1 Samuel 25
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 25
Death of Samuel. 1 Samuel died, and all Israel gathered to mourn him; they buried him at his home in Ramah.(A) Then David went down to the wilderness of Paran.
Nabal and Abigail. 2 There was a man of Maon who had property in Carmel; he was very wealthy, owning three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. At the time, he was present for the shearing of his flock in Carmel.(B) 3 The man’s name was Nabal and his wife was Abigail. The woman was intelligent and attractive, but Nabal, a Calebite, was harsh and bad-mannered.(C) 4 While in the wilderness, David heard that Nabal was shearing his flock, 5 so he sent ten young men, instructing them: “Go up to Carmel. Pay Nabal a visit and greet him in my name. 6 Say to him, ‘Peace be with you, my brother, and with your family, and with all who belong to you. 7 I have just heard that shearers are with you. Now, when your shepherds were with us, we did them no injury, neither did they miss anything while they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your servants and they will tell you. Look kindly on these young men, since we come at a festival time. Please give your servants and your son David[a] whatever you can.’”
9 When David’s young men arrived, they delivered the entire message to Nabal in David’s name, and then waited. 10 But Nabal answered the servants of David: “Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? Nowadays there are many servants who run away from their masters. 11 Must I take my bread, my wine, my meat that I have slaughtered for my own shearers, and give them to men who come from who knows where?” 12 So David’s young men retraced their steps and on their return reported to him all that had been said. 13 Thereupon David said to his men, “Let everyone strap on his sword.” And everyone did so, and David put on his own sword. About four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred remained with the baggage.
14 Abigail, Nabal’s wife, was informed of this by one of the servants, who said: “From the wilderness David sent messengers to greet our master, but he screamed at them. 15 Yet these men were very good to us. We were not harmed, neither did we miss anything all the while we were living among them during our stay in the open country. 16 Day and night they were a wall of protection for us, the whole time we were pasturing the sheep near them. 17 Now, see what you can do, for you must realize that otherwise disaster is in store for our master and for his whole house. He is such a scoundrel that no one can talk to him.” 18 Abigail quickly got together two hundred loaves, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of pressed raisins, and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on donkeys. 19 She then said to her servants, “Go on ahead; I will follow you.” But to her husband Nabal she said nothing.
20 Hidden by the mountain, she came down riding on a donkey, as David and his men were coming down from the opposite direction. When she met them, 21 David had just been saying: “Indeed, it was in vain that I guarded all this man’s possessions in the wilderness, so that nothing of his was missing. He has repaid good with evil. 22 May God do thus to David, and more, if by morning I leave a single male alive among all those who belong to him.”(D) 23 As soon as Abigail saw David, she dismounted quickly from the donkey and, falling down, bowed low to the ground before David in homage.
24 As she fell at his feet she said: “My lord, let the blame be mine. Please let your maidservant speak to you; listen to the words of your maidservant.(E) 25 My lord, do not pay any attention to that scoundrel Nabal, for he is just like his name. His name means fool,[b] and he acts the fool. I, your maidservant, did not see the young men whom my lord sent. 26 Now, therefore, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as you live, the Lord has kept you from shedding blood and from avenging yourself by your own hand. May your enemies and those who seek to harm my lord become as Nabal 27 Accept this gift, then, which your maidservant has brought for my lord, and let it be given to the young men who follow my lord. 28 Please forgive the offense of your maidservant, for the Lord shall certainly establish a lasting house for my lord, because my lord fights the battles of the Lord. Let no evil be found in you your whole life long.(G) 29 If any adversary pursues you to seek your life, may the life of my lord be bound in the bundle of the living[d] in the care of the Lord your God; may God hurl out the lives of your enemies as from the hollow of a sling.(H) 30 And when the Lord fulfills for my lord the promise of success he has made concerning you, and appoints you as ruler over Israel,(I) 31 you shall not have any regrets or burdens on your conscience, my lord, for having shed innocent blood or for having rescued yourself. When the Lord bestows good on my lord, remember your maidservant.” 32 David said to Abigail: “Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet me today. 33 Blessed is your good judgment and blessed are you yourself. Today you have prevented me from shedding blood and rescuing myself with my own hand. 34 Otherwise, as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has kept me from harming you, if you had not come so promptly to meet me, by dawn Nabal would not have had so much as one male left alive.” 35 David then took from her what she had brought him and said to her: “Go to your home in peace! See, I have listened to your appeal and have granted your request.”
Nabal’s Death. 36 When Abigail came to Nabal, he was hosting a banquet in his house like that of a king, and Nabal was in a festive mood and very drunk. So she said not a word to him until daybreak the next morning. 37 But then, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him what had happened. At this his heart died within him, and he became like a stone. 38 About ten days later the Lord struck Nabal and he died. 39 Hearing that Nabal was dead, David said: “Blessed be the Lord, who has defended my cause against the insult from Nabal, and who restrained his servant from doing evil, but has repaid Nabal for his evil deeds.”
David Marries Abigail and Ahinoam. David then sent a proposal of marriage to Abigail.(J) 40 When David’s servants came to Abigail in Carmel, they said to her, “David has sent us to make his proposal of marriage to you.” 41 Rising and bowing to the ground, she answered, “Let your maidservant be the slave who washes the feet of my lord’s servants.” 42 She got up immediately, mounted a donkey, and followed David’s messengers, with her five maids attending her. She became his wife. 43 (K)David also married Ahinoam of Jezreel. Thus both of them were his wives. 44 But Saul gave David’s wife Michal, Saul’s own daughter, to Palti, son of Laish, who was from Gallim.(L)
Footnotes
- 25:8 Your son David: this kinship language may reflect a political or social relationship between Nabal and David. Nabal, however, does not acknowledge it.
- 25:25 Hebrew nabal means “fool” (cf. Is 32:5–7). Abigail, on the other hand, acts wisely to save herself and her household by offering prudent counsel to the future king of Israel.
- 25:26 Abigail, encouraging David to trust in God’s promise, anticipates that some misfortune will shortly overtake Nabal, as in fact it does (vv. 37–38).
- 25:29 The bundle of the living: the figure is perhaps taken from the practice of tying up valuables in a kerchief or bag for safekeeping. Abigail desires that David enjoy permanent peace and security, but that his enemies be subject to constant agitation and humiliation like a stone whirled about, cast out of the sling, and thereafter disregarded.
1 Samuel 25
Christian Standard Bible
David, Nabal, and Abigail
25 Samuel died,(A) and all Israel assembled to mourn for him,(B) and they buried him by his home in Ramah.(C) David then went down to the Wilderness of Paran.[a](D)
2 A man in Maon(E) had a business in Carmel;(F) he was a very rich man with three thousand sheep and one thousand goats and was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 The man’s name was Nabal, and his wife’s name, Abigail. The woman was intelligent and beautiful, but the man, a Calebite,(G) was harsh and evil in his dealings.
4 While David was in the wilderness, he heard that Nabal was shearing sheep, 5 so David sent ten young men instructing them, “Go up to Carmel, and when you come to Nabal, greet him[b] in my name. 6 Then say this: ‘Long life to you,[c] and peace to you, peace to your family, and peace to all that is yours.(H) 7 I hear that you are shearing.[d] When your shepherds were with us, we did not harass them, and nothing of theirs was missing the whole time they were in Carmel.(I) 8 Ask your young men, and they will tell you. So let my young men find favor with you, for we have come on a feast[e] day.(J) Please give whatever you have on hand to your servants and to your son David.’”
9 David’s young men went and said all these things to Nabal on David’s behalf,[f] and they waited.[g] 10 Nabal asked them, “Who is David?(K) Who is Jesse’s son? Many slaves these days are running away from their masters. 11 Am I supposed to take my bread, my water, and my meat that I butchered for my shearers and give them to these men? I don’t know where they are from.”
12 David’s young men retraced their steps. When they returned to him, they reported all these words. 13 He said to his men, “All of you, put on your swords!” So each man put on his sword, and David also put on his sword. About four hundred men followed David while two hundred stayed with the supplies.(L)
14 One of Nabal’s young men informed Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “Look, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master,(M) but he screamed at them. 15 The men treated us very well. When we were in the field, we weren’t harassed(N) and nothing of ours was missing the whole time we were living among them. 16 They were a wall around us, both day and night,(O) the entire time we were with them herding the sheep. 17 Now consider carefully[h] what you should do, because there is certain to be trouble for our master and his entire family. He is such a worthless fool nobody can talk to him!”
18 Abigail hurried, taking two hundred loaves of bread, two clay jars of wine, five butchered sheep, a bushel[i] of roasted grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on donkeys.(P) 19 Then she said to her male servants, “Go ahead of me. I will be right behind you.”(Q) But she did not tell her husband, Nabal.
20 As she rode the donkey down a mountain pass hidden from view, she saw David and his men coming toward her and met them. 21 David had just said, “I guarded everything that belonged to this man in the wilderness for nothing. He was not missing anything, yet he paid me back evil for good. 22 May God punish me[j] and do so severely(R) if I let any of his males[k] survive until morning.”(S)
23 When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off the donkey and knelt down with her face to the ground and paid homage to David.(T) 24 She knelt at his feet and said, “The guilt is mine, my lord, but please let your servant speak to you directly. Listen to the words of your servant. 25 My lord should pay no attention to this worthless fool Nabal, for he lives up to his name:[l] His name means ‘stupid,’ and stupidity is all he knows.[m] I, your servant, didn’t see my lord’s young men whom you sent. 26 Now my lord, as surely as the Lord lives and as you yourself live—it is the Lord who kept you from participating in bloodshed and avenging yourself(U) by your own hand—may your enemies and those who intend to harm my lord be like Nabal.(V) 27 Let this gift(W) your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. 28 Please forgive your servant’s offense,(X) for the Lord is certain to make a lasting dynasty for my lord(Y) because he fights the Lord’s battles.(Z) Throughout your life, may evil[n] not be found in you.(AA)
29 “Someone is pursuing you and intends to take your life. My lord’s life is tucked safely in the place[o] where the Lord your God protects the living, but he is flinging away your enemies’ lives like stones from a sling.(AB) 30 When the Lord does for my lord all the good he promised you and appoints you ruler over Israel,(AC) 31 there will not be remorse or a troubled conscience for my lord because of needless bloodshed or my lord’s revenge. And when the Lord does good things for my lord, may you remember me your servant.”(AD)
32 Then David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,(AE) who sent you to meet me today! 33 May your discernment be blessed, and may you be blessed. Today you kept me from participating in bloodshed and avenging myself by my own hand.(AF) 34 Otherwise, as surely as the Lord God of Israel lives, who prevented me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, Nabal wouldn’t have had any males[p] left by morning light.” 35 Then David accepted what she had brought him and said, “Go home in peace.(AG) See, I have heard what you said and have granted your request.”(AH)
36 Then Abigail went to Nabal, and there he was in his house, holding a feast fit for a king.(AI) Nabal’s heart was cheerful,[q] and he was very drunk, so she didn’t say anything[r] to him(AJ) until morning light.
37 In the morning when Nabal sobered up,[s] his wife told him about these events. His heart died[t] and he became a stone. 38 About ten days later, the Lord struck Nabal dead.(AK)
39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the Lord who championed my cause against Nabal’s insults(AL) and restrained his servant from doing evil.(AM) The Lord brought Nabal’s evil deeds back on his own head.”(AN)
Then David sent messengers to speak to Abigail about marrying him. 40 When David’s servants came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, “David sent us to bring you to him as a wife.”
41 She stood up, paid homage with her face to the ground,(AO) and said, “Here I am, your servant, a slave to wash the feet of my lord’s servants.”(AP) 42 Then Abigail got up quickly, and with her five female servants accompanying her, rode on the donkey following David’s messengers.(AQ) And so she became his wife.
43 David also married Ahinoam of Jezreel,(AR) and the two of them became his wives. 44 But Saul gave his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Palti(AS) son of Laish, who was from Gallim.(AT)
Footnotes
- 25:1 LXX reads to Maon
- 25:5 Or Nabal, ask him for peace
- 25:6 Lit ‘To life
- 25:7 Lit you have shearers
- 25:8 Lit good
- 25:9 Lit name
- 25:9 LXX reads and he became arrogant
- 25:17 Lit Now know and see
- 25:18 Lit sheep, five seahs
- 25:22 LXX; MT reads David’s enemies
- 25:22 Lit of those of his who are urinating against the wall
- 25:25 Lit for as is his name is, so he is
- 25:25 Lit and foolishness is with him
- 25:28 Or trouble
- 25:29 Lit bundle
- 25:34 Lit had anyone urinating against a wall
- 25:36 Lit Nabal’s heart was good on him
- 25:36 Lit anything at all
- 25:37 Lit when the wine had gone out of Nabal
- 25:37 Lit Then his heart died within him
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