1 Samuel 24:1–26:25

David Spares Saul in the Cave at En Gedi

24When Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, they told him, “Look, David is in the wilderness of En Gedi.” ²So Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel, and he and his men went to search for David in the direction of^a the Rocks of the Mountain Goats.^{b 3}He came to the sheep pens beside the road, and a cave was there. Then Saul went in to relieve himself.^c Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost part of the cave. ⁴And David’s men said to him, “Look, today is the day about which Yahweh said to you, ‘See, I am giving your enemy^d into your hand, and you can do to him whatever seems good to you.’ ”^e So David got up and secretly cut the hem of Saul’s robe. ⁵And then^f afterward David felt guilty,^g because he had cut the hem of Saul’s robe.^{h 6}He said to his men, “Far be it from me inⁱ Yahweh, that I do this thing to my lord, to Yahweh’s anointed one, by stretching out my hand against him! For he is the anointed one of Yahweh.” ⁷So David rebuked his men with the words and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave, and he went on his^j way.

⁸Then David got up afterward and went out of the cave and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked after him, David knelt down with his face to the ground and bowed down. ⁹Then David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of people who say: ‘Look, David is seeking to do you harm’?^{k 10}Look, this day your eyes have seen that Yahweh gave you today into my hand in the cave, and some said to kill you. But I took pity^l on you and said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, because he is Yahweh’s anointed one.’ ¹¹Now, my father, see, yes, see, the hem of your robe in my hand! For when I cut^m the hem of your robe I did not kill you. Know and realizeⁿ that there is no evil or rebellion in my hand. I did not sin against you, but you are hunting down my life to take it. ¹²May Yahweh judge between me and you, and may Yahweh avenge me on you, but my hand will not be against you! ¹³Just as the ancient proverb says, ‘From the wicked, wickedness goes out,’ but my hand will not be against you! ¹⁴After whom did the king of Israel go out? After whom are you pursuing? After a dead dog? After one flea? ¹⁵May Yahweh be the judge, and let him judge between me and you, and may he see and plead my case. May he vindicate me against you!”^o

¹⁶When David finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. ¹⁷Then he said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me the good, but I have repaid you the evil. ¹⁸You have explained to me today that you have dealt well with me, how^p Yahweh delivered me into your hand but you did not kill me. ¹⁹For a man has found his enemy but sent him on his way safely. Now may Yahweh reward you with good in return for this day, for what you have done for me. ²⁰So now then, look, I know that you will certainly be king and the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand. ²¹So then, swear to me by Yahweh that you will not cut off my descendants^q after me and that you will not wipe out my name from my father’s house.” ²²So David swore this on oath to Saul, and Saul went to his house, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.

Samuel’s Death

25Now Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned for him. They buried him at his house at Ramah. Then David got up and went down to the wilderness of Paran.

David and Abigail

²Now there was a man in Maon, whose business was in Carmel. The man was very rich and owned^a three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. Now^b the shearing of his sheep was taking place in Carmel. ³The name of the man was Nabal,^c and the name of his wife was Abigail.^d Now the woman was wise and beautiful, but the man was stubborn and mean,^e and he was as his heart.^{f 4}David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. ⁵So David sent ten young men, and David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel and go to Nabal; you will greet him in my name.^{g 6}Then you must say to him, ‘Long life to you, and may it go well with you, with your house, and with all that is yours.^{h 7}Now I have heard that you have shearers.ⁱ Now while your shepherds were with us, we did not mistreat them, and nothing of theirs was missing, all the days they were in Carmel. ⁸Ask your servants^j and they will tell you! Let the young men^k find favor in your eyes because we have come on a feast day. Please give whatever you have on hand^l for your servants and for your son David.”

⁹So David’s young men came and they spoke all these words to Nabal in the name of David. Then they waited. ¹⁰But Nabal answered David’s servants and said, “Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? Today, there are many servants breaking away from the presence of their masters. ¹¹Should I take my bread and my water and my meat which I have slaughtered for my shearers and give it to men whom I do not know where they are from? ¹²So David’s young men turned on their way and returned and came and told him according to all these words. ¹³Then David said to his men, “Each man strap on his sword!” So each one strapped on his sword, and David also strapped on his sword. About four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred remained with the baggage.

¹⁴But a young man of the servants told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, “Look, David sent messengers from the desert to greet^m our master, but he addressed them angrily, ¹⁵even though the men were very good to us; we were not mistreated and did not miss anything all the days we went about with them while we wereⁿ in the field. ¹⁶They were a wall to us both night and day, all the days we were^o with them keeping the sheep. ¹⁷And so then, know and consider^p what you should do, for evil has been decided against our master and against all his household, and he is such a wicked man,^q nobody can reason with him!”^r

¹⁸Then Abigail quickly took^s two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five prepared sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred raisin cakes, and two hundred fig cakes, and she put them on the donkeys. ¹⁹Then she said to her servants, “Go ahead before me; look, I am coming after you,” but she did not tell her husband Nabal. ²⁰And then,^t as she was riding on the donkey and was going down the ravine of the mountain, David and his men were coming down to meet her, and she met them. ²¹Now David had said, “Surely in vain^u I guarded all that this fellow had in the desert. And nothing was missed of all that was his, but he returned evil against me in place of good! ²²May God severely punish the enemies of David^v and again do thus if I leave behind anything that is his^w until the morning, not even one male!”^{x 23}When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got down from the donkey and fell on her face before David’s anger,^y and she bowed down to the ground. ²⁴She fell at his feet and said, “On me, my lord, be the guilt! Please let your female servant speak to you personally!^z Hear the words of your female servant! ²⁵Please do not let my lord set his heart against this worthless man,^a Nabal; for as his name, so is he. Nabal is his name, and stupidity is with him! But I, your female servant, did not see the young men^b of my lord whom you sent. ²⁶So then, my lord, as Yahweh lives and as your soul lives,^c since Yahweh restrained you from bloodguilt by taking matters into your own hand,^d so then, may your enemies be like Nabal, even those who seek to do my lord harm.^{e 27}So then, this gift which your female servant has brought to my lord, may it be given to the young men who follow my lord.^{f 28}Please forgive the transgression of your female servant, because Yahweh will certainly make a lasting house^g for my lord, because my lord is fighting the battles of Yahweh, and evil will not be found in you as long as you live.^{h 29}Should a man arise to pursue you and to seek your life, may the life of my lord be wrapped in the pouchⁱ of the living with Yahweh your God. But as for the life of your enemy, he will sling it from within^j the pocket of the sling! ³⁰And then^k when Yahweh has done for my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you as leader over Israel, ³¹then this will not be an obstacle for you or a stumbling block of conscience for my lord either by the shedding of blood without cause or by my lord taking matters into his own hands.^l And when Yahweh does good to my lord, then remember your female servant.”

³²Then David said to Abigail, “Blessed be Yahweh the God of Israel who has sent you this day to meet me! ³³And blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you who have prevented me this day from bloodguilt and from delivering myself by my own hand. ³⁴But as Yahweh lives,^m the God of Israel who has prevented me from harming you, if you had not hurried and come to meet me, surely there would not have been one maleⁿ left alive for Nabal by the light of morning!” ³⁵Then David took from her hand what she had brought for him, and he said to her, “Go up to your house in peace. See, I have listened to your voice, and I have granted your request.”^o

³⁶Then Abigail went to Nabal, and look, he was holding a feast^p in his house like the feast of the king. Nabal was enjoying himself,^q and he was very drunk, so she did not tell him a thing, nothing at all,^r until the light of morning. ³⁷And then^s in the morning when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these words. Then his heart died within him,^t and he became like a stone. ³⁸And then,^u about ten days later, Yahweh struck Nabal and he died.

³⁹When David heard that Nabal had died, he said, “Blessed be Yahweh who has vindicated the case of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and he has kept back his servant from evil; but Yahweh has returned the evil of Nabal on his own head.” Then David sent and spoke with…