1 Samuel 25:1-43

1 Samuel 25:1-43

[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;  [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 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?  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  whom I know  [12] So David's  young men  turned  their way,  and went again,  and came  and told  him all those sayings.  [13] And David  said  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  [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  came down  her; and she met  [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  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  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:  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  [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  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  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.