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1 Samuel 24-25
New International Version

David Spares Saul’s Life

24 [a]After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.(A)” 2 So Saul took three thousand able young men from all Israel and set out to look(B) for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats.

3 He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave(C) was there, and Saul went in to relieve(D) himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. 4 The men said, “This is the day the Lord spoke(E) of when he said[b] to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’”(F) Then David crept up unnoticed and cut(G) off a corner of Saul’s robe.

5 Afterward, David was conscience-stricken(H) for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6 He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed,(I) or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.” 7 With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.

8 Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground.(J) 9 He said to Saul, “Why do you listen(K) when men say, ‘David is bent on harming(L) you’? 10 This day you have seen with your own eyes how the Lord delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared(M) you; I said, ‘I will not lay my hand on my lord, because he is the Lord’s anointed.’ 11 See, my father, look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut(N) off the corner of your robe but did not kill you. See that there is nothing in my hand to indicate that I am guilty(O) of wrongdoing(P) or rebellion. I have not wronged(Q) you, but you are hunting(R) me down to take my life.(S) 12 May the Lord judge(T) between you and me. And may the Lord avenge(U) the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you. 13 As the old saying goes, ‘From evildoers come evil deeds,(V)’ so my hand will not touch you.

14 “Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Who are you pursuing? A dead dog?(W) A flea?(X) 15 May the Lord be our judge(Y) and decide(Z) between us. May he consider my cause and uphold(AA) it; may he vindicate(AB) me by delivering(AC) me from your hand.”

16 When David finished saying this, Saul asked, “Is that your voice,(AD) David my son?” And he wept aloud. 17 “You are more righteous than I,”(AE) he said. “You have treated me well,(AF) but I have treated you badly.(AG) 18 You have just now told me about the good you did to me; the Lord delivered(AH) me into your hands, but you did not kill me. 19 When a man finds his enemy, does he let him get away unharmed? May the Lord reward(AI) you well for the way you treated me today. 20 I know that you will surely be king(AJ) and that the kingdom(AK) of Israel will be established in your hands. 21 Now swear(AL) to me by the Lord that you will not kill off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father’s family.(AM)”

22 So David gave his oath to Saul. Then Saul returned home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.(AN)

David, Nabal and Abigail

25 Now Samuel died,(AO) and all Israel assembled and mourned(AP) for him; and they buried him at his home in Ramah.(AQ) Then David moved down into the Desert of Paran.[c]

2 A certain man in Maon,(AR) who had property there at Carmel, was very wealthy.(AS) He had a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing(AT) in Carmel. 3 His name was Nabal and his wife’s name was Abigail.(AU) She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband was surly and mean in his dealings—he was a Calebite.(AV)

4 While David was in the wilderness, he heard that Nabal was shearing sheep. 5 So he sent ten young men and said to them, “Go up to Nabal at Carmel and greet him in my name. 6 Say to him: ‘Long life to you! Good health(AW) to you and your household! And good health to all that is yours!(AX)

7 “‘Now I hear that it is sheep-shearing time. When your shepherds were with us, we did not mistreat(AY) them, and the whole time they were at Carmel nothing of theirs was missing. 8 Ask your own servants and they will tell you. Therefore be favorable toward my men, since we come at a festive time. Please give your servants and your son David whatever(AZ) you can find for them.’”

9 When David’s men arrived, they gave Nabal this message in David’s name. Then they waited.

10 Nabal answered David’s servants, “Who(BA) is this David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants are breaking away from their masters these days. 11 Why should I take my bread(BB) and water, and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men coming from who knows where?”

12 David’s men turned around and went back. When they arrived, they reported every word. 13 David said to his men(BC), “Each of you strap on your sword!” So they did, and David strapped his on as well. About four hundred men went(BD) up with David, while two hundred stayed with the supplies.(BE)

14 One of the servants told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “David sent messengers from the wilderness to give our master his greetings,(BF) but he hurled insults at them. 15 Yet these men were very good to us. They did not mistreat(BG) us, and the whole time we were out in the fields near them nothing was missing.(BH) 16 Night and day they were a wall(BI) around us the whole time we were herding our sheep near them. 17 Now think it over and see what you can do, because disaster is hanging over our master and his whole household. He is such a wicked(BJ) man that no one can talk to him.”

18 Abigail acted quickly. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs[d] of roasted grain,(BK) a hundred cakes of raisins(BL) and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on donkeys.(BM) 19 Then she told her servants, “Go on ahead;(BN) I’ll follow you.” But she did not tell(BO) her husband Nabal.

20 As she came riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, there were David and his men descending toward her, and she met them. 21 David had just said, “It’s been useless—all my watching over this fellow’s property in the wilderness so that nothing of his was missing.(BP) He has paid(BQ) me back evil(BR) for good. 22 May God deal with David,[e] be it ever so severely,(BS) if by morning I leave alive one male(BT) of all who belong to him!”

23 When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed down before David with her face to the ground.(BU) 24 She fell at his feet and said: “Pardon your servant, my lord,(BV) and let me speak to you; hear what your servant has to say. 25 Please pay no attention, my lord, to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name—his name means Fool(BW),(BX) and folly goes with him. And as for me, your servant, I did not see the men my lord sent. 26 And now, my lord, as surely as the Lord your God lives and as you live, since the Lord has kept you from bloodshed(BY) and from avenging(BZ) yourself with your own hands, may your enemies and all who are intent on harming my lord be like Nabal.(CA) 27 And let this gift,(CB) which your servant has brought to my lord, be given to the men who follow you.

28 “Please forgive(CC) your servant’s presumption. The Lord your God will certainly make a lasting(CD) dynasty for my lord, because you fight the Lord’s battles,(CE) and no wrongdoing(CF) will be found in you as long as you live. 29 Even though someone is pursuing you to take your life,(CG) the life of my lord will be bound securely in the bundle of the living by the Lord your God, but the lives of your enemies he will hurl(CH) away as from the pocket of a sling.(CI) 30 When the Lord has fulfilled for my lord every good thing he promised concerning him and has appointed him ruler(CJ) over Israel, 31 my lord will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself. And when the Lord your God has brought my lord success, remember(CK) your servant.”(CL)

32 David said to Abigail, “Praise(CM) be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me. 33 May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed(CN) this day and from avenging myself with my own hands. 34 Otherwise, as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has kept me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, not one male belonging to Nabal(CO) would have been left alive by daybreak.”

35 Then David accepted from her hand what she had brought him and said, “Go home in peace. I have heard your words and granted(CP) your request.”

36 When Abigail went to Nabal, he was in the house holding a banquet like that of a king. He was in high(CQ) spirits and very drunk.(CR) So she told(CS) him nothing at all until daybreak. 37 Then in the morning, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him all these things, and his heart failed him and he became like a stone.(CT) 38 About ten days later, the Lord struck(CU) Nabal and he died.

39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Praise be to the Lord, who has upheld my cause against Nabal for treating me with contempt. He has kept his servant from doing wrong and has brought Nabal’s wrongdoing down on his own head.”

Then David sent word to Abigail, asking her to become his wife. 40 His servants went to Carmel and said to Abigail, “David has sent us to you to take you to become his wife.”

41 She bowed down with her face to the ground and said, “I am your servant and am ready to serve you and wash the feet of my lord’s servants.” 42 Abigail(CV) quickly got on a donkey and, attended by her five female servants, went with David’s messengers and became his wife. 43 David had also married Ahinoam(CW) of Jezreel, and they both were his wives.(CX) 44 But Saul had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Paltiel[f](CY) son of Laish, who was from Gallim.(CZ)

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 24:1 In Hebrew texts 24:1-22 is numbered 24:2-23.
  2. 1 Samuel 24:4 Or “Today the Lord is saying
  3. 1 Samuel 25:1 Hebrew and some Septuagint manuscripts; other Septuagint manuscripts Maon
  4. 1 Samuel 25:18 That is, probably about 60 pounds or about 27 kilograms
  5. 1 Samuel 25:22 Some Septuagint manuscripts; Hebrew with David’s enemies
  6. 1 Samuel 25:44 Hebrew Palti, a variant of Paltiel
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1 Samuel 24-25
New King James Version

David Spares Saul

24 Now it happened, (A)when Saul had returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, “Take note! David is in the Wilderness of En Gedi.” 2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel, and (B)went to seek David and his men on the Rocks of the Wild Goats. 3 So he came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave; and (C)Saul went in to (D)attend to his needs. ((E)David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave.) 4 (F)Then the men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.’ ” And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 5 Now it happened afterward that (G)David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe. 6 And he said to his men, (H)“The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.” 7 So David (I)restrained his servants with these words, and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went on his way.

8 David also arose afterward, went out of the cave, and called out to Saul, saying, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed down. 9 And David said to Saul: (J)“Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Indeed David seeks your harm’? 10 Look, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord delivered you today into my hand in the cave, and someone urged me to kill you. But my eye spared you, and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’ 11 Moreover, my father, see! Yes, see the corner of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the corner of your robe, and did not kill you, know and see that there is (K)neither evil nor rebellion in my hand, and I have not sinned against you. Yet you (L)hunt my life to take it. 12 (M)Let the Lord judge between you and me, and let the Lord avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you. 13 As the proverb of the ancients says, (N)‘Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.’ But my hand shall not be against you. 14 After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? (O)A dead dog? (P)A flea? 15 (Q)Therefore let the Lord be judge, and judge between you and me, and (R)see and (S)plead my case, and deliver me out of your hand.”

16 So it was, when David had finished speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, (T)“Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. 17 (U)Then he said to David: “You are (V)more righteous than I; for (W)you have rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded you with evil. 18 And you have shown this day how you have dealt well with me; for when (X)the Lord delivered me into your hand, you did not kill me. 19 For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him get away safely? Therefore may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. 20 And now (Y)I know indeed that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. 21 (Z)Therefore swear now to me by the Lord (AA)that you will not cut off my descendants after me, and that you will not destroy my name from my father’s house.”

22 So David swore to Saul. And Saul went home, but David and his men went up to (AB)the stronghold.

Death of Samuel

25 Then (AC)Samuel died; and the Israelites gathered together and (AD)lamented for him, and buried him at his home in Ramah. And David arose and went down (AE)to the Wilderness of [a]Paran.

David and the Wife of Nabal

2 Now there was a man (AF)in Maon whose business was in (AG)Carmel, and the man was very rich. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 The name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. And she was a woman of good understanding and beautiful appearance; but the man was harsh and evil in his doings. He was of the house of (AH)Caleb.

4 When David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was (AI)shearing his sheep, 5 David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, go to Nabal, and greet him in my name. 6 And thus you shall say to him who lives in prosperity: (AJ)‘Peace be to you, peace to your house, and peace to all that you have! 7 Now I have heard that you have shearers. Your shepherds were with us, and we did not hurt them, (AK)nor was there anything missing from them all the while they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore [b]let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on (AL)a feast day. Please give whatever comes to your hand to your servants and to your son David.’ ”

9 So when David’s young men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all these words in the name of David, and waited.

10 Then Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, (AM)“Who is David, and who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants nowadays who break away each one from his master. 11 (AN)Shall I then take my bread and my water and my [c]meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men when I do not know where they are from?”

12 So David’s young men turned on their heels and went back; and they came and told him all these words. 13 Then David said to his men, “Every man gird on his sword.” So every man girded on his sword, and David also girded on his sword. And about four hundred men went with David, and two hundred (AO)stayed with the supplies.

14 Now one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, “Look, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master; and he [d]reviled them. 15 But the men were very good to us, and (AP)we were not hurt, nor did we miss anything as long as we accompanied them, when we were in the fields. 16 They were (AQ)a wall to us both by night and day, all the time we were with them keeping the sheep. 17 Now therefore, know and consider what you will do, for (AR)harm is determined against our master and against all his household. For he is such a (AS)scoundrel[e] that one cannot speak to him.”

18 Then Abigail made haste and (AT)took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep already dressed, five seahs of roasted grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and loaded them on donkeys. 19 And she said to her servants, (AU)“Go on before me; see, I am coming after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

20 So it was, as she rode on the donkey, that she went down under cover of the hill; and there were David and his men, coming down toward her, and she met them. 21 Now David had said, “Surely in vain I have protected all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belongs to him. And he has (AV)repaid me evil for good. 22 (AW)May God do so, and more also, to the enemies of David, if I (AX)leave (AY)one male of all who belong to him by morning light.”

23 Now when Abigail saw David, she (AZ)dismounted quickly from the donkey, fell on her face before David, and bowed down to the ground. 24 So she fell at his feet and said: “On me, my lord, on me let this iniquity be! And please let your maidservant [f]speak in your ears, and hear the words of your maidservant. 25 Please, let not my lord [g]regard this scoundrel Nabal. For as his name is, so is he: [h]Nabal is his name, and folly is with him! But I, your maidservant, did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent. 26 Now therefore, my lord, (BA)as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, since the Lord has (BB)held you back from coming to bloodshed and from (BC)avenging[i] yourself with your own hand, now then, (BD)let your enemies and those who seek harm for my lord be as Nabal. 27 And now (BE)this present which your maidservant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord. 28 Please forgive the trespass of your maidservant. For (BF)the Lord will certainly make for my lord an enduring house, because my lord (BG)fights the battles of the Lord, (BH)and evil is not found in you throughout your days. 29 Yet a man has risen to pursue you and seek your life, but the life of my lord shall be (BI)bound in the bundle of the living with the Lord your God; and the lives of your enemies He shall (BJ)sling out, as from the pocket of a sling. 30 And it shall come to pass, when the Lord has done for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you (BK)ruler over Israel, 31 that this will 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. But when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your maidservant.”

32 Then David said to Abigail: (BL)“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! 33 And blessed is your advice and blessed are you, because you have (BM)kept me this day from coming to bloodshed and from avenging myself with my own hand. 34 For indeed, as the Lord God of Israel lives, who has (BN)kept me back from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely (BO)by morning light no males would have been left to Nabal!” 35 So David received from her hand what she had brought him, and said to her, (BP)“Go up in peace to your house. See, I have heeded your voice and (BQ)respected your person.”

36 Now Abigail went to Nabal, and there he was, (BR)holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk; therefore she told him nothing, little or much, until morning light. 37 So it was, in the morning, when the wine had gone from Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became like a stone. 38 Then it happened, after about ten days, that the Lord (BS)struck Nabal, and he died.

39 So when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, (BT)“Blessed be the Lord, who has (BU)pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has (BV)kept His servant from evil! For the Lord has (BW)returned the wickedness of Nabal on his own head.”

And David sent and proposed to Abigail, to take her as his wife. 40 When the servants of David had come to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her saying, “David sent us to you, to ask you to become his wife.”

41 Then she arose, bowed her face to the earth, and said, “Here is your maidservant, a servant to (BX)wash the feet of the servants of my lord.” 42 So Abigail rose in haste and rode on a donkey, [j]attended by five of her maidens; and she followed the messengers of David, and became his wife. 43 David also took Ahinoam (BY)of Jezreel, (BZ)and so both of them were his wives.

44 But Saul had given (CA)Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to [k]Palti the son of Laish, who was from (CB)Gallim.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 25:1 So with MT, Syr., Tg., Vg.; LXX Maon
  2. 1 Samuel 25:8 be gracious to the young men
  3. 1 Samuel 25:11 Lit. slaughter
  4. 1 Samuel 25:14 scolded or scorned at
  5. 1 Samuel 25:17 Lit. son of Belial
  6. 1 Samuel 25:24 speak to you
  7. 1 Samuel 25:25 pay attention to
  8. 1 Samuel 25:25 Lit. Fool
  9. 1 Samuel 25:26 Lit. saving yourself
  10. 1 Samuel 25:42 Lit. with five of her maidens at her feet
  11. 1 Samuel 25:44 Paltiel, 2 Sam. 3:15
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1 Samuel 24-25
New American Standard Bible

David Spares Saul’s Life

24 [a]Now (A)when Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, (B)it was reported to him, saying, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” 2 Then (C)Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and went to search for David and his men in front of the Rocks of the Mountain Goats. 3 And he came to the sheepfolds on the way, where there was a cave; and Saul (D)went in to [b]relieve himself. Now (E)David and his men were sitting in the inner recesses of the cave. 4 Then David’s men said to him, “Behold, (F)this is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold; (G)I am about to hand your enemy over to you, and you shall do to him as it seems good [c]to you.’” Then David got up and cut off the edge of Saul’s robe secretly. 5 But it came about afterward that (H)David’s [d]conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s robe. 6 So he said to his men, “(I)Far be it from me because of the Lord that I would do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to reach out with my hand against him, since he is the Lord’s anointed.” 7 And David rebuked his men with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. And Saul got up, [e]left the cave, and went on his way.

8 Afterward, however, David got up and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, saying, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, (J)David bowed with his face to the ground and prostrated himself. 9 And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men [f]who say, ‘Behold, David is seeking [g]to harm you’? 10 (K)Behold, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord had handed you over to me today in the cave, and (L)someone said to kill you, but [h]I spared you; and I said, ‘I will not reach out with my hand against my lord, because he is the Lord’s anointed.’ 11 So, (M)my father, look! Indeed, look at the edge of your robe in my hand! For by the fact that I cut off the edge of your robe but did not kill you, know and understand that there is no evil or [i]rebellion in my hands, and I have not sinned against you, though you (N)are lying in wait for my life, to take it. 12 (O)May the Lord judge between [j]you and me, and may the Lord take vengeance on you for me; but my hand shall not be against you. 13 As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘(P)Out of the wicked comes wickedness’; but my hand shall not be against you. 14 After whom has the king of Israel gone out? Whom are you pursuing? (Q)A dead dog, (R)a single flea? 15 May (S)the Lord therefore be judge and decide between [k]you and me; and may He see and (T)plead my cause and save me from your hand.”

16 When David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “(U)Is this your voice, my son David?” Then Saul raised his voice and wept. 17 (V)And he said to David, “You are more righteous than I; for (W)you have dealt well with me, while I have dealt maliciously with you. 18 You have declared today that you have done good to me, that (X)the Lord handed me over to you and yet you did not kill me. 19 Though if a man (Y)finds his enemy, will he let him go away [l]unharmed? May the Lord therefore reward you with good in return for what you have done to me this day. 20 Now, behold, (Z)I know that you will certainly be king, and that (AA)the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand. 21 So now (AB)swear to me by the Lord that you will not cut off my [m]descendants after me, and that you will not eliminate my name from my father’s household.” 22 And David swore an oath to Saul. Then Saul went to his home, but David and his men went up to (AC)the stronghold.

Samuel’s Death

25 (AD)Then Samuel died; and all Israel assembled and (AE)mourned for him, and they (AF)buried him at his house in Ramah. And David set out and went down to the (AG)wilderness of Paran.

Nabal and Abigail

2 Now there was a man in (AH)Maon whose business was in (AI)Carmel; and the man was very [n]rich, and he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And it came about while (AJ)he was shearing his sheep in Carmel 3 (now the man’s name was Nabal, and his (AK)wife’s name was Abigail. And the woman was [o]intelligent and beautiful in appearance, but the man was harsh and evil in his dealings, and he was (AL)a Calebite), 4 that David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. 5 So David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel and [p]visit Nabal, and greet him in my name; 6 and this is what you shall say: ‘[q]Have a long life, (AM)peace to you, and peace to your house, and peace to all that you have! 7 Now then, I have heard (AN)that you have shearers. Now, your shepherds have been with us; we have not harmed them, (AO)nor has anything of theirs gone missing all the days they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your young men and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we have come on (AP)a [r]festive day. Please give whatever you find at hand to your servants and to your son David.’”

9 When David’s young men came, they spoke to Nabal in accordance with all these words in David’s name; then they waited. 10 But Nabal answered David’s servants and said, “(AQ)Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants today who are each breaking away from his master. 11 Shall I then (AR)take my bread and my water and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men [s]whose origin I do not know?” 12 So David’s young men made their way back and returned; and they came and informed him in accordance with all these words. 13 Then David said to his men, “Each of you strap on his sword.” So each man strapped on his sword. And David also strapped on his sword, and about (AS)four hundred men went up behind David, while two hundred (AT)stayed with the baggage.

14 Now one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, “Behold, David sent messengers from the wilderness to [t](AU)greet our master, and he spoke to them in anger. 15 Yet the men were very good to us, and we were not (AV)harmed, nor did anything go missing [u]as long as we went with them, while we were in the fields. 16 (AW)They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the time we were with them tending the sheep. 17 Now then, be aware and [v]consider what you should do, because harm is plotted against our master and against all his household; and he is such a [w]worthless man that no one can speak to him.”

Abigail Intercedes

18 Then Abigail hurried and (AX)took two hundred loaves of bread and two jugs of wine, and five sheep already prepared and five measures of roasted grain, and a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and she loaded them on donkeys. 19 Then she said to her young men, “(AY)Go on ahead of me; behold, I am coming after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. 20 And it happened as she was riding on her donkey and coming down by the hidden part of the mountain, that behold, David and his men were coming down toward her; so she met them. 21 Now David had said, “It is certainly for nothing that I have guarded everything that this man has in the wilderness, so that nothing has gone missing of all that belonged to him! For he has (AZ)returned me evil for good. 22 (BA)May God do so to the enemies of David, and more so, (BB)if by morning I leave alive as much as one [x]male of any who belong to him.”

23 When Abigail saw David, she hurried and dismounted from her donkey, and fell on her face in front of David (BC)and bowed herself to the ground. 24 She fell at his feet and said, “On me [y]alone, my lord, be the blame. And please let your slave speak [z]to you, and listen to the words of your slave. 25 Please do not let my lord [aa]pay attention to this [ab]worthless man, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. [ac]Nabal is his name, and stupidity is with him; but I your slave did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.

26 “Now then, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, since the Lord has restrained you from [ad]shedding blood, and (BD)from [ae]avenging yourself by your own hand, now then, (BE)may your enemies and those who seek evil against my lord, be like Nabal. 27 And now let (BF)this [af]gift which your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who [ag]accompany my lord. 28 Please forgive (BG)the offense of your slave; for (BH)the Lord will certainly make for my lord an [ah]enduring house, because my lord is (BI)fighting the battles of the Lord, and (BJ)evil will not be found in you all your days. 29 Should anyone rise up to pursue you and to seek your [ai]life, then the [aj]life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the Lord your God; but the [ak]lives of your enemies (BK)He will sling out [al]as from the hollow of a sling. 30 And when the Lord does for my lord in accordance with all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and (BL)appoints you ruler over Israel, 31 this will not become an obstacle to you, or a [am]troubled heart to my lord, both by having shed blood without cause and by my lord’s having [an]avenged himself. (BM)When the Lord deals well with my lord, then remember your slave.”

32 Then David said to Abigail, “(BN)Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me, 33 and blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, (BO)who have kept me this day from [ao]bloodshed and from [ap]avenging myself by my own hand. 34 Nevertheless, as the Lord God of Israel lives, (BP)who has restrained me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, there certainly would not have been left to Nabal until the morning light as much as one [aq]male.” 35 So David accepted from her hand what she had brought him, and said to her, “(BQ)Go up to your house in peace. See, I have listened to [ar]you and [as](BR)granted your request.”

36 Then Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was having (BS)a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was cheerful within him, (BT)for he was very drunk; so (BU)she did not tell him anything [at]at all until the morning light. 37 But in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him so that he became like a stone. 38 About ten days later, (BV)the Lord struck Nabal and he died.

David Marries Abigail

39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has (BW)pleaded the cause of the shame inflicted on me by the hand of Nabal, and (BX)has kept back His servant from evil. The Lord has also returned the evildoing of Nabal on his own head.” Then David sent [au](BY)a proposal to Abigail, to take her as his wife. 40 When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, “David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife.” 41 And she got up (BZ)and bowed with her face to the ground, and said, “Behold, your slave is a servant (CA)to wash the feet of my lord’s servants.” 42 Then (CB)Abigail got up quickly, and rode on a donkey, with her five female attendants who [av]accompanied her; and she followed the messengers of David and became his wife.

43 David had also taken Ahinoam of (CC)Jezreel, and (CD)they both became his wives.

44 But Saul had given his daughter (CE)Michal, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was from (CF)Gallim.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 24:1 Ch 24:2 in Heb
  2. 1 Samuel 24:3 Lit cover his feet
  3. 1 Samuel 24:4 Lit in your eyes
  4. 1 Samuel 24:5 Lit heart struck
  5. 1 Samuel 24:7 Lit from
  6. 1 Samuel 24:9 Lit saying
  7. 1 Samuel 24:9 Lit your harm
  8. 1 Samuel 24:10 As in ancient versions; MT, my eye had pity on
  9. 1 Samuel 24:11 Lit offense
  10. 1 Samuel 24:12 Lit me and you
  11. 1 Samuel 24:15 Lit me and you
  12. 1 Samuel 24:19 Lit on a good road
  13. 1 Samuel 24:21 Lit seed
  14. 1 Samuel 25:2 Lit great
  15. 1 Samuel 25:3 Lit of good understanding
  16. 1 Samuel 25:5 Lit come to
  17. 1 Samuel 25:6 Lit To life
  18. 1 Samuel 25:8 Lit good
  19. 1 Samuel 25:11 Lit from where they are
  20. 1 Samuel 25:14 Lit bless
  21. 1 Samuel 25:15 Lit all the days
  22. 1 Samuel 25:17 Lit see
  23. 1 Samuel 25:17 Lit son of Belial
  24. 1 Samuel 25:22 Lit who urinates against the wall
  25. 1 Samuel 25:24 Lit myself
  26. 1 Samuel 25:24 Lit in your ears
  27. 1 Samuel 25:25 Lit set his heart to
  28. 1 Samuel 25:25 Lit man of Belial
  29. 1 Samuel 25:25 I.e., fool
  30. 1 Samuel 25:26 Lit coming in with blood
  31. 1 Samuel 25:26 Lit helping
  32. 1 Samuel 25:27 Lit blessing
  33. 1 Samuel 25:27 Lit walk at the feet of
  34. 1 Samuel 25:28 Or permanent
  35. 1 Samuel 25:29 Lit soul
  36. 1 Samuel 25:29 Lit soul
  37. 1 Samuel 25:29 Lit soul
  38. 1 Samuel 25:29 Lit in the midst of
  39. 1 Samuel 25:31 Lit stumbling of heart
  40. 1 Samuel 25:31 Lit helped
  41. 1 Samuel 25:33 Lit coming into blood
  42. 1 Samuel 25:33 Lit helping
  43. 1 Samuel 25:34 Lit who urinates against the wall
  44. 1 Samuel 25:35 Lit your voice
  45. 1 Samuel 25:35 Lit lifted up your face
  46. 1 Samuel 25:36 Lit small or large
  47. 1 Samuel 25:39 Lit and spoke
  48. 1 Samuel 25:42 Lit walked at her feet
Close NLT

1 Samuel 24-25
New Living Translation

David Spares Saul’s Life

24 [a]After Saul returned from fighting the Philistines, he was told that David had gone into the wilderness of En-gedi. 2 So Saul chose 3,000 elite troops from all Israel and went to search for David and his men near the rocks of the wild goats.

3 At the place where the road passes some sheepfolds, Saul went into a cave to relieve himself. But as it happened, David and his men were hiding farther back in that very cave!

4 “Now’s your opportunity!” David’s men whispered to him. “Today the Lord is telling you, ‘I will certainly put your enemy into your power, to do with as you wish.’” So David crept forward and cut off a piece of the hem of Saul’s robe.

5 But then David’s conscience began bothering him because he had cut Saul’s robe. 6 He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this to my lord the king. I shouldn’t attack the Lord’s anointed one, for the Lord himself has chosen him.” 7 So David restrained his men and did not let them kill Saul.

After Saul had left the cave and gone on his way, 8 David came out and shouted after him, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked around, David bowed low before him.

9 Then he shouted to Saul, “Why do you listen to the people who say I am trying to harm you? 10 This very day you can see with your own eyes it isn’t true. For the Lord placed you at my mercy back there in the cave. Some of my men told me to kill you, but I spared you. For I said, ‘I will never harm the king—he is the Lord’s anointed one.’ 11 Look, my father, at what I have in my hand. It is a piece of the hem of your robe! I cut it off, but I didn’t kill you. This proves that I am not trying to harm you and that I have not sinned against you, even though you have been hunting for me to kill me.

12 “May the Lord judge between us. Perhaps the Lord will punish you for what you are trying to do to me, but I will never harm you. 13 As that old proverb says, ‘From evil people come evil deeds.’ So you can be sure I will never harm you. 14 Who is the king of Israel trying to catch anyway? Should he spend his time chasing one who is as worthless as a dead dog or a single flea? 15 May the Lord therefore judge which of us is right and punish the guilty one. He is my advocate, and he will rescue me from your power!”

16 When David had finished speaking, Saul called back, “Is that really you, my son David?” Then he began to cry. 17 And he said to David, “You are a better man than I am, for you have repaid me good for evil. 18 Yes, you have been amazingly kind to me today, for when the Lord put me in a place where you could have killed me, you didn’t do it. 19 Who else would let his enemy get away when he had him in his power? May the Lord reward you well for the kindness you have shown me today. 20 And now I realize that you are surely going to be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will flourish under your rule. 21 Now swear to me by the Lord that when that happens you will not kill my family and destroy my line of descendants!”

22 So David promised this to Saul with an oath. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went back to their stronghold.

The Death of Samuel

25 Now Samuel died, and all Israel gathered for his funeral. They buried him at his house in Ramah.

Nabal Angers David

Then David moved down to the wilderness of Maon.[b] 2 There was a wealthy man from Maon who owned property near the town of Carmel. He had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats, and it was sheep-shearing time. 3 This man’s name was Nabal, and his wife, Abigail, was a sensible and beautiful woman. But Nabal, a descendant of Caleb, was crude and mean in all his dealings.

4 When David heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep, 5 he sent ten of his young men to Carmel with this message for Nabal: 6 “Peace and prosperity to you, your family, and everything you own! 7 I am told that it is sheep-shearing time. While your shepherds stayed among us near Carmel, we never harmed them, and nothing was ever stolen from them. 8 Ask your own men, and they will tell you this is true. So would you be kind to us, since we have come at a time of celebration? Please share any provisions you might have on hand with us and with your friend David.” 9 David’s young men gave this message to Nabal in David’s name, and they waited for a reply.

10 “Who is this fellow David?” Nabal sneered to the young men. “Who does this son of Jesse think he is? There are lots of servants these days who run away from their masters. 11 Should I take my bread and my water and my meat that I’ve slaughtered for my shearers and give it to a band of outlaws who come from who knows where?”

12 So David’s young men returned and told him what Nabal had said. 13 “Get your swords!” was David’s reply as he strapped on his own. Then 400 men started off with David, and 200 remained behind to guard their equipment.

14 Meanwhile, one of Nabal’s servants went to Abigail and told her, “David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, but he screamed insults at them. 15 These men have been very good to us, and we never suffered any harm from them. Nothing was stolen from us the whole time they were with us. 16 In fact, day and night they were like a wall of protection to us and the sheep. 17 You need to know this and figure out what to do, for there is going to be trouble for our master and his whole family. He’s so ill-tempered that no one can even talk to him!”

18 Abigail wasted no time. She quickly gathered 200 loaves of bread, two wineskins full of wine, five sheep that had been slaughtered, nearly a bushel[c] of roasted grain, 100 clusters of raisins, and 200 fig cakes. She packed them on donkeys 19 and said to her servants, “Go on ahead. I will follow you shortly.” But she didn’t tell her husband Nabal what she was doing.

20 As she was riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, she saw David and his men coming toward her. 21 David had just been saying, “A lot of good it did to help this fellow. We protected his flocks in the wilderness, and nothing he owned was lost or stolen. But he has repaid me evil for good. 22 May God strike me and kill me[d] if even one man of his household is still alive tomorrow morning!”

Abigail Intercedes for Nabal

23 When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed low before him. 24 She fell at his feet and said, “I accept all blame in this matter, my lord. Please listen to what I have to say. 25 I know Nabal is a wicked and ill-tempered man; please don’t pay any attention to him. He is a fool, just as his name suggests.[e] But I never even saw the young men you sent.

26 “Now, my lord, as surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, since the Lord has kept you from murdering and taking vengeance into your own hands, let all your enemies and those who try to harm you be as cursed as Nabal is. 27 And here is a present that I, your servant, have brought to you and your young men. 28 Please forgive me if I have offended you in any way. The Lord will surely reward you with a lasting dynasty, for you are fighting the Lord’s battles. And you have not done wrong throughout your entire life.

29 “Even when you are chased by those who seek to kill you, your life is safe in the care of the Lord your God, secure in his treasure pouch! But the lives of your enemies will disappear like stones shot from a sling! 30 When the Lord has done all he promised and has made you leader of Israel, 31 don’t let this be a blemish on your record. Then your conscience won’t have to bear the staggering burden of needless bloodshed and vengeance. And when the Lord has done these great things for you, please remember me, your servant!”

32 David replied to Abigail, “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you to meet me today! 33 Thank God for your good sense! Bless you for keeping me from murder and from carrying out vengeance with my own hands. 34 For I swear by the Lord, the God of Israel, who has kept me from hurting you, that if you had not hurried out to meet me, not one of Nabal’s men would still be alive tomorrow morning.” 35 Then David accepted her present and told her, “Return home in peace. I have heard what you said. We will not kill your husband.”

36 When Abigail arrived home, she found that Nabal was throwing a big party and was celebrating like a king. He was very drunk, so she didn’t tell him anything about her meeting with David until dawn the next day. 37 In the morning when Nabal was sober, his wife told him what had happened. As a result he had a stroke,[f] and he lay paralyzed on his bed like a stone. 38 About ten days later, the Lord struck him, and he died.

David Marries Abigail

39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Praise the Lord, who has avenged the insult I received from Nabal and has kept me from doing it myself. Nabal has received the punishment for his sin.” Then David sent messengers to Abigail to ask her to become his wife.

40 When the messengers arrived at Carmel, they told Abigail, “David has sent us to take you back to marry him.”

41 She bowed low to the ground and responded, “I, your servant, would be happy to marry David. I would even be willing to become a slave, washing the feet of his servants!” 42 Quickly getting ready, she took along five of her servant girls as attendants, mounted her donkey, and went with David’s messengers. And so she became his wife. 43 David also married Ahinoam from Jezreel, making both of them his wives. 44 Saul, meanwhile, had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to a man from Gallim named Palti son of Laish.

Footnotes

  1. 24:1 Verses 24:1-22 are numbered 24:2-23 in Hebrew text.
  2. 25:1 As in Greek version (see also 25:2); Hebrew reads Paran.
  3. 25:18 Hebrew 5 seahs [36.5 liters].
  4. 25:22 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads May God strike and kill the enemies of David.
  5. 25:25 The name Nabal means “fool.”
  6. 25:37 Hebrew his heart failed him.
Listen to 1 Samuel 24-25
Close MSG

1 Samuel 24-25
The Message

“I’m No Rebel”

24 1-4 When Saul came back after dealing with the Philistines, he was told, “David is now in the wilderness of En Gedi.” Saul took three companies—the best he could find in all Israel—and set out in search of David and his men in the region of Wild Goat Rocks. He came to some sheep pens along the road. There was a cave there and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were huddled far back in the same cave. David’s men whispered to him, “Can you believe it? This is the day God was talking about when he said, ‘I’ll put your enemy in your hands. You can do whatever you want with him.’” Quiet as a cat, David crept up and cut off a piece of Saul’s royal robe.

5-7 Immediately, he felt guilty. He said to his men, “God forbid that I should have done this to my master, God’s anointed, that I should so much as raise a finger against him. He’s God’s anointed!” David held his men in check with these words and wouldn’t let them pounce on Saul. Saul got up, left the cave, and went on down the road.

8-13 Then David stood at the mouth of the cave and called to Saul, “My master! My king!” Saul looked back. David fell to his knees and bowed in reverence. He called out, “Why do you listen to those who say ‘David is out to get you’? This very day with your very own eyes you have seen that just now in the cave God put you in my hands. My men wanted me to kill you, but I wouldn’t do it. I told them that I won’t lift a finger against my master—he’s God’s anointed. Oh, my father, look at this, look at this piece that I cut from your robe. I could have cut you—killed you!—but I didn’t. Look at the evidence! I’m not against you. I’m no rebel. I haven’t sinned against you, and yet you’re hunting me down to kill me. Let’s decide which of us is in the right. God may avenge me, but it is in his hands, not mine. An old proverb says, ‘Evil deeds come from evil people.’ So be assured that my hand won’t touch you.

14-15 “What does the king of Israel think he’s doing? Who do you think you’re chasing? A dead dog? A flea? God is our judge. He’ll decide who is right. Oh, that he would look down right now, decide right now—and set me free of you!”

16-21 When David had finished saying all this, Saul said, “Can this be the voice of my son David?” and he wept in loud sobs. “You’re the one in the right, not me,” he continued. “You’ve heaped good on me; I’ve dumped evil on you. And now you’ve done it again—treated me generously. God put me in your hands and you didn’t kill me. Why? When a man meets his enemy, does he send him down the road with a blessing? May God give you a bonus of blessings for what you’ve done for me today! I know now beyond doubt that you will rule as king. The kingdom of Israel is already in your grasp! Now promise me under God that you will not kill off my family or wipe my name off the books.”

22 David promised Saul. Then Saul went home and David and his men went up to their wilderness refuge.

To Fight God’s Battles

25 Samuel died. The whole country came to his funeral. Everyone grieved over his death, and he was buried in his hometown of Ramah. Meanwhile, David moved again, this time to the wilderness of Maon.

2-3 There was a certain man in Maon who carried on his business in the region of Carmel. He was very prosperous—three thousand sheep and a thousand goats, and it was sheep-shearing time in Carmel. The man’s name was Nabal (Fool), a Calebite, and his wife’s name was Abigail. The woman was intelligent and good-looking, the man brutish and mean.

4-8 David, out in the backcountry, heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep and sent ten of his young men off with these instructions: “Go to Carmel and approach Nabal. Greet him in my name, ‘Peace! Life and peace to you. Peace to your household, peace to everyone here! I heard that it’s sheep-shearing time. Here’s the point: When your shepherds were camped near us we didn’t take advantage of them. They didn’t lose a thing all the time they were with us in Carmel. Ask your young men—they’ll tell you. What I’m asking is that you be generous with my men—share the feast! Give whatever your heart tells you to your servants and to me, David your son.’”

9-11 David’s young men went and delivered his message word for word to Nabal. Nabal tore into them, “Who is this David? Who is this son of Jesse? The country is full of runaway servants these days. Do you think I’m going to take good bread and wine and meat freshly butchered for my sheepshearers and give it to men I’ve never laid eyes on? Who knows where they’ve come from?”

12-13 David’s men got out of there and went back and told David what he had said. David said, “Strap on your swords!” They all strapped on their swords, David and his men, and set out, four hundred of them. Two hundred stayed behind to guard the camp.

14-17 Meanwhile, one of the young shepherds told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, what had happened: “David sent messengers from the backcountry to salute our master, but he tore into them with insults. Yet these men treated us very well. They took nothing from us and didn’t take advantage of us all the time we were in the fields. They formed a wall around us, protecting us day and night all the time we were out tending the sheep. Do something quickly because big trouble is ahead for our master and all of us. Nobody can talk to him. He’s impossible—a real brute!”

18-19 Abigail flew into action. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep dressed out and ready for cooking, a bushel of roasted grain, a hundred raisin cakes, and two hundred fig cakes, and she had it all loaded on some donkeys. Then she said to her young servants, “Go ahead and pave the way for me. I’m right behind you.” But she said nothing to her husband Nabal.

20-22 As she was riding her donkey, descending into a ravine, David and his men were descending from the other end, so they met there on the road. David had just said, “That sure was a waste, guarding everything this man had out in the wild so that nothing he had was lost—and now he rewards me with insults. A real slap in the face! May God do his worst to me if Nabal and every cur in his misbegotten brood aren’t dead meat by morning!”

23-25 As soon as Abigail saw David, she got off her donkey and fell on her knees at his feet, her face to the ground in homage, saying, “My master, let me take the blame! Let me speak to you. Listen to what I have to say. Don’t dwell on what that brute Nabal did. He acts out the meaning of his name: Nabal, Fool. Foolishness oozes from him.

25-27 “I wasn’t there when the young men my master sent arrived. I didn’t see them. And now, my master, as God lives and as you live, God has kept you from this avenging murder—and may your enemies, all who seek my master’s harm, end up like Nabal! Now take this gift that I, your servant girl, have brought to my master, and give it to the young men who follow in the steps of my master.

28-29 “Forgive my presumption! But God is at work in my master, developing a rule solid and dependable. My master fights God’s battles! As long as you live no evil will stick to you.

If anyone stands in your way,
    if anyone tries to get you out of the way,
Know this: Your God-honored life is tightly bound
    in the bundle of God-protected life;
But the lives of your enemies will be hurled aside
    as a stone is thrown from a sling.

30-31 “When God completes all the goodness he has promised my master and sets you up as prince over Israel, my master will not have this dead weight in his heart, the guilt of an avenging murder. And when God has worked things for good for my master, remember me.”

32-34 And David said, “Blessed be God, the God of Israel. He sent you to meet me! And blessed be your good sense! Bless you for keeping me from murder and taking charge of looking out for me. A close call! As God lives, the God of Israel who kept me from hurting you, if you had not come as quickly as you did, stopping me in my tracks, by morning there would have been nothing left of Nabal but dead meat.”

35 Then David accepted the gift she brought him and said, “Return home in peace. I’ve heard what you’ve said and I’ll do what you’ve asked.”

36-38 When Abigail got home she found Nabal presiding over a huge banquet. He was in high spirits—and very, very drunk. So she didn’t tell him anything of what she’d done until morning. But in the morning, after Nabal had sobered up, she told him the whole story. Right then and there he had a heart attack and fell into a coma. About ten days later God finished him off and he died.

39-40 When David heard that Nabal was dead he said, “Blessed be God who has stood up for me against Nabal’s insults, kept me from an evil act, and let Nabal’s evil boomerang back on him.”

Then David sent for Abigail to tell her that he wanted her for his wife. David’s servants went to Abigail at Carmel with the message, “David sent us to bring you to marry him.”

41 She got up, and then bowed down, face to the ground, saying, “I’m your servant, ready to do anything you want. I’ll even wash the feet of my master’s servants!”

42 Abigail didn’t linger. She got on her donkey and, with her five maids in attendance, went with the messengers to David and became his wife.

43-44 David also married Ahinoam of Jezreel. Both women were his wives. Saul had married off David’s wife Michal to Palti (Paltiel) son of Laish, who was from Gallim.

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