1 Samuél dyeth. 3 Nabál & Abigáil 38 The Lord killeth Nabál 43 Abigáil & Ahinóam Dauids wiues. 44 Michal is giuen to Phalti.

1.THen ^* Samuél dyed, and all Iſraél aſſembled, and mourned for him, & buryed him in his ^a owne houſe at Ramáh. And Dauid aroſe and went downe to the wildernes of Parán.

2.Now in ^b Maón was a man, who had his poſſeſſion in Carmél, and the man was exceding mighty and had thre thouſand ſhepe, and a thouſand goates: and he was ſhering his ſhepe in Carmél.

3.The name alſo of the man was Nabál, & the name of his wife Abigáil, and ſhe was a woman of ſingular wiſdome, and beautiful, but the man was churliſh, and euil cō ditioned, and was of the familie of Caléb.

4.And Dauid heard in the wildernes, that Nabál did ſhere his ſhepe.

5.Therefore Dauid ſent ten yong men, & Dauid ſaid vnto the yong men, Go vp to Carmél, and go to Nabál, and aſke him in my name ^" how he doeth.

6.And thus ſhal ye ſay ^c for ſalutation, Bothe y, and thine houſe, and all that thou haſt, be in peace, welth, and proſperitie.

7.Beholde, I haue heard that thou haſt ſherers: now thy ſhepherds were with vs, and we did them no hurt, nether did they miſſe anie thing all the while they were in Carmél.

8.Aſke thy ſeruants & they wil ſhewe thee. Wherefore let theſe yōg mē finde fauour in thine eyes: (for we come in a good ſeaſon) giue, I praye thee, whatſoeuer ^d commeth to thine hand vnto thy ſeruants, & to thy ſonne Dauid.

9.¶And when Dauids yong men came, they tolde Nabal all thoſe wordes in the name of Dauid, and helde their peace.

10.Then Nabál anſwered Dauids ſeruāts, and ſaid, Who is Dauid? and who is the ſonne of Iſhái? there is manie ſeruants ^e now a dayes, that breake awaye euery mā from his maſter.

11.Shal I then take my bread, & my water, & my fleſh that I haue killed for my ſherers, and giue it vnto mẽ, whome I knowe not whence thei be?

12.¶ So Dauids ſeruants turned their way, and went againe, and came, and tolde him all thoſe things.

13.And Dauid ſaid vnto his men, Girde euery man his ſworde about him. And they girded euery man his ſworde: Dauid alſo girded his ſworde. And about foure hundreth men went vp after Dauid, and two hundreth abode by the ^" cariage.

14.Now one of the ſeruants tolde Abigáil Nabals wife, ſaying, Beholde, Dauid ſent meſſengers out of the wildernes to ſalute our maſter, and he ^" rayled on them.

15.Notwithſtanding the men were very good ^f vnto vs, and we had no diſpleaſure, nether miſſed we any thing as long as we were conuerſant with them, when we were in the fields.

16.Thei were as a wall vnto vs bothe by night and by day, all the while we were with them keping ſhepe.

17.Now therefore take hede, and ſe what thou ſhalt do: for euil ^" wil furely come vpon our maſter, and vpon all his familie: for he is ſo wicked yͤ a man can not ſpeake to him.

18.¶ Then Abigáil made haſte, and toke two hundreth ^" cakes, and two bottles of wine, and fiue ſhepe ready dreſſed, & fiue meaſures of parched corne, and an hundreth ^" frailes of raiſins, and two hundreth of figges, and laded them on aſſes.

19.Then ſhe ſaid vnto her ſeruants, Go ye before me: beholde, I wil come after you: yet ſhe tolde ^g not her houſband Nabál.

20.And as ſhe rode on her aſſe, ſhe came downe by a ſecret place of the mountaine, and beholde, Dauid and his men came downe againſt her, and ſhe met them.

21.And Dauid ſaid, In dede I haue kept all in vaine that this fellowe had in the wildernes, ſo that nothing was miſſed of all that perteined vnto him: for he hathe requited me euil for good.

22.So and more alſo do God vnto the enemies of Dauid: for ſurely I wil not leaue of all that he hathe, by the dawning of the day, any that ^h piſſeth againſt the wall.

23.And when Abigáil ſawe Dauid, ſhe haſted and lighted of her aſſe, & fel before Dauid on her face, and bowed her ſelfe to the grounde,

24.And fel at his fete, & ſaid, Oh, my lord, I haue committed the iniquitie, and I pray thee, let thine handmaid ſpeake ^" to thee, & heare thou the wordes of thine hãdmayd.

25.Let not my lord, I pray thee, regarde this wicked man Nabál: for as his name is, ſo is he: Nabál ^" is his name, and foly is with him: but I thine handmayd ſawe not the yong men of my lord whome yͤ ſenteſt.

26.Now therefore my lord, as the Lord liueth, and as thy ſoule liueth (the Lord, I ſay, that hathe withholdẽ thee from comming to ſhed blood, and that ⁱ thine hand ſhulde not ſaue thee) ſo now thine enemies ſhalbe as Nabál, and thei that intende to do my lord euil.

27.And now, this ^" bleſsing which thine handmayd hathe broght vnto my lord, let it be giuen vnto the yong mẽ, that ^" followe my lord.

28.I pray thee, forgiue the treſpaſſe of thine handmayd: for the Lord wil make my lord a ^k ſure houſe, becauſe my lord fighteth the battels of the Lord and none euil hathe bene founde in thee ^" in all thy life.

29.Yet ^l a man hathe riſen vp to perſecute thee, and to ſeke thy ſoule, but the ſoule of my lord ſhalbe bounde in the ^m bundel of life with the Lord thy God: and the ſoule of thine enemies ſhal God caſt out, as out of the midle of a ſling.

30.And when the Lord ſhal haue done to my lord all the good that he hathe promiſed thee, and ſhal haue made thee ruler ouer Iſraél,

31.Then ſhal it be no grief vnto thee, nor offence of minde vnto my lord, that he hathe not ſhed blood cauſeles, nor that my lord hathe ⁿ not preſerued him ſelfe: & whẽ the Lord ſhal haue dealt wel with my lord, remember thine handmayd.

32.Then Dauid ſaid to Abigáil, Bleſſed be the Lord God of Iſraél, which ſent thee this day to mete me.

33.And bleſſed be thy counſel, and bleſſed be thou, which haſte kept me this day frõ comming to ſhed blood, ^o and that mine hand hathe not ſaued me.

34.For in dede, as the Lord God of Iſraél liueth, ^p who hathe kept me backe from hurting thee, except thou haddeſt haſted and met me, ſurely there had not bene left vnto Nabál by the dawning of the day, any that piſſeth againſt the wall.

35.Then Dauid receiued of her hand that which ſhe had broght him, & ſaid to her, Go vp in peace to thine houſe: beholde, I haue heard thy voyce, and haue ^" granted thy peticion.

36.¶ So Abigáil came to Nabál, & beholde, he made a feaſt in his houſe, like the feaſt of a King, and Nabals heart was mery within him, for he was very drõken: wherefore ſhe tolde him ^q nothing, nether leſſe nor more, vntil the morning aroſe.

37.Then in the morning when the wine was gone out of Nabál, his wife tolde him thoſe wordes, & his heart dyed within him, and he was like ^r a ſtone.

38.And about ten daies after, the Lord ſmote Nabál;that he dyed.

39.¶ Now when Dauid heard, that Nabál was dead, he ſaid, Bleſſed be the Lord that hathe ^" iudged the cauſe of my rebuke of the hand of Nabál, & hathe kept his ſeruant from euil: for the Lord hathe recompenſed the wickednes of Nabál vpon his owne head. Alſo Dauid ſent to commune with Abigáil to ^f take her to his wife.

40.And when the ſeruants of Dauid were come to Abigáil to Carmél, they ſpake vnto her, ſaying, Dauid ſent vs to thee, to take thee to his wife.

41.And ſhe aroſe, and bowed her ſelf on her face to the earth, & ſaid, Beholde, let thy handmayd be a ſeruant to waſh the fete of the ſeruants of my lord.

42.And Abigáil haſted, and aroſe, and rode vpon an aſſe, & her fiue maids ^" followed her, and ſhe went after the meſſengers of Dauid, and was his wife.

43.Dauid alſo toke Ahinóam of ^* Izreél, & thei were bothe his wiues.

44.Now Saúl had giué ^* Michál his daughter Dauids wife to Phaltí the ſonne of Láiſh, which was of ^t Gallím.

1 Samuel 25

Notes