| NET Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned him. They buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David left and went down to the desert 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. |
| 2There was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. This man was very wealthy; he owned three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. At that time he was shearing his sheep 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. |
| 3The man's name was Nabal, and his wife's name was Abigail. She was both wise and beautiful, but the man was harsh and his deeds were evil. He was a Calebite. | 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. |
| 4When David heard in the desert that Nabal was shearing his sheep, | 4When David heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep, |
| 5he sent ten servants, saying to them, "Go up to Carmel to see Nabal and give him greetings in my name. | 5he sent ten of his young men to Carmel with this message for Nabal: |
| 6Then you will say to my brother, "Peace to you and your house! Peace to all that is yours! | 6“Peace and prosperity to you, your family, and everything you own! |
| 7Now I hear that they are shearing sheep for you. When your shepherds were with us, we neither insulted them nor harmed them 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 own servants; they can tell you! May my servants find favor in your sight, for we have come at the time of a holiday. Please provide us--your servants and your son David--with whatever you can spare." | 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.” |
| 9So David's servants went and spoke all these words to Nabal in David's name. Then they paused. | 9David’s young men gave this message to Nabal in David’s name, and they waited for a reply. |
| 10But Nabal responded to David's servants, "Who is David, and who is this son of Jesse? This is a time when many servants 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. |
| 11Should I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers and give them to these men? I don't even know where they came from!" | 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 servants went on their way. When they had returned, they came and told David all these things. | 12So David’s young men returned and told him what Nabal had said. |
| 13Then David instructed his men, "Each of you strap on your sword!" So each one strapped on his sword, and David also strapped on his sword. About four hundred men followed David up, while two hundred stayed behind with the equipment. | 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. |
| 14But one of the servants told Nabal's wife Abigail, "David sent messengers from the desert to greet our lord, but he screamed at 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. |
| 15These men were very good to us. They did not insult us, nor did we sustain any loss during the entire time we were together in the field. | 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. |
| 16Both night and day they were a protective wall for us the entire time we were with them, while we were tending our flocks. | 16In fact, day and night they were like a wall of protection to us and the sheep. |
| 17Now be aware of this, and see what you can do. For disaster has been planned for our lord and his entire household. He is such a wicked person that no one tells him anything!" | 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!” |
| 18So Abigail quickly took two hundred loaves of bread, two containers of wine, five prepared sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred bunches of raisins, and two hundred lumps of pressed 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 servants, "Go on ahead of me. I will come after 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. |
| 20Riding on her donkey, she went down under cover of the mountain. David and his men were coming down to meet her, and she encountered them. | 20As she was riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, she saw David and his men coming toward her. |
| 21Now David had been thinking, "In vain I guarded everything that belonged to this man in the desert. I didn't take anything from him. But he has repaid my good with evil. | 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. |
| 22God will severely punish David, if I leave alive until morning even one male from all those who belong to him!" | 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 got down quickly from the donkey, threw herself down before David, and bowed to the ground. | 23When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed low before him. |
| 24Falling at his feet, she said, "My lord, I accept all the guilt! But please let your female servant speak with my lord! Please listen to 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 not pay attention to this wicked man Nabal. He simply lives up to his name! His name means 'fool,' and he is indeed foolish! But I, your servant, did not see the servants my lord 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. |
| 26"Now, my lord, as surely as the LORD lives and as surely as you live, it is the LORD who has kept you from shedding blood and taking matters into your own hands. Now may your enemies and those who seek to harm 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 present that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the servants who follow my lord. | 27And here is a present that I, your servant, have brought to you and your young men. |
| 28Please forgive the sin of your servant, for the LORD will certainly establish the house of my lord, because my lord fights the battles of the LORD. May no evil be found in you all your days! | 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. |
| 29When someone sets out to chase you and to take your life, the life of my lord will be wrapped securely in the bag of the living by the LORD your God. But he will sling away the lives of your enemies from the sling's pocket! | 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! |
| 30The LORD will do for my lord everything that he promised you, and he will make you a leader over Israel. | 30When the LORD has done all he promised and has made you leader of Israel, |
| 31Your conscience will not be overwhelmed with guilt for having poured out innocent blood and for having taken matters into your own hands. When the LORD has granted my lord success, please remember your servant." | 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, "Praised be the LORD, the God of Israel, who has sent you this day to meet me! | 32David replied to Abigail, “Praise the LORD, the God of Israel, who has sent you to meet me today! |
| 33Praised be your good judgment! May you yourself be rewarded for having prevented me this day from shedding blood and taking matters into my own hands! | 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--he who has prevented me from harming you--if you had not come so quickly to meet me, by morning's light not even one male belonging to Nabal would have remained alive!" | 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 took from her hand what she had brought to him. He said to her, "Go back to your home in peace. Be assured that I have listened to you and responded favorably." | 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 went back to Nabal, he was holding a banquet in his house like that of the king. Nabal was having a good time and was very intoxicated. She told him absolutely nothing until morning's 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 matters. He had a stroke and was paralyzed. | 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. |
| 38After about ten days the LORD struck Nabal down and he died. | 38About ten days later, the LORD struck him, and he died. David Marries Abigail |
| 39When David heard that Nabal had died, he said, "Praised be the LORD who has vindicated me and avenged the insult that I suffered from Nabal! The LORD has kept his servant from doing evil, and he has repaid Nabal for his evil deeds." Then David sent word to Abigail and asked her to become his wife. | 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. |
| 40So the servants of David went to Abigail at Carmel and said to her, "David has sent us to you to bring you back to be his wife." | 40When the messengers arrived at Carmel, they told Abigail, “David has sent us to take you back to marry him.” |
| 41She arose, bowed her face toward the ground, and said, "Your female servant, like a lowly servant, will wash the feet of the servants of my lord." | 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!” |
| 42Then Abigail quickly went and mounted her donkey, with five of her female servants accompanying her. 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 from Jezreel; the two of them became his wives. | 43David also married Ahinoam from Jezreel, making both of them his wives. |
| 44(Now Saul had given his daughter Michal, David's wife, to Paltiel 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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