The In-Dept Study of the Bible
Samuel 25
1 Samuel died; and all Israel gathered
themselves together and mourned for
him, and buried him at his house at
Ramah.Then David arose and went down to the
wilderness of Paran.
2 There was a man in Maon whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was
very great. 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. This
woman was intelligent and had a beautiful
face; but the man was surly and evil in his
doings. He was of the house of Caleb.
4 David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep.
5 David sent ten young men; and David
said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel,
andgo to Nabal, and greet him in my name.
6 Tell him, ‘Long life to you! Peace be to
you! Peace be to your house! Peace be to
all that you have!
7 Now I have heard that you have shearers. Your shepherds have now been with
us, and we didn’t harm them. Nothing was
missing from them all the time they were
in Carmel.
8 Ask your young men, and they will tell
you. Therefore let the young men find
favor in your eyes, for we come on a good
day. Please give whatever comes to your
hand to your servants and to your son
David.’ ”
9 When David’s young men came, they
spoke to Nabal all those words in the name
of David, and waited.
10 Nabal answered David’s servants and
said, “Who is David? Who is the son of
Jesse? There are many servants who break
away from their masters these days.
11 Shall I then take my bread, 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 So David’s young men turned on their
way and went back, and came and toldhim
all these words.
13 David said to his men, “Every man put
on his sword!” Every man put on his sword. David also
put onhis sword. Aboutfourhundredmen
followed David, and two hundred stayed
by the baggage.
14 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 insulted them.
15 But the men were very good to us, and
we were not harmed, and we didn’t miss
anything as long as we went with them,
when we were in the fields.
16 They were a wall to us both by night
and by day, all the while we were with
them keeping the sheep.
17 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 Then Abigail hurried and took two
hundredloaves ofbread,two containers of
wine, five sheep ready dressed, five seahs†
of parched grain, one hundred clusters of
raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and
laid them on donkeys.
19 She said to her young men, “Go on
before me. Behold,I am coming after you.”
But she didn’t tell her husband, Nabal.
20 As she rode on her donkey, and came
down hidden by the mountain, behold,
David and his men came down toward her,
and she met them.
21 Now David had said, “Surely in vain
I have kept all that this fellow has in the
wilderness, so that nothing was missed of
all that pertained to him. He has returned
me evil for good.
22 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
who urinates on a wall.”‡
23 When Abigail saw David, she hurried
and got off her donkey, and fell before
David on her face and bowed herselfto the
ground.
24 She fell at his feet and said, “On me, my
lord, on me be the blame! Please let your
servant speak inyour ears. Hear the words
of your servant.
25 Please don’t let my lord pay attention
to this worthless fellow, Nabal, for as his
name is, so is he. Nabal§ is his name, and
folly is with him; but I, your servant, didn’t
see my lord’s young men whom you sent.
26 Now therefore, my lord, as Yahweh
lives and as your soul lives, since Yahweh
has withheld you from blood guiltiness
andfromavenging yourself withyour own
hand, now therefore let your enemies and
those who seek evil to my lord be as Nabal.
27 Now this present which your servant
has broughtto my lord, letit be given to the
young men who follow my lord.
28 Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For Yahweh will certainly make my
lord a sure house, because my lord fights
Yahweh’s battles. Evil will not be found in
you all your days.
29 Though men may rise up to pursue
you and to seek your soul, yet the soul of
my lord will be bound in the bundle of life
with Yahweh your God. He will sling out
the souls of your enemies as from a sling’s
pocket.
30 It will come to pass, when Yahweh has
done to my lord according to all the good
that he has spoken concerning you, and
has appointed you prince over Israel,
31 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
has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.”
32 David said to Abigail, “Blessed is Yahweh, the God of Israel,
who sent you today to meet me!
33 Blessed is your discretion, and blessed
are you, who have kept me today from
blood guiltiness, and from avenging myself with my own hand.
34 For indeed, as Yahweh the God of
Israel lives, who has withheld me from
harming you, unless 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 who urinates on a
wall.Ӡ
35 So David received from her hand that
which she had brought him. Then he said
to her, “Go up in peace to your house.
Behold, I have listened to your voice and
have granted your request.”
36 Abigail came to Nabal; and behold, he held a feast
in his house like the feast of a king. Nabal’s heart
was merry within him, for he was very drunk. Therefore she told
him nothing until the morning light.
37 In the morning, when the wine had
gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these
things; and his heart died within him, and
he became as a stone.
38 About ten days later, Yahweh struck
Nabal, so that he died.
39 When David heard that Nabal was
dead, he said, “Blessed is Yahweh, who has
pleaded the cause of my reproach from
the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his
servant from evil. Yahweh has returned
the evildoing of Nabal on his own head.”
David sent and spoke concerning Abigail, to take her to himself as wife.
40 When David’s servants had come to
Abigail to Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, “David has
sent us to you, to take you to him as wife.”
41 She arose and bowed herself with her
face to the earth, and said, “Behold, your
servant is a servant to wash the feet of the
servants of my lord.”
42 Abigail hurriedly arose and rode on a
donkey with her five maids who followed
her; and she went after the messengers of
David, and became his wife.
43 David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel;
and they both became his wives.
44 Now Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish,
who was of Gallim.