| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1When Samuel died, all Israel gathered to mourn for him; and they buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David set out and went down to the Wilderness of Paran. | 1Now Samuel died, and all Israel gathered for his funeral. They buried him at his house in Ramah. Nabal Angers David Then David moved down to the wilderness of Maon. |
| 2Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. He was a very wealthy man with a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel. | 2There was a wealthy man from Maon who owned property near the town of Carmel. He had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats, and it was sheep-shearing time. |
| 3His name was Nabal, and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband, a Calebite, was harsh and evil in his dealings. | 3This man’s name was Nabal, and his wife, Abigail, was a sensible and beautiful woman. But Nabal, a descendant of Caleb, was crude and mean in all his dealings. |
| 4While David was in the wilderness, he heard that Nabal was shearing sheep. | 4When David heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep, |
| 5So David sent ten young men and instructed them, “Go up to Nabal at Carmel. Greet him in my name | 5he sent ten of his young men to Carmel with this message for Nabal: |
| 6and say to him, ‘Long life to you, and peace to you and your house and to all that belongs to you. | 6“Peace and prosperity to you, your family, and everything you own! |
| 7Now I hear that it is time for shearing. When your shepherds were with us, we did not harass them, and nothing of theirs was missing the whole time they were in Carmel. | 7I am told that it is sheep-shearing time. While your shepherds stayed among us near Carmel, we never harmed them, and nothing was ever stolen from them. |
| 8Ask your young men, and they will tell you. So let my young men find favor with you, for we have come on the day of a feast. Please give whatever you can afford to your servants and to your son David.’ ” | 8Ask your own men, and they will tell you this is true. So would you be kind to us, since we have come at a time of celebration? Please share any provisions you might have on hand with us and with your friend David.” |
| 9When David’s young men arrived, they relayed all these words to Nabal on behalf of David. Then they waited. | 9David’s young men gave this message to Nabal in David’s name, and they waited for a reply. |
| 10But Nabal asked them, “Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants these days are breaking away from their masters. | 10“Who is this fellow David?” Nabal sneered to the young men. “Who does this son of Jesse think he is? There are lots of servants these days who run away from their masters. |
| 11Why should I take my bread and water and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give them to these men whose origin I do not know?” | 11Should I take my bread and my water and my meat that I’ve slaughtered for my shearers and give it to a band of outlaws who come from who knows where?” |
| 12So David’s men turned around and went back, and they relayed to him all these words. | 12So David’s young men returned and told him what Nabal had said. |
| 13And David said to his men, “Strap on your swords!” So David and all his men put on their swords, and about four hundred men followed David, while two hundred stayed with the supplies. | 13“Get your swords!” was David’s reply as he strapped on his own. Then 400 men started off with David, and 200 remained behind to guard their equipment. |
| 14Meanwhile, one of Nabal’s young men informed Nabal’s wife Abigail, “Look, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, but he scolded them. | 14Meanwhile, one of Nabal’s servants went to Abigail and told her, “David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, but he screamed insults at them. |
| 15Yet these men were very good to us. When we were in the field, we were not harassed, and nothing of ours went missing the whole time we lived among them. | 15These men have been very good to us, and we never suffered any harm from them. Nothing was stolen from us the whole time they were with us. |
| 16They were a wall around us, both day and night, the whole time we were herding our sheep near them. | 16In fact, day and night they were like a wall of protection to us and the sheep. |
| 17Now consider carefully what you must do, because disaster looms over our master and all his household. For he is such a scoundrel that nobody can speak to him!” | 17You need to know this and figure out what to do, for there is going to be trouble for our master and his whole family. He’s so ill-tempered that no one can even talk to him!” |
| 18Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five butchered sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs. She loaded them on donkeys | 18Abigail wasted no time. She quickly gathered 200 loaves of bread, two wineskins full of wine, five sheep that had been slaughtered, nearly a bushel of roasted grain, 100 clusters of raisins, and 200 fig cakes. She packed them on donkeys |
| 19and said to her young men, “Go ahead of me. I will be right behind you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. | 19and said to her servants, “Go on ahead. I will follow you shortly.” But she didn’t tell her husband Nabal what she was doing. |
| 20As Abigail came riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, she saw David and his men coming down toward her, and she met them. | 20As she was riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, she saw David and his men coming toward her. |
| 21Now David had just finished saying, “In vain I have protected all that belonged to this man in the wilderness. Nothing that belongs to him has gone missing, yet he has paid me back evil for good. | 21David had just been saying, “A lot of good it did to help this fellow. We protected his flocks in the wilderness, and nothing he owned was lost or stolen. But he has repaid me evil for good. |
| 22May God punish David, and ever so severely, if I let one of Nabal’s men survive until morning.” | 22May God strike me and kill me if even one man of his household is still alive tomorrow morning!” Abigail Intercedes for Nabal |
| 23When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off the donkey, fell facedown, and bowed before him. | 23When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed low before him. |
| 24She fell at his feet and said, “My lord, may the blame be on me alone, but please let your servant speak to you; hear the words of your servant. | 24She fell at his feet and said, “I accept all blame in this matter, my lord. Please listen to what I have to say. |
| 25My lord should pay no attention to this scoundrel Nabal, for he lives up to his name: His name means Fool, and folly accompanies him. I, your servant, did not see my lord’s young men whom you sent. | 25I know Nabal is a wicked and ill-tempered man; please don’t pay any attention to him. He is a fool, just as his name suggests. But I never even saw the young men you sent. |
| 26Now, my lord, as surely as the LORD lives and you yourself live, the LORD has held you back from coming to bloodshed and avenging yourself with your own hand. May your enemies and those who seek harm for my lord be like Nabal. | 26“Now, my lord, as surely as the LORD lives and you yourself live, since the LORD has kept you from murdering and taking vengeance into your own hands, let all your enemies and those who try to harm you be as cursed as Nabal is. |
| 27Now let this gift your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow you. | 27And here is a present that I, your servant, have brought to you and your young men. |
| 28Please forgive your servant’s offense, for the LORD will surely make a lasting dynasty for my lord, because he fights the LORD’s battles. May no evil be found in you as long as you live. | 28Please forgive me if I have offended you in any way. The LORD will surely reward you with a lasting dynasty, for you are fighting the LORD’s battles. And you have not done wrong throughout your entire life. |
| 29And should someone pursue you and seek your life, then the life of my lord will be bound securely by the LORD your God in the bundle of the living. But He shall fling away the lives of your enemies like stones from a sling. | 29“Even when you are chased by those who seek to kill you, your life is safe in the care of the LORD your God, secure in his treasure pouch! But the lives of your enemies will disappear like stones shot from a sling! |
| 30When the LORD has done for my lord all the good He promised, and when He has appointed you ruler over Israel, | 30When the LORD has done all he promised and has made you leader of Israel, |
| 31then my lord will have no remorse or guilt of conscience over needless bloodshed and revenge. And when the LORD has dealt well with my lord, may you remember your maidservant.” | 31don’t let this be a blemish on your record. Then your conscience won’t have to bear the staggering burden of needless bloodshed and vengeance. And when the LORD has done these great things for you, please remember me, your servant!” |
| 32Then David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet me this day! | 32David replied to Abigail, “Praise the LORD, the God of Israel, who has sent you to meet me today! |
| 33Blessed is your discernment, and blessed are you, because today you kept me from bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand. | 33Thank God for your good sense! Bless you for keeping me from murder and from carrying out vengeance with my own hands. |
| 34Otherwise, as surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, then surely no male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by morning light.” | 34For I swear by the LORD, the God of Israel, who has kept me from hurting you, that if you had not hurried out to meet me, not one of Nabal’s men would still be alive tomorrow morning.” |
| 35Then David accepted from her hand what she had brought him, and he said to her, “Go home in peace. See, I have heeded your voice and granted your request.” | 35Then David accepted her present and told her, “Return home in peace. I have heard what you said. We will not kill your husband.” |
| 36When Abigail returned to Nabal, there he was in the house, holding a feast fit for a king, in high spirits and very drunk. So she told him nothing until morning light. | 36When Abigail arrived home, she found that Nabal was throwing a big party and was celebrating like a king. He was very drunk, so she didn’t tell him anything about her meeting with David until dawn the next day. |
| 37In the morning when Nabal was sober, his wife told him about these events, and his heart failed within him and he became like a stone. | 37In the morning when Nabal was sober, his wife told him what had happened. As a result he had a stroke, and he lay paralyzed on his bed like a stone. |
| 38About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal dead. | 38About ten days later, the LORD struck him, and he died. David Marries Abigail |
| 39On hearing that Nabal was dead, David said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has upheld my cause against the reproach of Nabal and has restrained His servant from evil. For the LORD has brought the wickedness of Nabal down upon his own head.” Then David sent word to Abigail, asking for her in marriage. | 39When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Praise the LORD, who has avenged the insult I received from Nabal and has kept me from doing it myself. Nabal has received the punishment for his sin.” Then David sent messengers to Abigail to ask her to become his wife. |
| 40When his servants came to Abigail at Carmel, they said, “David has sent us to take you as his wife.” | 40When the messengers arrived at Carmel, they told Abigail, “David has sent us to take you back to marry him.” |
| 41She arose, then bowed facedown and said, “Here is your maidservant, ready to serve and to wash the feet of my lord’s servants.” | 41She bowed low to the ground and responded, “I, your servant, would be happy to marry David. I would even be willing to become a slave, washing the feet of his servants!” |
| 42So Abigail hurried and got on a donkey, and attended by five of her maidens, she followed David’s messengers and became his wife. | 42Quickly getting ready, she took along five of her servant girls as attendants, mounted her donkey, and went with David’s messengers. And so she became his wife. |
| 43David had also married Ahinoam of Jezreel. So she and Abigail were both his wives. | 43David also married Ahinoam from Jezreel, making both of them his wives. |
| 44But Saul had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Palti son of Laish, who was from Gallim. | 44Saul, meanwhile, had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to a man from Gallim named Palti son of Laish. |
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