New International Version NIV
New Revised Standard NRS
1 Now Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned for him; and they buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David moved down into the Desert of Paran.
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Now Samuel died; and all Israel assembled and mourned for him. They buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David got up and went down to the wilderness of Paran.
2 A certain man in Maon, who had property there at Carmel, was very wealthy. He had a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel.
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There was a man in Maon, whose property was in Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel.
3 His name was Nabal and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband was surly and mean in his dealings—he was a Calebite.
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Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was clever and beautiful, but the man was surly and mean; he was a Calebite.
4 While David was in the wilderness, he heard that Nabal was shearing sheep.
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David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep.
5 So he sent ten young men and said to them, “Go up to Nabal at Carmel and greet him in my name.
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So David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, "Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name.
6 Say to him: ‘Long life to you! Good health to you and your household! And good health to all that is yours!
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Thus you shall salute him: "Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have.
7 “ ‘Now I hear that it is sheep-shearing time. When your shepherds were with us, we did not mistreat them, and the whole time they were at Carmel nothing of theirs was missing.
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I hear that you have shearers; now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, and they missed nothing, all the time they were in Carmel.
8 Ask your own servants and they will tell you. Therefore be favorable toward my men, since we come at a festive time. Please give your servants and your son David whatever you can find for them.’ ”
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Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your sight; for we have come on a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.' "
9 When David’s men arrived, they gave Nabal this message in David’s name. Then they waited.
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When David's young men came, they said all this to Nabal in the name of David; and then they waited.
10 Nabal answered David’s servants, “Who is this David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants are breaking away from their masters these days.
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But Nabal answered David's servants, "Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants today who are breaking away from their masters.
11 Why should I take my bread and water, and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men coming from who knows where?”
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Shall I take my bread and my water and the meat that I have butchered for my shearers, and give it to men who come from I do not know where?"
12 David’s men turned around and went back. When they arrived, they reported every word.
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So David's young men turned away, and came back and told him all this.
13 David said to his men, “Each of you strap on your sword!” So they did, and David strapped his on as well. About four hundred men went up with David, while two hundred stayed with the supplies.
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David said to his men, "Every man strap on his sword!" And every one of them strapped on his sword; David also strapped on his sword; and about four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred remained with the baggage.
14 One of the servants told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “David sent messengers from the wilderness to give our master his greetings, but he hurled insults at them.
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But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, "David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he shouted insults at them.
15 Yet these men were very good to us. They did not mistreat us, and the whole time we were out in the fields near them nothing was missing.
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Yet the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, and we never missed anything when we were in the fields, as long as we were with them;
16 Night and day they were a wall around us the whole time we were herding our sheep near them.
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they were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.
17 Now think it over and see what you can do, because disaster is hanging over our master and his whole household. He is such a wicked man that no one can talk to him.”
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Now therefore know this and consider what you should do; for evil has been decided against our master and against all his house; he is so ill-natured that no one can speak to him."
18 Abigail acted quickly. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on donkeys.
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Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves, two skins of wine, five sheep ready dressed, five measures of parched grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs. She loaded them on donkeys
19 Then she told her servants, “Go on ahead; I’ll follow you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.
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and said to her young men, "Go on ahead of me; I am coming after you." But she did not tell her husband Nabal.
20 As she came riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, there were David and his men descending toward her, and she met them.
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As she rode on the donkey and came down under cover of the mountain, David and his men came down toward her; and she met them.
21 David had just said, “It’s been useless—all my watching over this fellow’s property in the wilderness so that nothing of his was missing. He has paid me back evil for good.
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Now David had said, "Surely it was in vain that I protected all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him; but he has returned me evil for good.
22 May God deal with David, be it ever so severely, if by morning I leave alive one male of all who belong to him!”
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God do so to David and more also, if by morning I leave so much as one male of all who belong to him."
23 When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed down before David with her face to the ground.
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When Abigail saw David, she hurried and alighted from the donkey, and fell before David on her face, bowing to the ground.
24 She fell at his feet and said: “Pardon your servant, my lord, and let me speak to you; hear what your servant has to say.
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She fell at his feet and said, "Upon me alone, my lord, be the guilt; please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant.
25 Please pay no attention, my lord, to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name—his name means Fool, and folly goes with him. And as for me, your servant, I did not see the men my lord sent.
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My lord, do not take seriously this ill-natured fellow, Nabal; for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him; but I, your servant, did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent.
26 And now, my lord, as surely as the LORD your God lives and as you live, since the LORD has kept you from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hands, may your enemies and all who are intent on harming my lord be like Nabal.
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"Now then, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, since the Lord has restrained you from bloodguilt and from taking vengeance with your own hand, now let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be like Nabal.
27 And let this gift, which your servant has brought to my lord, be given to the men who follow you.
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And now let this present that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord.
28 “Please forgive your servant’s presumption. The LORD your God will certainly make a lasting dynasty for my lord, because you fight the LORD’s battles, and no wrongdoing will be found in you as long as you live.
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Please forgive the trespass of your servant; for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the Lord; and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live.
29 Even though someone is pursuing you to take your life, the life of my lord will be bound securely in the bundle of the living by the LORD your God, but the lives of your enemies he will hurl away as from the pocket of a sling.
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If anyone should rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living under the care of the Lord your God; but the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling.
30 When the LORD has fulfilled for my lord every good thing he promised concerning him and has appointed him ruler over Israel,
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When the Lord has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you prince over Israel,
31 my lord will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself. And when the LORD your God has brought my lord success, remember your servant.”
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my lord shall have no cause of grief, or pangs of conscience, for having shed blood without cause or for having saved himself. And when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant."
32 David said to Abigail, “Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me.
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David said to Abigail, "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet me today!
33 May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with my own hands.
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Blessed be your good sense, and blessed be you, who have kept me today from bloodguilt and from avenging myself by my own hand!
34 Otherwise, as surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, who has kept me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, not one male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by daybreak.”
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For as surely as the Lord the God of Israel lives, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there would not have been left to Nabal so much as one male."
35 Then David accepted from her hand what she had brought him and said, “Go home in peace. I have heard your words and granted your request.”
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Then David received from her hand what she had brought him; he said to her, "Go up to your house in peace; see, I have heeded your voice, and I have granted your petition."
36 When Abigail went to Nabal, he was in the house holding a banquet like that of a king. He was in high spirits and very drunk. So she told him nothing at all until daybreak.
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Abigail came to Nabal; he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk; so she told him nothing at all until the morning light.
37 Then in the morning, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him all these things, and his heart failed him and he became like a stone.
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In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him; he became like a stone.
38 About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal and he died.
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About ten days later the Lord struck Nabal, and he died.
39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Praise be to the LORD, who has upheld my cause against Nabal for treating me with contempt. He has kept his servant from doing wrong and has brought Nabal’s wrongdoing down on his own head.” Then David sent word to Abigail, asking her to become his wife.
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When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, "Blessed be the Lord who has judged the case of Nabal's insult to me, and has kept back his servant from evil; the Lord has returned the evildoing of Nabal upon his own head." Then David sent and wooed Abigail, to make her his wife.
40 His servants went to Carmel and said to Abigail, “David has sent us to you to take you to become his wife.”
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When David's servants came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, "David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife."
41 She bowed down with her face to the ground and said, “I am your servant and am ready to serve you and wash the feet of my lord’s servants.”
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She rose and bowed down, with her face to the ground, and said, "Your servant is a slave to wash the feet of the servants of my lord."
42 Abigail quickly got on a donkey and, attended by her five female servants, went with David’s messengers and became his wife.
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Abigail got up hurriedly and rode away on a donkey; her five maids attended her. She went after the messengers of David and became his wife.
43 David had also married Ahinoam of Jezreel, and they both were his wives.
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David also married Ahinoam of Jezreel; both of them became his wives.
44 But Saul had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Paltiel son of Laish, who was from Gallim.
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Saul had given his daughter Michal, David's wife, to Palti son of Laish, who was from Gallim.
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New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.