Abigail Stops David

¹Samuel died, and all of Israel gathered to mourn him. They buried him at his home in Ramah. After that, David moved down to the wilderness of Paran. ²There was a man in Maon who owned property in Carmel. He was extremely wealthy, with 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats. At the time, he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. ³The man's name was Nabal, and his wife's name was Abigail. She was intelligent and beautiful, but he was rude and cruel in everything he did. He was a descendant of Caleb. ⁴While David was in the wilderness, he heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep. ⁵So David sent 10 young men and told them, "Go up to Carmel, find Nabal, and greet him on my behalf." ⁶Say to the one who lives in prosperity: 'Peace to you, peace to your household, and peace to everything you have.' ⁷"I've heard that you're shearing your sheep. When your shepherds were near us, we never harmed them, and nothing of theirs went missing the whole time they were in Carmel." ⁸"Ask your own men — they'll confirm it. So please show my men some kindness, since we've come at a time of celebration. Give whatever you can spare to your servants and to your son David.'" ⁹David's young men went and delivered the entire message to Nabal on David's behalf, and then stopped speaking. ¹⁰Nabal shot back at David's servants, "Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse? These days, all kinds of servants are running away from their masters." ¹¹"Why should I take my bread, my water, and the meat I've slaughtered for my shearers and hand it over to men I've never even heard of?" ¹²David's young men turned around, went back, and reported everything Nabal had said. ¹³David told his men, "Strap on your swords — every one of you!" So they all strapped on their swords, and David did the same. About 400 men went with David, while 200 stayed behind to guard the supplies. ¹⁴Meanwhile, one of Nabal's servants went to Abigail, Nabal's wife, and said, "David sent messengers from the wilderness to pay respects to our master, and he just hurled insults at them." ¹⁵"But those men were very good to us. We were never harmed, and nothing went missing the whole time we were out in the fields with them." ¹⁶"They were like a wall of protection around us, day and night, the entire time we were with them watching the sheep." ¹⁷"You need to think carefully about what to do, because disaster is heading straight for our master and his whole household. He is such a son of Belial that no one can even talk to him." ¹⁸Abigail acted fast. She gathered 200 loaves of bread, 2 containers of wine, 5 butchered sheep, 5 seahs of roasted grain, 100 clusters of raisins, and 200 cakes of figs, and loaded everything onto donkeys. ¹⁹She told her servants, "Go on ahead of me. I'll be right behind you." But she didn't tell her husband Nabal a thing. ²⁰As she rode her donkey down a hidden path along the hillside, David and his men were coming toward her from the other direction. She met them face to face. ²¹David had been saying to himself, "I protected everything that man owns out in the wilderness for nothing! Not a single thing of his went missing, and he repaid my kindness with insults." ²²May God do the same and more to the enemies of David if I leave any male alive by morning! ²³When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey, fell facedown before him, and bowed to the ground. ²⁴She fell at his feet and said, "My lord, let the blame fall on me alone! Please, let your servant speak, and hear what I have to say." ²⁵"Please don't pay any attention to that worthless man Nabal. His name means 'fool,' and he lives up to it. As for me, your servant — I never saw the young men you sent." ²⁶"My lord, as surely as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, the LORD himself has held you back from shedding blood and taking revenge with your own hand. May your enemies and everyone who wishes you harm end up like Nabal." ²⁷"Now please accept this gift that your servant has brought for my lord, and let it be shared among the young men who follow you." ²⁸Please forgive the trespass of your servant, for the LORD will certainly establish a lasting dynasty for my lord, because you fight the LORD's battles, and no wrongdoing has been found in you all your life. ²⁹"Even though someone is hunting you down and trying to take your life, the LORD your God will keep your soul safe, bundled securely in the bundle of life. But the souls of your enemies — he'll hurl them away like stones from a sling." ³⁰"When the LORD has done for my lord every good thing he promised, and has made you ruler over Israel —" ³¹"you won't have this weighing on your conscience, the guilt of shedding innocent blood or taking revenge into your own hands. And when the LORD has blessed my lord, please remember your servant." ³²David said to Abigail, "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet me today!" ³³And blessed be your advice, and blessed be you, for keeping me today from shedding blood and avenging myself with my own hand. ³⁴Because as surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, who has kept me from harming you, if you hadn't hurried to meet me, by morning there would not have been left to Nabal anyone urinating against the wall. ³⁵David accepted from her hand what she had brought him and said, "Go up in peace to your house; see, I have listened to your voice and accepted your person." ³⁶When Abigail got home, she found Nabal throwing a feast fit for a king. He was in high spirits and completely drunk, so she told him nothing at all until morning. ³⁷In the morning, after the wine had worn off, his wife told him everything that had happened. His heart failed inside him, and he became like a stone. ³⁸About 10 days later, the LORD struck Nabal, and he died. ³⁹When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, "Blessed be the LORD, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal and kept his servant from evil. The LORD has returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head." Then David sent messengers to Abigail to take her as his wife. ⁴⁰When David's servants arrived at Abigail's home in Carmel, they told her, "David has sent us to bring you to him as his wife." ⁴¹She stood up, bowed facedown to the ground, and said, "Your servant is ready — even to wash the feet of my lord's servants." ⁴²Abigail quickly got up, mounted a donkey, and left with 5 of her female attendants. She followed David's messengers and became his wife.