Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

For the director of music. A miktam of David when he had run away from Saul into the cave. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.”

² A certain man in Maon was very wealthy. He owned property there at Carmel. He had 1,000 goats and 3,000 sheep. He was clipping the wool off the sheep in Carmel. ³ His name was Nabal. His wife’s name was Abigail. She was a wise and beautiful woman. But her husband was rude and mean in the way he treated others. He was from the family of Caleb.

⁴ David was staying in the Desert of Paran. While he was there, he heard that Nabal was clipping the wool off his sheep. ⁵ So he sent for ten young men. He said to them, “Go up to Nabal at Carmel. Greet him for me. ⁶ Say to him, ‘May you live a long time! May everything go well with you and your family! And may things go well with everything that belongs to you!

⁷ “ ‘I hear that you are clipping the wool off your sheep. When your shepherds were with us, we treated them well. The whole time they were at Carmel nothing that belonged to them was stolen. ⁸ Ask your own servants. They’ll tell you. We’ve come to you now at a happy time of the year. Please be kind to my men. Please give me and my men anything you can find for us.’ ”

⁹ When David’s men arrived, they gave Nabal the message from David. Then they waited.

¹⁰ Nabal answered David’s servants, “Who is this David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants are running away from their masters these days. ¹¹ Why should I give away my bread and water? Why should I give away the meat I’ve prepared for those who clip the wool off my sheep? Why should I give food to men who come from who knows where?”

¹² So David’s men turned around and went back. When they arrived, they reported to David every word Nabal had spoken. ¹³ David said to his men, “Each of you put on your swords!” So they did. David put his sword on too. About 400 men went up with David. Two hundred men stayed behind with the supplies.

¹⁴ One of the servants warned Abigail, Nabal’s wife. He said, “David sent some messengers from the desert to give his greetings to our master. But Nabal shouted at them and was rude to them. ¹⁵ David’s men had been very good to us. They treated us well. The whole time we were near them out in the fields, nothing was stolen. ¹⁶ We were taking care of our sheep near them. During that time, they were like a wall around us night and day. They kept us safe. ¹⁷ Now think it over. See what you can do. Horrible trouble will soon come to our master and his whole family. He’s such an evil man that no one can even talk to him.”

¹⁸ Abigail didn’t waste any time. She got 200 loaves of bread and two bottles of wine. The bottles were made out of animal skins. She got five sheep that were ready to be cooked. She got a bushel of grain that had been cooked. She got 100 raisin cakes. And she got 200 cakes of pressed figs. She loaded all of it on the backs of donkeys. ¹⁹ Then she told her servants, “Go on ahead. I’ll follow you.” But she didn’t tell her husband Nabal about it.

²⁰ Abigail rode her donkey into a mountain valley. There she saw David and his men. They were coming down toward her. ²¹ David had just said, “Everything we’ve done hasn’t been worth a thing! I watched over that fellow’s property in the desert. I made sure none of it was stolen. But he has paid me back evil for good. ²² I won’t leave even one of his men alive until morning. If I do, may God punish me greatly!”

Do Not Take Believers to Court

6 Suppose one of you wants to bring a charge against another believer. Should you take it to ungodly people to be judged? Why not take it to the Lord’s people? ² Or don’t you know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? Since this is true, aren’t you able to judge small cases? ³ Don’t you know that we will judge angels? Then we should be able to judge the things of this life even more! ⁴ So suppose you disagree with one another in matters like this. Who do you ask to decide which of you is right? Do you ask people who live in a way the church disapproves of? Of course not! ⁵ I say this to shame you. Is it possible that no one among you is wise enough to judge matters between believers? ⁶ Instead, one believer goes to court against another. And this happens in front of unbelievers!

⁷ When you take another believer to court, you have lost the battle already. Why not be treated wrongly? Why not be cheated? ⁸ Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong. And you do it to your brothers and sisters. ⁹ Don’t you know that people who do wrong will not receive God’s kingdom? Don’t be fooled. Those who commit sexual sins will not receive the kingdom. Neither will those who worship statues of gods or commit adultery. Neither will men who sleep with other men. ¹⁰ Neither will thieves or those who always want more and more. Neither will those who are often drunk or tell lies or cheat. People who live like that will not receive God’s kingdom. ¹¹ Some of you used to do those things. But your sins were washed away. You were made holy. You were made right with God. All of this was done in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was also done by the Spirit of our God.