he sent ten young men to the farm with this instruction, "Go to Nabal in Carmel and greet him for me

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.

6. in these words: peace be with you and your family; peace be with all that is yours.

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.

7. I hear that you have shearers with you. Now when your shepherds were with us, we did not harm them; neither did they miss anything 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.

8. Ask your servants and they will tell. So be kind to my servants since we come on a festive day; please give them and your son David whatever you can."

9. And when David's young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased.

9. When David's young men arrived, they delivered this message to Nabal in David's name and then waited.

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.

10. But Nabal answered David's servants, "Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? Many nowadays are the servants who run away from their masters.

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]?

11. Must I take my bread, my wine, my meat which I have slaughtered for my shearers and give it to men who come from I don't know where?"

12. So David's young men turned their way, and went again, and came and told him all those sayings.

12. At this, David's young men left and returned to him, reporting everything Nabal had said.

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.

13. David then said to his men, "Let every man strap on his sword!" And every one of them, including David, strapped on his sword. About four hundred men followed David while two hundred remained with the baggage.

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.

14. One of Nabal's servants told Abigail, his wife, "David sent messengers from the desert to greet our master but he shouted at 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:

15. Yet these men were very good to us. We suffered no harm and did not miss anything while we were living among them during our stay in the open country.

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

16. They were like a wall for us night and day while we were tending the sheep in their midst.

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.

17. Now think over what you should do; for our master and his entire family are surely doomed to die, but he is so wicked no one can 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.

18. Abigail hurriedly prepared two hundred loaves, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five measures of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of pressed raisins, and two hundred cakes of pressed figs and loaded 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.

19. Then she said to her servants, "Go on ahead and I shall follow you." But she told her husband nothing of this.

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.

20. As she rode down the mountain on her ass, David and his men were coming down from the other direction. When 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.

21. David was reflecting, "It was useless guarding all that this fellow has in the desert. Although he lost nothing belonging to him, he has returned 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.

22. May God do so to David and more if by morning I leave a single male alive among those who belong to him."

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,

23. On seeing David, Abigail quickly dismounted from the ass and threw herself on the ground before him.

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.

24. As she fell at his feet she said, "My lord, let the blame be on me! Let your handmaid speak to you; listen to her words.

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.

25. Let not my lord pay attention to this ill-mannered man, Nabal, for he is just what his name says: he is a fool. I, your handmaid, did not see the young men whom you sent.

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.

26. Now, my lord, as Yahweh lives and as you live, it is Yahweh who prevents you from shedding blood and avenging yourself. Let your enemies and those who seek to harm my lord become like 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.

27. And now let this present which I have brought you, my lord, be given to the young men who follow you,

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.

28. and please forgive me. Yahweh will certainly give you a lasting family because you are fighting the battles of Yahweh and no evil shall be found in you as long as you live.

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.

29. Should anyone make an attempt on your life, may the life of my lord be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of Yahweh, your God. May he hurl away the lives of your enemies as from the hollow 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;

30. So when Yahweh fulfills his promises and appoints you as commander 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.

31. you shall have no reason to grieve or to feel any grief or regret for having unrightfully shed blood or taken revenge yourself. May Yahweh bless you, and you, my lord, remember your handmaid."

32. And David said to Abigail, Blessed [be] the LORD God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me:

32. David then said to Abigail, "Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet me today!

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.

33. Blessed be your good judgment and may you yourself be blessed, for you have prevented me from shedding blood and avenging myself today!

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.

34. For as Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, he has prevented me from hurting you. If you did not hurry to meet me, not a single male belonging to Nabal would have been alive by morning."

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.

35. David accepted what she had brought him and told her, "Go back home in peace. I have listened to you and granted your request."

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.

36. Abigail went back to Nabal and found him holding a feast in his house. He was joyful and very drunk so Abigail did not mention anything to him until the following day.

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.

37. When morning came and Nabal had slept it off, his wife spoke to him about all these things. On hearing it Nabal had a stroke and remained paralyzed.

38. And it came to pass about ten days [after], that the LORD smote Nabal, that he died.

38. Ten days later, Yahweh let him die.

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.

39. When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, "Blessed be Yahweh who has avenged the insult I received at the hand of Nabal and has prevented me from doing wrong. Yahweh himself has made Nabal's wrongdoings fall on his own head."

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.

40. David then sent his servants to Abigail in Carmel to propose marriage to her saying, "David has sent us to you to say that he wants you to be his 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.

41. Rising and bowing to the ground, Abigail answered, "May I be as a slave to wash the feet of my lord's servants."

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.

42. She quickly rose and mounted an ass and, attended by five of her servants, she left with David's messengers and became his wife.

43. David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and they were also both of them his wives.

43. David also married Ahinoam of Jezreel, making both her and Abigail his wives.

44. But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Phalti the son of Laish, which [was] of Gallim.

44. Saul, in the meantime, had given Michal, his daughter and David's wife, to Palti, son of Laish who was from Gallim.