1 Samuel 24:1–26:25

David Spares Saul’s Life

24Saul returned from chasing the Philistines. Then he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.” ²So Saul took 3,000 of the best soldiers from the whole nation of Israel. He started out to look for David and his men. He planned to look near the Rocky Cliffs of the Wild Goats.

³He came to some sheep pens along the way. A cave was there. Saul went in to go to the toilet. David and his men were far back in the cave.

⁴David’s men said, “This is the day the Lord told you about. He said to you, ‘I will hand your enemy over to you. Then you can deal with him as you want to.’ ”

So David came up close to Saul without being seen. He cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.

⁵Later, David felt sorry that he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. ⁶He said to his men, “May the Lord keep me from doing a thing like that to my master again. He is the Lord’s anointed king. So I promise that I will never lift my hand to strike him down. The Lord has anointed him.”

⁷David said that to warn his men. He didn’t allow them to attack Saul. So Saul left the cave and went on his way.

⁸Then David went out of the cave. He called out to Saul, “King Saul! My master!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down. He lay down flat with his face toward the ground.

⁹He said to Saul, “Why do you listen when men say, ‘David is trying to harm you’? ¹⁰This very day you have seen with your own eyes how the Lord handed you over to me in the cave. Some of my men begged me to kill you. But I spared you. I said, ‘I will never lift my hand to strike my master down. He is the Lord’s anointed king.’

¹¹“Look, my father! Look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut off the corner of your robe. But I didn’t kill you. I want you to know and understand that I’m not guilty of doing anything wrong. I haven’t turned against you. I haven’t done anything to harm you. But you are hunting me down. You want to kill me.

¹²“May the Lord judge between you and me. And may the Lord pay you back because of the wrong things you have done to me. But I won’t lay a hand on you. ¹³People say, ‘Evil acts come from those who do evil.’ So I won’t lay a hand on you.

¹⁴“King Saul, who are you trying to catch? Who do you think you are chasing? I’m nothing but a dead dog or a flea! ¹⁵May the Lord be our judge. May he decide between us. May he consider my case and stand up for me. May he show that I’m not guilty of doing anything wrong. May he save me from your powerful hand.”

¹⁶When David finished speaking, Saul asked him a question. He said, “My son David, is that your voice?” And Saul sobbed out loud. ¹⁷“You are a better person than I am,” he said. “You have treated me well. But I’ve treated you badly. ¹⁸You have just now told me about the good things you did to me. The Lord handed me over to you. But you didn’t kill me. ¹⁹Suppose a man finds his enemy. He doesn’t let him get away without harming him. May the Lord reward you with many good things. May he do it because of the way you treated me today. ²⁰I know for sure that you will be king. I know that the kingdom of Israel will be made secure under your control. ²¹Now take an oath in the name of the Lord. Promise me that you won’t cut off my children from my family. Also promise me that you won’t wipe out my name from my family line.”

²²So David took an oath and made that promise to Saul. Then Saul returned home. But David and his men went up to his usual place of safety.

David Gets Married to Abigail

25Samuel died. The whole nation of Israel gathered together. They were filled with sorrow because he was dead. They buried his body at his home in Ramah.

Then David went down into the Desert of Maon. ²A certain man in Maon was very wealthy. He owned property there at Carmel. He had 1,000 goats and 3,000 sheep. He was clipping the wool off the sheep in Carmel. ³His name was Nabal. His wife’s name was Abigail. She was a wise and beautiful woman. But her husband was rude and mean in the way he treated others. He was from the family of Caleb.

⁴David was staying in the Desert of Maon. While he was there, he heard that Nabal was clipping the wool off his sheep. ⁵So he sent for ten young men. He said to them, “Go up to Nabal at Carmel. Greet him for me. ⁶Say to him, ‘May you live a long time! May everything go well with you and your family! And may things go well with everything that belongs to you!

⁷“ ‘I hear that you are clipping the wool off your sheep. When your shepherds were with us, we treated them well. The whole time they were at Carmel nothing that belonged to them was stolen. ⁸Ask your own servants. They’ll tell you. We’ve come to you now at a happy time of the year. Please show favor to my young men. Please give me and my men anything you can find for us.’ ”

⁹When David’s men arrived, they gave Nabal the message from David. Then they waited.

¹⁰Nabal answered David’s servants, “Who is this David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants are running away from their masters these days. ¹¹Why should I give away my bread and water? Why should I give away the meat I’ve prepared for those who clip the wool off my sheep? Why should I give food to men who come from who knows where?”

¹²So David’s men turned around and went back. When they arrived, they reported to David every word Nabal had spoken. ¹³David said to his men, “Put on your swords!” So they put their swords on. David put his on too. About 400 men went up with David. Two hundred men stayed behind with the supplies.

¹⁴One of the servants warned Nabal’s wife Abigail. He said, “David sent some messengers from the desert to give his greetings to our master. But Nabal shouted at them and made fun of them.

¹⁵“David’s men had been very good to us. They treated us well. The whole time we were near them out in the fields, nothing was stolen. ¹⁶We were taking care of our sheep near them. During that time, they were like a wall around us night and day. They kept us safe.

¹⁷“Now think it over. See what you can do. Horrible trouble will soon come to our master and his whole family. He’s such an evil man that no one can even talk to him.”

¹⁸Abigail didn’t waste any time. She got 200 loaves of bread and two bottles of wine. The bottles were made out of animal skins. She got five sheep that were ready to be cooked. She got a bushel of grain that had been cooked. She got 100 raisin cakes. And she got 200 cakes of pressed figs. She loaded all of it on the backs of donkeys. ¹⁹Then she told her servants, “Go on ahead. I’ll follow you.” But she didn’t tell her husband Nabal about it.

²⁰Abigail rode her donkey into a mountain valley. There she saw David and his men. They were coming down toward her. ²¹David had just said, “Everything we’ve done hasn’t been worth a thing! I watched over that fellow’s property in the desert. I made sure none of it was stolen. But he has paid me back evil for good. ²²I won’t leave even one of his men alive until morning. If I do, may God punish me greatly!”

²³When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey. She bowed down in front of David with her face toward the ground. ²⁴She fell at his feet. She said, “Please let me speak to you, sir. Listen to what I’m saying. Let me take the blame myself. ²⁵Don’t pay any attention to that evil man Nabal. His name means Foolish Person. And that’s exactly what he is. He’s always doing foolish things. I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to see the men you sent.

²⁶“Sir, the Lord has kept you from killing Nabal and his men. He has kept you from using your own hands to get even. May what’s about to happen to Nabal happen to all of your enemies. May it also happen to everyone who wants to harm you. And may it happen just as surely as the Lord and you are alive.

²⁷“I’ve brought a gift for you. Give it to the men who follow you. ²⁸Please forgive me for what I’ve done wrong.

“The Lord will certainly give you and your family line a kingdom that will last. That’s because you fight the Lord’s battles. Don’t do anything wrong as long as you live.

²⁹“Someone may chase you and try to kill you. But the Lord your God will keep your life safe like a treasure that is hidden in a bag. And he’ll destroy your enemies. Their lives will be thrown away, just as a stone is thrown from a sling.

³⁰“The Lord will do for you every good thing he promised to do. He’ll appoint you leader over Israel. ³¹When that happens, you won’t have this heavy load on your mind. You won’t have to worry about how you killed people without any reason. You won’t have to worry about how you got even. The Lord will give you success. When that happens, please remember me.”

³²David said to Abigail, “Give praise to the Lord. He is the God of Israel. He has sent you today to find me. ³³May the Lord bless you for what you have done. You have shown a lot of good sense. You have kept me from killing Nabal and his men this very day. You have kept me from using my own hands to get even.

³⁴“It’s a good thing you came quickly to meet me. If you hadn’t come, not one of Nabal’s men would have been left alive by sunrise. And that’s just as sure as the Lord, the God of Israel, is alive. He has kept me from harming you.”

³⁵Then David accepted from her what she had brought him. He said, “Go home in peace. I’ve heard your words. I’ll do what you have asked.”

³⁶Abigail went back to Nabal. He was having a dinner party in the house. It was the kind of dinner a king would have. He had been drinking too much wine. He was very drunk. So she didn’t tell him anything at all until sunrise.

³⁷The next morning Nabal wasn’t drunk anymore. Then his wife told him everything. When she did, his heart grew weak. He became like a stone. ³⁸About ten days later, the Lord struck Nabal down. And he died.

³⁹David heard that Nabal was dead. So he said, “Give praise to the Lord. Nabal made fun of me. But the Lord stood up for me. He has kept me from doing something wrong. He has paid Nabal back for the wrong things he did.”

Then David sent a message to Abigail. He asked her to become his wife. ⁴⁰His…