24 And it came to pass, awhen Saul was returned from †following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of En-gedi. 2 Then Saul took three thousand bchosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats. 3 And he came to the csheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to dcover his feet: and eDavid and his men remained in the sides of the cave. 4 And the men of David said unto him, fBehold the day of which the Lord said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of †Saul’s robe privily. 5 And it came to pass afterward, that gDavid’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt. 6 And he said unto his men, hThe Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, ithe Lord’s anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord. 7 So David †stayed his servants with these words, and jsuffered them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way. 8 David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself.

9 And David said to Saul, kWherefore hearest thou men’s words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt? 10 Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the Lord had delivered thee to day into mine hand in the cave: and lsome bade me kill thee: but mmine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my lord; for he is the Lord’s anointed. 11 Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand: for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it. 12 nThe Lord judge between me and thee, and the Lord avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. 13 As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. 14 After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? oafter a dead dog, after pa flea. 15 qThe Lord therefore be judge, and judge between me and thee, and rsee, and splead my cause, and †deliver me out of thine hand.

16 And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, tIs this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept. 17 uAnd he said to David, Thou art xmore righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil. 18 And thou hast shewed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me: forasmuch as when the Lord had †delivered me into thine hand, thou killedst me not. 19 For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the Lord reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day. 20 And now, behold, yI know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand. 21 zSwear now therefore unto me by the Lord, athat thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father’s house. 22 And David sware unto Saul. And Saul went home; but David and his men gat them up unto bthe hold.

25 *And aSamuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered together, and blamented him, and buried him cin his house at dRamah. And David arose, and went down to ethe wilderness of Paran. 2 And there was a man in fgMaon, whose ||possessions were in gCarmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 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: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was hof the house of Caleb. 4 And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did ishear his sheep. 5 And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and †greet him in my name: 6 And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, jPeace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast. 7 And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds which were with us, we †hurt them not, neither was there ought kmissing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel. 8 Ask thy young men, and they will shew thee. Wherefore let the young men lfind favour in thine eyes: for we come in ma good day: give, I pray thee, nwhatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants, and to thy son David. 9 And when David’s young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and †ceased. 10 And Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, oWho is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now a days pthat break away every man from his master. 11 qShall 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? 12 So David’s young men turned their way, and went again, and came and told him all those sayings. 13 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 rfour hundred men; and rtwo hundred sabode by the stuff.

14 But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to tsalute our master; and he †railed on them. 15 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: 16 They were ua wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. 17 Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for wevil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such xa son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him. 18 Then Abigail made haste, and ytook 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. 19 And she said unto her servants, zGo on before me; behold, I come after you. But she told not her husband Nabal. 20 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. 21 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 arequited me evil for good. 22 bSo 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 cpisseth against the wall. 23 And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and dlighted off the ass, and efell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, 24 And fell at his feet, and said, fUpon 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. 25 Let not my lord, I pray thee, †regard this gman of Belial, 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. 26 Now therefore, my lord, has the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the Lord hath iwithholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from †avenging thyself with thine own hand, now jlet thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal. 27 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. 28 I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the Lord will certainly make my lord ka sure house; because my lord lfighteth the battles of the Lord, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days. 29 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 msling out, †as out of the middle of a sling. 30 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; 31 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. 32 And David said to Abigail, nBlessed be the Lord God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me: 33 And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast okept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand. 34 For in very deed, pas the Lord God of Israel liveth, which hath qkept me back from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there rhad not been left unto Nabal by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall. 35 So David received of her hand that which she had brought him, and said unto her, sGo up in peace to thine house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have taccepted thy person.

36 And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, uhe held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and uNabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, wless or more, until the morning light. 37 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. 38 And