Chronological
25 And Shmuel died; and kol Yisroel were gathered together, and lamented him, and buried him at his bais at Ramah. And Dovid arose, and went down to the midbar Paran.
2 And there was an ish in Ma’on, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the ish was gadol me’od, and he had three thousand tzon, and a thousand izzim (goats); and he was shearing his tzon in Carmel.
3 Now the shem of the ish was Naval; and the shem of his isha Avigal; and she was an isha of tovat seichel, and beautiful; but the ish was kasheh (churlish, difficult) and rah (mean) in his doings; and he was a descendent of Kalev.
4 And Dovid heard in the midbar that Naval did shear his tzon.
5 And Dovid sent out ten ne’arim, and Dovid said unto the ne’arim, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Naval, and give him a shalom greeting in my shem (name);
6 And thus shall ye say to him, Koh lechai (good fortune to you), shalom to thee, shalom to thine bais, shalom unto all that thou hast.
7 And now I have heard that thou hast shearers; now thy ro’im (shepherds) which were with us, we hurt them not, and nothing was missing by them, all the while they were in Carmel.
8 Ask thy ne’arim, and they will show thee. Wherefore let the ne’arim find chen (favor, grace) in thine eyes; for we come on yom tov; give, now, whatsoever cometh to thine yad unto thy avadim, and to thy ben, Dovid.
9 And when the naarei Dovid came, they spoke to Naval according to all those devarim b’shem Dovid, and ceased.
10 And Naval answered the avadim of Dovid, and said, Who is Dovid? And who is Ben Yishai? There be many avadim nowadays who break away every ish from his adon.
11 Shall I then take my lechem, and my mayim, and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it unto anashim who come from I know not where?
12 So the ne’arim of Dovid turned to their derech, and went back, and came and told him all those devarim.
13 And Dovid said unto his anashim, Gird ye on every ish his cherev. And they girded on every ish his cherev; and Dovid also girded on his cherev; and there went up after Dovid about arba me’ot ish; and two hundred stayed by the kelim (supplies).
14 But one of the ne’arim told Avigal, eshet Naval, saying, Hinei, Dovid sent malachim out of the midbar to put a brocha on adoneinu; and he drove them off.
15 But the anashim were tovim unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we any thing, as long as we accompanied them, when we were in the sadeh;
16 They were a chomah (wall) unto us both by lailah gam yomam (night and day), all the while we were with them shepherding hatzon.
17 Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for ra’ah is determined against adoneinu, and against all his bais; for he is such a ben Beliyaal, that a man cannot speak to him.
18 Then Avigal made haste, and took two hundred lechem, and two skins of yayin, and five tzon ready cooked, and five measures of roasted grain, and a hundred raisin cakes, and two hundred pressed figs, and laid them on chamorim (donkeys).
19 And she said unto her ne’arim, Go on ahead of me; hineni, I come after you. But she told not her ish Naval.
20 And it was so, as she rode on the chamor, that she came down by the covert on the har, hinei, Dovid and his anashim came down toward her; and she met them.
21 Now Dovid had said, Surely for sheker have I been shomer over all that this one hath in the midbar, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him; and he hath requited me ra’ah for tovah.
22 So and more also do Elohim unto the oyvei Dovid, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the boker any that urinate against the wall.
23 And when Avigal saw Dovid, she hasted, dismounted the chamor, and fell before Dovid on her face, and bowed herself to the ground,
24 And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, adoni, upon me let this avon be; and let now thine handmaid speak in thine audience, and hear the devarim of thine handmaid.
25 Let now not adoni regard this ish of Beliyaal, even Naval; for as shmo is, so is he; Naval (fool) is shmo, and nevalah (folly) is with him; but I thine handmaid saw not the ne’arim of adoni, whom thou didst send.
26 Now therefore, adoni, as Hashem liveth, and as thy nefesh liveth, seeing Hashem hath held thee back from coming to shed dahm, and from avenging thyself with thine own yad, now let thine oyevim, and they that seek ra’ah for adoni, be as Naval.
27 And now this brocha which thine shifchah (maidservant) hath brought unto adoni, let it even be given unto the ne’arim that follow at the feet of adoni.
28 Forgive now the peysha of thine handmaid; for Hashem will certainly make adoni a bais ne’eman; because adoni fighteth the milchamot of Hashem, and ra’ah hath not been found in thee all thy yamim.
29 Yet adam is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy nefesh; but the nefesh of adoni shall be bound in the bundle of chayyim with Hashem Eloheicha; and the nefesh of thine oyevim, them shall He hurl away, as out of the hollow of a kela (slingshot).
30 And it shall come to pass, when Hashem shall have done to adoni according to all the tovah that He hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee Nagid over Yisroel,
31 There shall be no grief unto thee, nor michshol lev (downfall of conscience) unto adoni, either that thou hast committed shefach dahm chinom, or that adoni hath avenged himself; but when Hashem shall have dealt well with adoni, then remember thine handmaid.
32 And Dovid said to Avigal, Baruch Hashem Elohei Yisroel, Who sent thee today to meet me;
33 And baruch be thy good sense, and berukhah be thou, who hast kept me this yom from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own yad.
34 For in very deed, as Hashem Elohei Yisroel liveth, Who hath kept me back from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Naval by ohr haboker any that urinates against the wall.
35 So Dovid received of her yad that which she had brought him, and said unto her, Go up in shalom to thine bais; see, I have paid heed to thy voice, and have granted thy request.
36 And Avigal came to Naval; and, hinei, he held a mishteh (feast) in his bais, like the mishteh of a melech; and lev Naval was tov within him, for he was shikkor ad me’od; wherefore she told him nothing, katan or gadol, until the ohr haboker.
37 But it came to pass in the boker, when the yayin was gone out of Naval, and his isha had told him these things, that his lev died within him, and he became like even (stone).
38 It came to pass about ten yamim later, Hashem struck Naval, that he died.
39 And when Dovid heard that Naval was dead, he said, Baruch Hashem, that hath upheld the cause of my cherpah (reproach) from the yad of Naval, and hath kept his eved from ra’ah; for Hashem hath returned the ra’ah (wickedness) of Naval upon his own rosh. And Dovid sent and communed with Avigal, to take her to him as isha.
40 And when the avadim of Dovid were come to Avigal to Carmel, they spoke unto her, saying, Dovid sent us unto thee, to take thee to him as isha.
41 And she arose, and bowed herself on her face to the ground, and said, Hinei, let thine handmaid be for a shifchah to wash the feet of the avadim of adoni.
42 And Avigal hasted, and arose and rode upon a chamor, with five na’arot of hers that attended her; and she went after the malachim of Dovid, and became his isha.
43 Dovid also took Achinoam of Yizre’el; and they were also both of them his nashim (wives).
44 But Sha’ul had given Michal bitto (his daughter), Dovid’s isha, to Phalti Ben Layish, who was from Gallim.
26 And the Ziphim came unto Sha’ul at Giveah, saying, Doth not Dovid hide himself in the hill of Chachilah, which faces Yeshimon?
2 Then Sha’ul arose, and went down to the midbar Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Yisroel with him, to search for Dovid in the midbar Ziph.
3 And Sha’ul encamped in the hill of Chachilah, which faces Yeshimon, beside the derech (road). But Dovid stayed in the midbar, and he saw that Sha’ul came after him into the midbar.
4 Dovid therefore sent out scouts, and understood that Sha’ul had indeed come.
5 And Dovid arose, and came to the makom where Sha’ul had encamped; and Dovid beheld the makom where Sha’ul lay down, and Avner Ben Ner, the sar of his tzava (army); and Sha’ul was lying in the camp, and HaAm encamped round about him.
6 Then answered Dovid and said to Achimelech the Chitti, and to Avishai Ben Tzeruyah, achi Yoav, saying, Who will go down with me to Sha’ul to the machaneh? And Avishai said, I will go down with thee.
7 So Dovid and Avishai came to HaAm by lailah; and, hinei, Sha’ul lay sleeping within the camp, and his khanit (spear) stuck in the ground at his head; but Avner and HaAm lay round about him.
8 Then said Avishai to Dovid, Elohim hath delivered thine oyev into thine yad today; now therefore let me strike him, now, with the khanit, pinning him to the ground once; I will not strike him the second time.
9 And Dovid said to Avishai, Destroy him not; for who can stretch forth his yad against Hashem’s moshiach, and be guiltless?
10 Dovid said furthermore, As Hashem liveth, Hashem shall strike him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into milchamah, and perish.
11 Chalilah (far be it) from me by Hashem that I should stretch forth mine yad against Hashem’s moshiach; but, take now thou the khanit (spear) that is at his head, and the flask of mayim, and let us go.
12 So Dovid took the khanit and the flask of mayim from near Sha’ul’s head; and they got them away, and no one saw it, nor knew it, neither awaked; for they were all asleep; because a tardamat Hashem was fallen upon them.
13 Then Dovid went over to the other side, and stood on the top of the har afar off; a great space being between them;
14 And Dovid called out to the people, and to Avner Ben Ner, saying, Answerest thou not, Avner? Then Avner answered and said, Who art thou that calls out to HaMelech?
15 And Dovid said to Avner, Art not thou an ish (man)? And who is like to thee in Yisroel? Wherefore then hast thou not been shomer over adonecha HaMelech? For there came one of HaAm in to destroy HaMelech adonecha.
16 This thing is not tov that thou hast done. As Hashem liveth, ye are worthy for mavet, because ye have not been shomer over adoneichem, Hashem’s moshiach. And now see where the khanit of HaMelech is, and the flask of mayim that was near his head.
17 And Sha’ul knew the voice of Dovid, and said, Is this thy voice, beni, Dovid? And Dovid said, It is my voice, adoni HaMelech.
18 And he said, Why doth adoni thus pursue after his eved? For what have I done? Or what ra’ah is in mine yad?
19 Now therefore, let adoni HaMelech hear the devarim of his eved. If Hashem have stirred thee up against me, let Him accept a minchah; but if they be bnei adam, cursed be they before Hashem; for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the nachalah of Hashem, saying, Go, serve elohim acharim.
20 Now therefore, let not my dahm fall to the earth before the face of Hashem; for the Melech Yisroel is come out to search for a parosh (flea), as when one doth hunt the partridge in the harim.
21 Then said Sha’ul, I have sinned; return, beni Dovid; for I will no more do thee harm, because my nefesh was precious in thine eyes this day; hinei, I was foolish, and have erred exceedingly.
22 And Dovid answered and said, Hinei the khanit HaMelech! Let one of the ne’arim come over and bring it back.
23 Hashem repay to every ish his tzedakah and his emunah; for Hashem delivered thee into my yad today, but I would not stretch forth mine yad against Hashem’s moshiach.
24 And, hinei, as thy nefesh was much valued this day in mine eyes, so let my nefesh be much valued in the eyes of Hashem, and let Him deliver me out of all tzarah (trouble).
25 Then Sha’ul said to Dovid, Baruch atah, beni Dovid; may thou both accomplish many things, and also still succeed. So Dovid went on his derech, and Sha’ul returned to his makom.
27 And Dovid said in his lev, I shall now perish yom echad by the yad Sha’ul; there is nothing tov for me than that I should speedily escape into the Eretz Pelishtim; and Sha’ul shall despair of searching for me any more in kol gevul Yisroel; so shall I escape out of his yad.
2 And Dovid arose, and he passed over with the shesh me’ot ish that were with him unto Achish Ben Maoch Melech Gat.
3 And Dovid dwelt with Achish at Gat, he and his anashim, every ish with his bais (household), even Dovid with his two nashim, Achinoam of Yizre’el, and Avigal eshet Naval of Carmel.
4 And it was told Sha’ul that Dovid was fled to Gat; and he sought no more again for him.
5 And Dovid said unto Achish, If I have now found chen in thine eyes, let them give me a makom (place) in some town in the sadeh (country), that I may dwell there; for why should thy eved dwell in the ir hamamlachah (royal city) with thee?
6 Then Achish gave him Tziklag that day; therefore Tziklag belongs unto the Melachim of Yehudah unto this day.
7 And the mispar hayamim that Dovid dwelt in the sadeh of the Pelishtim was four months and two days.
8 And Dovid and his anashim went up, and raided the Geshuri, and the Girzi, and the Amaleki; for they were of old the inhabitants of HaAretz, as thou goest to Shur, even unto Eretz Mitzrayim.
9 And Dovid attacked the land, and left neither ish nor isha alive, and took away the tzon, and the bakar, and the chamorim, and the gemalim, and the begadim, and returned, and came to Achish.
10 And Achish said, Where have ye raided today? And Dovid said, Against the Negev of Yehudah, or against the Negev of the Yarcheme’eli, or against the Negev of the Keni.
11 And Dovid saved neither ish nor isha alive, to bring [news] to Gat, saying, Lest they should inform on us, saying, So did Dovid, and so has been his mishpat (practice) all the yamim (days) he dwelleth in the sadeh of the Pelishtim (Philistines).
12 And Achish believed Dovid, saying, He hath made his people Yisroel utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be eved to me olam (forever).
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