1 Samuel 23:29–26:25

²⁹And David goeth up thence, and abideth in fortresses at En-gedi.

Chapter 24

¹And it cometh to pass when Saul hath turned back from after the Philistines, that they declare to him, saying, ‘Lo, David is in the wilderness of En-gedi.’ ²And Saul taketh three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and goeth to seek David and his men, on the front of the rocks of the wild goats, ³and he cometh in unto folds of the flock, on the way, and there is a cave, and Saul goeth in to cover his feet; and David and his men in the sides of the cave are abiding. ⁴And the men of David say unto him, ‘Lo, the day of which Jehovah said unto thee, Lo, I am giving thine enemy into thy hand, and thou hast done to him as it is good in thine eyes;’ and David riseth and cutteth off the skirt of the upper robe which is on Saul—gently. ⁵And it cometh to pass afterwards that the heart of David smiteth him, because that he hath cut off the skirt which is on Saul, ⁶and he saith to his men, ‘Far be it from me, by Jehovah; I do not do this thing to my lord—to the anointed of Jehovah—to put forth my hand against him, for the anointed of Jehovah he is.’ ⁷And David subdueth his men by words, and hath not permitted them to rise against Saul; and Saul hath risen from the cave, and goeth on the way; ⁸and David riseth afterwards, and goeth out from the cave, and calleth after Saul, saying, ‘My lord, O king!’ And Saul looketh attentively behind him, and David boweth—face to the earth—and doth obeisance.

⁹And David saith to Saul, ‘Why dost thou hear the words of man, saying, Lo, David is seeking thine evil? ¹⁰Lo, this day have thine eyes seen how that Jehovah hath given thee to-day into my hand in the cave; and one said to slay thee, and mine eye hath pity on thee, and I say, I do not put forth my hand against my lord, for the anointed of Jehovah he is.

¹¹‘And, my father, see, yea see the skirt of thine upper robe in my hand; for by cutting off the skirt of thy upper robe, and I have not slain thee, know and see that there is not in my hand evil and transgression, and I have not sinned against thee, and thou art hunting my soul to take it!

¹²‘Jehovah doth judge between me and thee, and Jehovah hath avenged me of thee, and my hand is not on thee; ¹³as saith the simile of the ancients, From the wicked goeth out wickedness, and my hand is not on thee.

¹⁴‘After whom hath the king of Israel come out? after whom art thou pursuing?—after a dead dog! after one flea! ¹⁵And Jehovah hath been for judge, and hath judged between me and thee, yea, he seeth and pleadeth my cause, and doth deliver me out of thy hand.’

¹⁶And it cometh to pass, when David completeth to speak these words unto Saul, that Saul saith, ‘Is this thy voice, my son David?’ and Saul lifteth up his voice, and weepeth. ¹⁷And he saith unto David, ‘More righteous thou art than I; for thou hast done me good, and I have done thee evil; ¹⁸and thou hast declared to-day how that thou hast done good with me, how that Jehovah shut me up into thy hand, and thou didst not slay me, ¹⁹and that a man doth find his enemy, and hath sent him away in a good manner; and Jehovah doth repay thee good for that which thou didst to me this day.

²⁰‘And, now, lo, I have known that thou dost certainly reign, and the kingdom of Israel hath stood in thy hand; ²¹and, now, swear to me by Jehovah—thou dost not cut off my seed after me, nor dost thou destroy my name from the house of my father.’ ²²And David sweareth to Saul, and Saul goeth unto his house, and David and his men have gone up unto the fortress.

Chapter 25

¹And Samuel dieth, and all Israel are gathered, and mourn for him, and bury him in his house, in Ramah; and David riseth and goeth down unto the wilderness of Paran.

²And there is a man in Maon, and his work is in Carmel; and the man is very great, and he hath three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats; and he is shearing his flock in Carmel. ³And the name of the man is Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail, and the woman is of good understanding, and of fair form, and the man is hard and evil in doings; and he is a Calebite. ⁴And David heareth in the wilderness that Nabal is shearing his flock, ⁵and David sendeth ten young men, and David saith to the young men, ‘Go ye up to Carmel, and ye have come in unto Nabal, and asked of him in my name of welfare, ⁶and said thus: To life! and thou, peace; and thy house, peace; and all that thou hast—peace! ⁷and, now, I have heard that thou hast shearers; now, the shepherds whom thou hast have been with us, we have not put them to shame, nor hath anything been looked after by them, all the days of their being in Carmel.

⁸‘Ask thy young men, and they declare to thee, and the young men find grace in thine eyes, for on a good day we have come; give, I pray thee, that which thy hand findeth, to thy servants, and to thy son, to David.’ ⁹And the young men of David come in, and speak unto Nabal according to all these words, in the name of David—and rest. ¹⁰And Nabal answereth the servants of David and saith, ‘Who is David, and who the son of Jesse? to-day have servants been multiplied who are breaking away each from his master; ¹¹and I have taken my bread, and my water, and my flesh, which I slaughtered for my shearers, and have given it to men whom I have not known whence they are!’

¹²And the young men of David turn on their way, and turn back, and come in, and declare to him according to all these words. ¹³And David saith to his men, ‘Gird ye on each his sword;’ and they gird on each his sword, and David also girdeth on his sword, and there go up after David about four hundred men, and two hundred have remained by the vessels. ¹⁴And to Abigail wife of Nabal hath one young man of the youths declared, saying, ‘Lo, David hath sent messengers out of the wilderness to bless our lord, and he flieth upon them; ¹⁵and the men are very good to us, and have not put us to shame, and we have not looked after anything all the days we have gone up and down with them, in our being in the field; ¹⁶a wall they have been unto us both by night and by day, all the days of our being with them, feeding the flock.

¹⁷‘And, now, know and consider what thou dost; for evil hath been determined against our lord, and against all his house, and he is too much a son of worthlessness to be spoken to.’

¹⁸And Abigail hasteth, and taketh two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep, prepared, and five measures of roasted corn, and a hundred bunches of raisins, and two hundred bunches of figs, and setteth them on the asses. ¹⁹And she saith to her young men, ‘Pass over before me; lo, after you I am coming;’ and to her husband Nabal she hath not declared it; ²⁰and it hath come to pass, she is riding on the ass and is coming down in the secret part of the hill-country, and lo, David and his men are coming down to meet her, and she meeteth them. ²¹And David said, ‘Only, in vain I have kept all that this one hath in the wilderness, and nothing hath been looked after of all that he hath, and he turneth back to me evil for good; ²²thus doth God do to the enemies of David, and thus He doth add, if I leave of all that he hath till the light of the morning—of those sitting on the wall.’ ²³And Abigail seeth David, and hasteth and cometh down from off the ass, and falleth before David on her face, and boweth herself to the earth, ²⁴and falleth at his feet and saith, ‘On me, my lord, the iniquity; and let, I pray thee, thy handmaid speak in thine ear, and hear the words of thy handmaid.

²⁵‘Let not, I pray thee, my lord set his heart to this man of worthlessness, on Nabal, for as his name is so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him; and I, thine handmaid, did not see the young men of my lord whom thou didst send; ²⁶and now, my lord, Jehovah liveth, and thy soul liveth, in that Jehovah hath withheld thee from coming in with blood, and to save thy hand to thee—now let thine enemies be as Nabal, even those seeking evil unto my lord.

²⁷‘And, now, this blessing which thy maid-servant hath brought to my lord—it hath been given to the young men who are going up and down at the feet of my lord.

²⁸‘Bear, I pray thee, with the transgression of thy handmaid, for Jehovah doth certainly make to my lord a stedfast house; for the battles of Jehovah hath my lord fought, and evil is not found in thee all thy days. ²⁹And man riseth to pursue thee and to seek thy soul, and the soul of my lord hath been bound in the bundle of life with Jehovah thy God; as to the soul of thine enemies, He doth sling them out in the midst of the hollow of the sling.

³⁰‘And it hath been, when Jehovah doth to my lord according to all the good which He hath spoken concerning thee, and appointed thee for leader over Israel, ³¹that this is not to thee for a stumbling-block, and for an offence of heart to my lord—either to shed blood for nought, or my lord’s restraining himself; and Jehovah hath done good to my lord, and thou hast remembered thy handmaid.’

³²And David saith to Abigail, ‘Blessed is Jehovah, God of Israel, who hath sent thee this day to meet me, ³³and blessed is thy discretion, and blessed art thou in that thou hast restrained me this day from coming in with blood, and to restrain my hand to myself. ³⁴And yet, Jehovah liveth, God of Israel, who hath kept me back from doing evil with thee, for unless thou hadst hasted, and dost come to meet me, surely there had not been left to Nabal till the light of the morning, of those sitting on the wall.’ ³⁵And David receiveth from her hand that which she hath brought to him, and to her he hath said, ‘Go up in peace to thy house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and accept thy face.’

³⁶And Abigail cometh in unto Nabal, and lo, he hath a banquet in his house, like a banquet of the king, and the heart of Nabal is glad within him, and he is drunk unto excess, and she hath not declared to him anything, less or more, till the light of the morning. ³⁷And it cometh to pass in the morning, when the wine is gone out from…