1 Samuel Chapter 25

The Death of Samuel

¹ Samuel died and Israel gathered to mourn for him. They buried him at his home in Ramah.  

David and Abigail

David went down to the Wilderness of Paran. ^2aA man named Nabal in Maon had a business in Carmel. He was really rich with 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats. (³ His wife Abigail was intelligent and beautiful, but he was harsh and rude in his dealings, a descendant of Caleb.) ^2bWhile he was shearing his sheep in Carmel, ⁴ David heard about it in the open country. ⁵ He sent ten young men and told them,

“Go to Carmel, visit Nabal, and greet him in my name. ⁶ Say, ‘Have a long life, peace to you, your household, and everybody you have. ⁷ I’ve heard you have shearers. Your shepherds have been with us, and we’ve not insulted them or taken anything from them the whole time they were in Carmel. ⁸ Ask your young men and they’ll tell you. So be gracious to my young men; we’ve come on a festive day. Please give Whatever you have on hand please give to them and to me.’”              

1 Sam 25:1-8

⁹ When David’s young men came, they told Nabal everything in David’s name and waited. ¹⁰ But Nabal answered,

“Who’s David? Who’s Jesse’s son? Lots of servants are breaking away from their masters these days. ¹¹ Am I supposed to take my bread, water, and meat that I’ve butchered for my shearers, and give it to men I don’t know?”

¹² David’s young men retraced their steps and told him what Nabal said. ¹³ David told them to put on their swords. David put on his sword, and about 400 men went up behind him while 200 stayed with the baggage.              

1 Sam 25:9-13

            ¹⁴ One of the young men told Abigail,

“David sent messengers from the countryside to greet our master, and he scorned them. ¹⁵ Yet the men were good to us. They didn’t insult us or take anything as we went around with them on the open range. ¹⁶ They were a wall to us day and night the whole time we tended sheep together. ¹⁷ Think what you should do; David’s planning to do something bad to our master and his household. Nabal is such a worthless fellow nobody can talk to him.”                                                   

1 Sam 25:14-17

¹⁸ Abigail hurried and loaded donkeys with 200 loaves of bread, 2 wineskins of wine, 5 sheep already fixed, a bushel of roasted grain, 100 clusters of raisins, and 200 cakes of figs. ¹⁹ She told her young men, “Go on ahead; I’ll follow.” She didn’t tell her husband. ²⁰ As she was riding her donkey down under cover of the mountain, she met David and his men. ²¹ David had said,

“For nothing I’ve guarded everything this man has on the open range so that he hasn’t missed anything. He’s paid me bad for good. ²² God do so to me and more if by morning I leave him one male alive.”

1 Sam 25:18-22

^23-24 When Abigail saw him, she hurried and dismounted. She fell on her face at his feet, bowed to the ground, and said,

“Put the blame on me, my lord. Please let me speak to you. ²⁵ Don’t pay any attention to this worthless fellow; he’s like his name Nabal, ‘a foolish man.’ I didn’t see the young men you sent. ²⁶ As sure as Yahveh lives and you live, since he’s restrained you from shedding blood to avenge yourself, may your enemies be like Nabal. ²⁷ Give this gift to the young men. ²⁸ Please forgive my sin. Yahveh will certainly make an enduring dynasty for you because you’re fighting his battles. There won’t be anything bad in you your whole life. ²⁹ If anybody attacks you, you’ll be in the bundle of the living with Yahveh your God. He’ll throw out the lives of your enemies as from the cup in a sling. ³⁰ When he keeps his promise and appoints you ruler over Israel, ³¹ what’s happened won’t cause you grief for having shed blood unnecessarily to avenge yourself. When Yahveh deals well with you, remember me.”       

1 Sam 25:23-31

³² David told Abigail, 

“Bless Yahveh God of Israel, who sent you. ³³ Bless you for your discretion. You’ve kept me from shedding blood to avenge myself. ³⁴ Nevertheless, as sure as Yahveh lives, who kept me from harming you, if you hadn’t come so soon, I wouldn’t have left Nabal one male by morning.” 

³⁵ David accepted what she’d brought. “Go home on good terms. I’ve done what you asked.”

1 Sam 25:32-35

³⁶ She went to Nabal. He was holding a feast in his house, celebrating like a king. He was half drunk, so she didn’t tell him anything till morning. ³⁷ When he’d sobered up, she told him everything. His heart died; he became like a stone. ³⁸ Some ten days later, Yahveh struck him, and he died.

³⁹ When David heard Nabal was dead, he said,

“Bless Yahveh, who pleaded the cause of his insult to me, and kept me from doing something bad. Yahveh has brought his wrongdoing back on him.”

Then David sent a proposal to Abigail to be his wife. ⁴⁰ When his servants came to her at Carmel, they said, “David has sent us to you to take you as his wife.” ⁴¹ She got up and bowed to the ground, “I’ll wash his servants’ feet.” ⁴² She got up quick and rode a donkey with her five maids attending her. She followed David’s messengers and became his wife. ⁴³ David had also taken Ahinoam of Jezreel; they both became his wives. ⁴⁴ Saul had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Palti Ben-Laish from Gallim.

1 Sam 25:36-44