| New International Version | New Living Translation |
| 1Now Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned for him; and they buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David moved down into 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. |
| 2A certain man in Maon, who had property there at Carmel, was very wealthy. He had 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 was surly and mean in his dealings--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. |
| 4While David was in the wilderness, he heard that Nabal was shearing sheep. | 4When David heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep, |
| 5So he sent ten young men and said to them, "Go up to Nabal at Carmel and greet him in my name. | 5he sent ten of his young men to Carmel with this message for Nabal: |
| 6Say to him: 'Long life to you! Good health to you and your household! And good health to all that is yours! | 6“Peace and prosperity to you, your family, and everything you own! |
| 7"'Now I hear that it is sheep-shearing time. When your shepherds were with us, we did not mistreat them, and the whole time they were at Carmel nothing of theirs was missing. | 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 and they will tell you. Therefore be favorable toward my men, since we come at a festive time. Please give your servants and your son David whatever you can find for them.'" | 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 men arrived, they gave Nabal this message in David's name. Then they waited. | 9David’s young men gave this message to Nabal in David’s name, and they waited for a reply. |
| 10Nabal answered David's servants, "Who is this David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants are breaking away from their masters these days. | 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 it to men coming from who knows where?" | 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?” |
| 12David's men turned around and went back. When they arrived, they reported every word. | 12So David’s young men returned and told him what Nabal had said. |
| 13David said to his men, "Each of you strap on your sword!" So they did, and David strapped his on as well. About four hundred men went up with 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. |
| 14One of the servants told Abigail, Nabal's wife, "David sent messengers from the wilderness to give our master his greetings, but he hurled insults 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. |
| 15Yet these men were very good to us. They did not mistreat us, and the whole time we were out in the fields near them nothing was missing. | 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. |
| 16Night and day they were a wall around us 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 think it over and see what you can do, because disaster is hanging over our master and his whole household. He is such a wicked man that no one can talk 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!” |
| 18Abigail acted quickly. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and 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 |
| 19Then she told her servants, "Go on ahead; I'll follow 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 she came riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, there were David and his men descending 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. |
| 21David had just said, "It's been useless--all my watching over this fellow's property in the wilderness so that nothing of his was missing. 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 deal with David, be it ever so severely, if by morning I leave alive one male of all 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 quickly got off her donkey and bowed down before David with her face to the ground. | 23When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed low before him. |
| 24She fell at his feet and said: "Pardon your servant, my lord, and let me speak to you; hear what your servant has to say. | 24She fell at his feet and said, “I accept all blame in this matter, my lord. Please listen to what I have to say. |
| 25Please pay no attention, my lord, to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name--his name means Fool, and folly goes with him. And as for me, your servant, I did not see the men 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. |
| 26And now, my lord, as surely as the LORD your God lives and as you live, since the LORD has kept you from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hands, may your enemies and all who are intent on harming 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. |
| 27And let this gift, which your servant has brought to my lord, be given to the men who follow you. | 27And here is a present that I, your servant, have brought to you and your young men. |
| 28"Please forgive your servant's presumption. The LORD your God will certainly make a lasting dynasty for my lord, because you fight the LORD's battles, and no wrongdoing will 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. |
| 29Even though someone is pursuing you to take your life, the life of my lord will be bound securely in the bundle of the living by the LORD your God, but the lives of your enemies he will hurl away as from the pocket of 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 fulfilled for my lord every good thing he promised concerning him and has appointed him ruler over Israel, | 30When the LORD has done all he promised and has made you leader of Israel, |
| 31my lord will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself. And when the LORD your God has brought my lord success, 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!” |
| 32David said to Abigail, "Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me. | 32David replied to Abigail, “Praise the LORD, the God of Israel, who has sent you to meet me today! |
| 33May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with 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, who has kept me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, not one male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by daybreak." | 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 said, "Go home in peace. I have heard your words 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 went to Nabal, he was in the house holding a banquet like that of a king. He was in high spirits and very drunk. So she told him nothing at all until daybreak. | 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. |
| 37Then in the morning, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him all these things, and his heart failed 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 and he died. | 38About ten days later, the LORD struck him, and he died. David Marries Abigail |
| 39When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, "Praise be to the LORD, who has upheld my cause against Nabal for treating me with contempt. He has kept his servant from doing wrong and has brought Nabal's wrongdoing down on his own head." Then David sent word to Abigail, asking 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. |
| 40His servants went to Carmel and said to Abigail, "David has sent us to you to take you to become his wife." | 40When the messengers arrived at Carmel, they told Abigail, “David has sent us to take you back to marry him.” |
| 41She bowed down with her face to the ground and said, "I am your servant and am ready to serve you and 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!” |
| 42Abigail quickly got on a donkey and, attended by her five female servants, went with 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, and they both were 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 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. |
| New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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