1 SAMUEL 25



[2] And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the

man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats:

and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

[3] Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and

she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but

the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of

Caleb.

[4] And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep.

[5] And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get

you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name:

[6] And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to

thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast.

[7] And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds which

were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there ought missing unto them,

all the while they were in Carmel.

[8] Ask thy young men, and they will shew thee. Wherefore let the young men

find favour in thine eyes: for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee,

whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants, and to thy son David.

[9] And when David's young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all

those words in the name of David, and ceased.

[10] And Nabal answered David's servants, and said, Who is David? and who is

the son of Jesse? there be many servants now a days that break away every

man from his master.

[11] Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have

killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they

be?

[12] So David's young men turned their way, and went again, and came and

told him all those sayings.

[13] And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they

girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there

went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the

stuff.

[14] But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold,

David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he

railed on them.

[15] But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither

missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were

in the fields:

[16] They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were

with them keeping the sheep.

[17] Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is

determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such

a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him.

[18] Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles

of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn,

and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid

them on asses.

[19] And she said unto her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come after

you. But she told not her husband Nabal.

[20] And it was so, as she rode on the ass, that she came down by the covert

of the hill, and, behold, David and his men came down against her; and she

met them.

[21] Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow

hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained

unto him: and he hath requited me evil for good.

[22] So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all

that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.

[23] And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and

fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground,

[24] And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this

iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience,

and hear the words of thine handmaid.

[25] Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal:

for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but

I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send.

[26] Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth,

seeing the LORD hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from

avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that

seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.

[27] And now this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought unto my lord,

let it even be given unto the young men that follow my lord.

[28] I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the LORD will

certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of

the LORD, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days.

[29] Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul

of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and

the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of

a sling.

[30] And it shall come to pass, when the LORD shall have done to my lord

according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall

have appointed thee ruler over Israel;

[31] That this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my

lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath

avenged himself: but when the LORD shall have dealt well with my lord, then

remember thine handmaid.

[32] And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which

sent thee this day to meet me:

[33] And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this

day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand.

[34] For in very deed, as the LORD God of Israel liveth, which hath kept me

back from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely

there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light any that pisseth

against the wall.

[35] So David received of her hand that which she had brought him, and said

unto her, Go up in peace to thine house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice,

and have accepted thy person.

[36] And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house,

like the feast of a king; and Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was

very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the

morning light.

[37] But it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of

Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within

him, and he became as a stone.

[38] And it came to pass about ten days after, that the LORD smote Nabal,

that he died.

[39] And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the LORD,

that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath

kept his servant from evil: for the LORD hath returned the wickedness of

Nabal upon his own head, And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take

her to him to wife.

[40] And when the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, they

spake unto her, saying, David sent us unto thee to take thee to him to wife.

[41] And she arose, and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said,

Behold, let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of

my lord.

[42] And Abigail hasted, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five damsels

of hers that went after her; and she went after the messengers of David, and

became his wife.

[43] David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and they were also both of them his

wives.

[44] But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Phalti the son

of Laish, which was of Gallim.



1 SAMUEL 26



David Again Spares Saul's Life



1 (1Sa 23:19; Ps 54:1-7) Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying,

"Is David not hiding himself on the hill of Hakilah,

which is before Jeshimon?"

2 (1Sa 24:2) Then Saul arose and went down to the Wilderness of Ziph,

having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David

in the Wilderness of Ziph.

3 Saul camped on the hill of Hakilah,

which is before Jeshimon, by the road. But David stayed in the wilderness,

when he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness.

4 And David sent out spies and knew that Saul had certainly come.

5 (1Sa 17:55; 14:50-51) So David arose and came to the place where Saul

had camped. And David saw the place where Saul was lying down

and Abner son of Ner, the commander of his army.

Saul was lying down in the encampment,

while the people encamped around him.

6 (Jdg 7:10-11; 2Sa 2:18) Then David answered and said to Ahimelek

the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, saying,

"Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp?"

And Abishai said, "I will go down with you."

7 So David and Abishai came to the people by night while Saul lay sleeping

within the circle of the camp. And his spear was stuck in the ground

at his head, and Abner and the people were lying all around him.

8 (1Sa 24:4) Then Abishai said to David, "God has today delivered

your enemy into your hand. Now please let me strike him with the spear through

to the ground with one stroke, and I will not strike him a second time."

9 (2Sa 1:14; 1:16) David said to Abishai, "Do not destroy him. For who can

stretch out his hand against the Lord's anointed and remain unpunished?"

10 (Ge 47:29; Dt 31:14) David said, "As the Lord lives, the Lord

will strike him, or his day will come to die,

or he will go down into battle and perish.

11 (1Sa 24:6; 24:12) The Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand

against the Lord's anointed, but now please take the spear that is at his head

and the jug of water, and let us go."

12 (Ge 2:21; 15:12) So David took the spear

and the jug of water from Saul's head

and they went away. No one saw, no one knew, and no one awoke,

for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep

from the Lord had fallen upon them.

13 Then David went over to the other side and stood on the top

of a hill at a distance. A great space was between them.

14 And David called to the people and to Abner the son of Ner, saying,

"Will you not answer, Abner?"

Then Abner answered and said, "Who are you that calls to the king?"

15 And David said to Abner, "Are you not a man? And who is like to you

in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king?

For one of the people came in to destroy the king your lord.

16 (1Sa 20:31; 26:11) This thing is not good which you have done.

As the Lord lives, you are worthy of death because you have not guarded

your master, the Lord's anointed. And now, see where is the king's spear?

And the jug of water that was at his head?"

17 (1Sa 24:16) Saul knew David's voice, and said,

"Is this your voice, my son David?"

And David said, "It is my voice, my lord king."

18 (1Sa 24:9; 24:11-14) He said, "Why is my lord pursuing after his servant?

For what have I done? Or what evil is in my hand?

19 (2Sa 14:16; 16:11) Now please let my lord king hear the words

of his servant. If the Lord has stirred you up against me,

let Him accept an offering. But if it was the sons of men,

cursed are they before the Lord. For they have driven me today

from having a share in the inheritance of the Lord, saying,

'Go, serve other gods.'

20 (1Sa 24:14) Now do not let my blood fall to the ground away

from the presence of the Lord. Truly the king of Israel has come

out to seek a single flea, as when one pursues a partridge in the mountains."

21 (1Sa 15:24; 24:17) Then said Saul, "I have sinned. Return, my son David,

for I will not harm you again, because my soul was precious in your eyes

this day. I have acted foolishly and have seriously gone astray."

22 David answered and said, "See, the king's spear! Let one of the young men

come over and get it.

23 The Lord requites to every man his right conduct and loyalty.

So the Lord gave you into my hand today, but I am not willing to stretch

my hand against the Lord's anointed.

24 As your life was highly valued in my eyes this day, so may my life be

highly valued in the eyes of the Lord,

and may He rescue me out of all distress."

25 (Ge 32:28; 1Sa 24:19) Then Saul said to David, "Blessed are you,

my son David. You will do great things, and will surely prevail."

So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.