Samuel I_Chapter 25

Samuel died, and all Israel gathered together to mourn for him. They buried him in his own house in Ramah. David got up and went down to the wilderness of Balaam.

There was a man in Maon whose inheritance was in Carmel. He was a wealthy man with three thousand sheep and one thousand goats. He is shearing wool in Carmel.

That man’s name is Nabal, a member of the Chaldean tribe. His wife’s name is Abigail, a wise and beautiful woman. Na Ba is a stubborn and vicious person.

David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing sheep’s wool,

David sent ten servants and commanded them, saying, Go up to Carmel to Nabal and greet him in my name.

To the wealthy man, may you be in peace, may your family be in peace, and may everything you have be in peace.

Now I heard that someone is shearing your sheep’s wool, and your shepherds were with us when they were in Carmel. We did not bully them, and they did not lose anything.

You can ask your servants, and they will tell you. So may my servant find favor in your eyes, for he has come on a good day. Please take some as you please and give it to your servant and your son David.

When David’s servants arrived, they told Nabal all these words about David’s name, and he remained silent.

Nabal answered David’s servants, saying, Who is David. Who is Jesse’s son. Recently, there have been many servants who have rebelled against their masters and fled,

How shall I give food and meat that the shearers have slaughtered for me to those whom I do not know where they come from?

David’s servants turned around and returned by the same way, telling David according to these words.

David said to his people, ‘Each of you must put on your sword.’. So everyone put on their swords, and David also put on his sword. About four hundred people followed David up, leaving two hundred to guard the utensils.

One of Nabal’s servants told Abigail his wife, ‘David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet my master, but he insulted them.’.

But those people treat us very well. When we interacted with them in the fields, we were not bullied by them, nor did we lose anything.

When we were herding sheep with them, they were our fortress day and night.

So you should plan and see how to proceed. Otherwise, disaster will surely befall my master and his entire family. He has a violent temperament, and no one dares to speak to him.

Abigail quickly carried two hundred loaves of bread, two skin bags of wine, five prepared sheep, five roasted tassels, one hundred grape cakes, and two hundred fig cakes on donkeys,

And he said to his servants, Go ahead, and I will follow you. She didn’t tell her husband about it, Nabal.

Abigail was riding a donkey down the hill when he saw David and his men coming down from across from him. Abigail welcomed them.

David once said, “I have taken care of everything for that man in the wilderness, so that he will not lose anything. It is in vain.”. He rewarded me with evil for good.

If I leave one male of Nabal until tomorrow morning, may God punish me severely.

When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and knelt before David with her face on the ground,

Lie down at David’s feet and say, “My lord, may this sin be mine.”. Please allow the maidservant to speak to you, and even more so, please listen to her words.

My lord, do not pay attention to this bad man Nabal, his character is worthy of his name. His name is Nabal (meaning foolish), and he is indeed foolish. But the servant whom my lord sent, the maid, did not see.

My lord, since the Lord has prevented you from avenging yourself with your own hands and taking the sin of bloodshed, I swear by the living Lord before you, saying, May your enemies and those who plotted against you be like Nabal.

Now please give the gift that the maid has sent to your servants who are following you.

Please forgive the sins of the maid. The Lord will establish a strong house for my lord, because my lord is fighting for the Lord. And you can’t find out anything from your lifetime.

Although some rise up to pursue you and seek your life, your life is protected by the Lord your God, as if wrapped in a treasure. The life of your enemies will be thrown away by the Lord, like a stone thrown with a string.

If my lord does not avenge you with his own hands and shed innocent blood, and the Lord blesses you as he promised you and makes you king over Israel, then my lord will not feel uneasy in his heart and will not feel guilty. When the Lord blesses my lord, remember my servant.

David said to Abigail, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has brought you to meet me today.”.

You and your knowledge should also be praised. Because you stopped me from avenging with your own hands today, shedding human blood.

As the Lord, the living God of Israel, who prevented me from causing harm to you, I swear that if you do not come quickly to meet me, no male belonging to Nabal will be left until tomorrow morning.

David received the gift from Abigail and said to her, ‘I have heard your words and granted your favor. You can go home in peace.’.

Abigail went to Nabal and saw him holding a banquet at home, just like a king’s banquet. Get drunk with happiness. Abigail did not tell him anything big or small, so he waited until the next morning.

In the morning, when Nabal woke up from drinking, his wife told him all these things, and he was completely numb and stiff like a stone.

After ten days, the Lord struck Nabal and he died.

When David heard that Nabal had died, he said, Praise be to the Lord, for he has avenged Nabal for mocking me and prevented his servants from doing evil. And also bring the evil of Nabal upon his head. So David sent messengers and said to Abigail, “Take her as your wife.”.

David’s servant came to Carmel and said to Abigail, “David has sent us to you to marry you.”.

Abigail stood up and fell to the ground, saying, I am willing to be a maid and wash the feet of my master’s servants.

Abigail immediately got up, rode on a donkey, and followed David’s messengers with five maids, becoming David’s wife.

David first married Ahinoam the Jezreelite, and both of them became his wives.

Saul gave his daughter Michal, who was David’s wife, to Parthia, the son of Lail the Karim, as his wife.