1Samuel:25

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* And Samuel died ; and all the Israelites were gathered together , and lamented him , and buried him in his house at Ramah . And David arose , and went down to the wilderness of Paran Pa #ran #. * And there was a man in Maon Ma #own #, whose possessions were in Carmel ; and the man was very great , and he had three thousand sheep tso #n #, and a thousand goats : and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel . * 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 to #ar #: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings ma #alal #; and he was of the house of Caleb . * And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep tso #n #. * And David sent out ten young men na #ar #, and David said unto the young men na #ar #, Get you up to Carmel , and go to Nabal , and greet sha # him in my name : * 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 . * 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 . * Ask thy young men na #ar #, 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 . * And when Davids young men came , they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David , and ceased . * And Nabal answered Davids 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 . * 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 ? * So Davids young men turned their way , and went again , and came and told him all those sayings . * 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 . * But one of the young men told Abigail , Nabals wife , saying , Behold , David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master ; and he railed on them . * 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 : * They were a wall unto us both by night and day , all the while we were with them keeping the sheep tso #n #. * 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 b @liya #al #, that a man cannot speak to him . * 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 . * And she said unto her servants na #ar #, Go on before me ; behold , I come after you . But she told not her husband Nabal . * 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 . * 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 . * 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 . * 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 , * 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 . * Let not my lord , I pray thee , regard this man of Belial b @liya #al #, 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 . * 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 . * 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 . * 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 . * 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 tavek # of a sling . * 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 Yisra #el #; * 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 . * And David said to Abigail , Blessed be the LORD God of Israel Yisra #el #, which sent thee this day to meet me : * And blessed be thy advice ta #am #, and blessed be thou , which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood , and from avenging myself with mine own hand . * 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 . * 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 . * And Abigail came to Nabal ; and , behold , he held a feast in his house , like the feast of a king ; and Nabals heart was merry within him , for he was very drunken : wherefore she told him nothing , less or more , until the morning light . * 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 . * And it came to pass about ten days after , that the LORD smote Nabal , that he died . * 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 ro #sh #. And David sent and communed with Abigail , to take her to him to wife . * 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 . * 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 . * 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 . * David also took Ahinoam #Achiyno #am # of Jezreel Yizr @#e #l #; and they were also both of them his wives . * But Saul had given Michal his daughter , Davids wife , to Phalti the son of Laish , which was of Gallim .

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