The Death of Samuel

25 Now Samuel died. All Israel gathered together and was filled with sorrow for him. They buried him at his house in Ramah.

Then David got ready and went down to the desert of Paran. ² There was a man in Maon who worked in Carmel. The man was very rich. He had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats. He was cutting the wool from his sheep in Carmel. ³ The man’s name was Nabal, and his wife’s name was Abigail. The woman was of good understanding and beautiful. But the man was bad and sinful in his ways. He was a Calebite. ⁴ David heard in the desert that Nabal was cutting the wool from his sheep. ⁵ So David sent ten young men, saying to them, “Go up to Carmel. Visit Nabal and greet him for me. ⁶ Say to him, ‘Have a long life. Peace be to you. Peace be to your family. And peace be to all that you have. ⁷ I have heard that you have men who cut the wool from your sheep. Now your shepherds have been with us, and we have not done them any wrong. And they have not missed anything all the time they were in Carmel. ⁸ Ask your young men and they will tell you. So let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we have come on a special day. I ask you to give whatever you have ready to your servants and to your son David.’”

⁹ When David’s young men came, they said all this to Nabal in David’s name. Then they waited. ¹⁰ But Nabal answered David’s servants, “Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants these days who are leaving their owners. ¹¹ Should I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my wool cutters, and give it to men when I do not know where they came from?” ¹² So David’s young men turned away and returned to David and told him all this. ¹³ David said to his men, “Every man put on his sword!” So every man put on his sword, and David put on his sword also. About 400 men went up behind David, while 200 stayed with their things.

¹⁴ But one of the young men told Nabal’s wife Abigail, “See, David sent men from the desert to greet our owner, and he spoke against them. ¹⁵ But David’s men were very good to us. They did not do anything wrong to us. And we did not miss anything when we were in the fields, as long as we went with them. ¹⁶ They were a wall to us night and day, all the time we were with them taking care of the sheep. ¹⁷ So know this and think about what you should do. For bad plans have been made against our owner and all his family. He is such a sinful man that no one can speak to him.”

¹⁸ In a hurry Abigail took 200 loaves of bread, two bottles of wine, five sheep ready to eat, five baskets of dry grain, 100 vines of dried grapes and 200 loaves of figs, and loaded them on donkeys. ¹⁹ She said to her young men, “Go on before me. See, I am coming after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. ²⁰ As she went on her donkey and came down hidden by the mountain, David and his men came down toward her, and she met them. ²¹ Now David had said, “It was for nothing that I have watched over all this man has in the desert, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him. He has paid me bad for good. ²² May God do the same to David and more, if I leave until morning as much as one male alive of all who belong to him.”

²³ When Abigail saw David, she got off her donkey in a hurry. Then she put her face to the ground in front of David. ²⁴ She fell at his feet and said, “Let the sin be on me alone, my lord. I beg you, let your woman servant speak to you. Listen to the words of your woman servant. ²⁵ I beg you, do not let my lord think about this sinful man, Nabal. For he is like his name. Nabal is his name and he is foolish. But I your woman servant did not see my lord’s young men whom you sent. ²⁶ So now, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, let the Lord keep you from being guilty of blood. Let Him keep you from punishing with your own hand. And let those who hate you and those who want to hurt my lord be like Nabal. ²⁷ Now let this gift which your woman servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. ²⁸ I beg you, forgive the sin of your woman servant. For the Lord will be sure to make my lord a family that will last. Because my lord is fighting the Lord’s battles. Sin will not be found in you as long as you live. ²⁹ If men rise up to come after you and try to kill you, then the life of my lord will be taken care of by the Lord your God. But He will throw away the lives of those who hate you, as a rock is thrown from a sling. ³⁰ The Lord will do to my lord all the good that He has promised you. He will make you ruler over Israel. ³¹ Then my lord will have no reason to feel sorry or guilty because of killing without cause or punishing by my lord’s own hand. When the Lord does good things for my lord, remember your woman servant.”

³² Then David said to Abigail, “Thanks be to the Lord God of Israel, Who sent you this day to meet me. ³³ May thanks be given for your wisdom, and thanks be to you. You have kept me this day from being guilty of blood, and from punishing with my own hand. ³⁴ The Lord God of Israel has kept me from hurting you. And as the Lord lives, if you had not been quick to come to meet me, for sure not one male would have been left to Nabal until the morning.” ³⁵ So David received what she had brought him. He said to her, “Go up to your house in peace. See, I have listened to you and have done what you asked.”

³⁶ Abigail came to Nabal and saw that he was having a special supper in his house, like the special supper of a king. Nabal’s heart was full of joy, because he was very drunk. So she did not tell him anything until the morning. ³⁷ But in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things. And his heart died within him so that he became like a stone. ³⁸ The Lord made Nabal die about ten days later.

³⁹ When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Thanks be to the Lord, Who has punished Nabal for putting me to shame. He has kept His servant from sin. And the Lord has turned the sin of Nabal upon himself.” Then David sent word to Abigail, asking her to be his wife. ⁴⁰ When David’s servants came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, “David has sent us to you, to take you as his wife.” ⁴¹ She stood up and then put her face to the ground, and said, “See, your woman servant will serve you by washing the feet of my lord’s servants.” ⁴² Then she got ready in a hurry and traveled on a donkey, with her five young women who followed her. She followed the men David had sent, and became his wife.

⁴³ David had taken Ahinoam of Jezreel also. They both became his wives.

⁴⁴ Saul had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was from Gallim.

David Keeps from Killing Saul the Second Time

26 Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding on the hill of Hachilah, east of Jeshimon?” ² So Saul got ready and went down to the desert of Ziph. He had 3,000 chosen men of Israel with him, to look for David in the desert of Ziph. ³ Saul stayed on the hill of Hachilah, beside the road east of Jeshimon. And David was staying in the desert. When he saw that Saul came after him in the desert, ⁴ David sent out spies and learned that Saul was coming for sure. ⁵ Then David got ready and came to the place where Saul was staying. He saw the place where Saul lay, with Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his army. Saul was lying in the center of the tents, and the people were sleeping around him.

⁶ Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Joab’s brother Abishai the son of Zeruiah, “Who will go down with me to the tents of Saul?” Abishai said, “I will go down with you.” ⁷ So David and Abishai came to the people during the night. Saul lay sleeping in the center of the tents, with his spear in the ground at his head. Abner and the people were lying around him. ⁸ Abishai said to David, “Today God has given the one who hates you into your hand. Now let me nail him to the earth with the spear, hitting him just once. I will not hit him a second time.” ⁹ But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him. For who can put his hand out against the Lord’s chosen one and not be guilty?” ¹⁰ David said, “As the Lord lives, He will destroy him. Or his day will come to die. Or he will be killed in battle. ¹¹ May the Lord keep me from putting out my hand against the Lord’s chosen one. But take the spear that is at his head and the bottle of water, and let us go.” ¹² So David took the spear and the bottle of water from beside Saul’s head, and they went away. But no one saw it, or knew it, and no one woke, for they were all sleeping. A deep sleep from the Lord had come upon them.

¹³ Then David crossed over to the other side and stood far away on top of the mountain, with much land between them. ¹⁴ David called to the army and to Ner’s son Abner, saying, “Will you not answer, Abner?” Abner answered, “Who are you who calls to the king?” ¹⁵ David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? Who is like you in Israel? Why have you not watched over your lord the king? For one of the people came to destroy the king your lord. ¹⁶ This thing you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, all of you must die for sure. Because you did not watch over your lord, the Lord’s chosen one. Now see where the king’s spear is, and the bottle of water that was beside his head.”

¹⁷ Saul knew David’s voice, and said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And David said, “It is my voice, my lord the king. ¹⁸ Why is my lord coming after his servant? What have I done? What am I guilty of? ¹⁹ Now I beg you, let my lord the king listen to the words of his servant. If the Lord has made you come against me, let Him receive a gift. But if men have done this, may bad come to them before the Lord. For they have driven me out this day, that I should have no share of what the Lord has given. They say, ‘Go, worship other gods.’ ²⁰ So do not let my blood fall to the ground away from the Lord. For the king of Israel has come out to look for one little bug, just as one looks for a partridge in the mountains.”

²¹ Then Saul said, “I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will not hurt you again. Because my life was of great worth in your eyes this day. See, I have played the fool, and have made a big mistake.” ²² David answered, “See the spear of the king! Let one of the young men come over and take it. ²³ The Lord will pay each man for being right and good and faithful. For the Lord gave you into my hand today. But I would not put out my hand against the Lord’s chosen one. ²⁴ Now see, as your life was of great worth in my eyes today, so may my life be of great worth in the eyes of the Lord. May He save me from all trouble.” ²⁵ Then Saul said to David, “May good come to you, my son David. You will do many things and do them well.” So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.