Samuel died, and all Israel gathered to mourn for him. They buried him at his home in Ramah, and David went down to the wilderness of Paran.

And Samuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran.

There was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. He was very wealthy and owned three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

The man’s name was Nabal, and his wife's name was Abigail. She was intelligent and beautiful, but Nabal, a Calebite, was harsh and evil in his dealings.

Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.

While in the wilderness, David heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep.

And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep.

David sent ten young men and instructed them, "Go to Carmel, find Nabal, and greet him on my behalf.

And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name:

Say this to him: ‘Peace to you! Peace to your household, and peace to all that you have!’

And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast.

I have heard that you are shearing your sheep. While your shepherds were with us, we did not harm them, nor was anything of theirs missing during their time in Carmel.

And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds which were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there ought missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel.

Ask your servants, and they will confirm this. Therefore, may my men find favor in your eyes, because we have come on a festive day. Please give whatever you can spare to your servants and to your son, David.’"

Ask thy young men, and they will shew thee. Wherefore let the young men find favour in thine eyes: for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants, and to thy son David.

When David’s young men arrived, they delivered this message to Nabal in David’s name and waited.

And when David's young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased.

But Nabal answered David’s servants, "Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse? Nowadays many servants are breaking away from their masters.

And Nabal answered David's servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now a days that break away every man from his master.

Should I take my bread, my water, and the meat I’ve slaughtered for my shearers and give it to men from who knows where?"

Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be?

David’s men turned and went back. When they arrived, they reported every word.

So David's young men turned their way, and went again, and came and told him all those sayings.

David said to his men, "Each of you, strap on your sword!" So they did, and David also strapped on his sword. About four hundred men went with David, while two hundred stayed with the supplies.

And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the stuff.

One of Nabal’s young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, "David sent messengers from the wilderness to bless our master, but he screamed insults at them.

But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed on them.

These men were very good to us. They didn’t harm us, nor did we lose anything during all the time we were with them in the fields.

But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields:

They were a wall of protection around us, both night and day, the whole time we were with them tending the sheep.

They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.

Now consider and see what you should do, for disaster is certain for our master and his entire household. He is such a worthless man that no one can speak to him.

Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him.

Then Abigail quickly gathered two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred pressed fig cakes, and she loaded them on donkeys.

Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.

She said to her servants, "Go ahead of me; I will follow you." But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

And she said unto her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she told not her husband Nabal.

As she was riding her donkey down into a ravine, David and his men were descending toward her, and she met them.

And it was so, as she rode on the ass, that she came down by the covert of the hill, and, behold, David and his men came down against her; and she met them.

David had just been saying, "It’s been for nothing that I guarded everything belonging to this man in the wilderness. Nothing was missing, yet he has repaid me evil for good.

Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he hath requited me evil for good.

May God punish David’s enemies severely if by morning I leave even one male of all who belong to him alive."

So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.

When Abigail saw David, she hurriedly dismounted from her donkey, fell facedown at David’s feet, and bowed to the ground with deep respect.

And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground,

She fell at his feet and said, "My lord, let the blame be on me alone. Please let your servant speak to you, and hear the words of your servant.

And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid.

Please, my lord, pay no attention to this worthless man Nabal. He is exactly what his name suggests—his name means ‘fool,’ and folly goes with him. But I, your servant, did not see the men my lord sent.

Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send.

Now, my lord, as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, the Lord has kept you from shedding blood and avenging yourself with your own hand. May your enemies and those intent on harming my lord be as foolish as Nabal.

Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the LORD hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.

Now let this gift that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord.

And now this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought unto my lord, let it even be given unto the young men that follow my lord.

Please forgive the offense of your servant, for the Lord will certainly make a lasting dynasty for my lord, because my lord fights the Lord’s battles, and no wrongdoing will be found in you as long as you live.

I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the LORD, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days.

Even though someone pursues you to take your life, the life of my lord will be securely bound 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.

Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling.

When the Lord has fulfilled for my lord all the good things he promised and has appointed you ruler over Israel,

And it shall come to pass, when the LORD shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel;

my lord will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself. And when the Lord has brought my lord success, remember your servant.

That this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged himself: but when the LORD shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thine handmaid.

David said to Abigail, 'Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me.

And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me:

Blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodshed and from avenging myself with my own hand.

And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand.

Otherwise, as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has prevented me from harming you, if you had not hurried to come to meet me, not one male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by morning.

For in very deed, as the LORD God of Israel liveth, which hath kept me back from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.

Then David accepted from her hand what she had brought to him and said, 'Go home in peace. See, I have listened to your words and granted your request.'

So David received of her hand that which she had brought him, and said unto her, Go up in peace to thine house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person.

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.

And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.

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.

But it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.

About ten days later, the Lord struck Nabal, and he died.

And it came to pass about ten days after, that the LORD smote Nabal, that he died.

When David heard that Nabal had died, he said, 'Blessed be the Lord, who has upheld my cause against Nabal for insulting me, and has kept me, his servant, from wrongdoing. The Lord has brought Nabal’s wickedness upon his own head.' Then David sent word to Abigail, asking her to become his wife.

And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the LORD, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil: for the LORD hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to him to wife.

David’s servants went to Abigail at Carmel and said to her, 'David has sent us to you to take you to become his wife.'

And when the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, they spake unto her, saying, David sent us unto thee, to take thee to him to wife.

Abigail got up, bowed with her face to the ground, and said, 'Here is your servant, ready to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.'

And she arose, and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.

Abigail quickly got on a donkey, accompanied by five of her young women as attendants. She followed David’s messengers and became his wife.

And Abigail hasted, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that went after her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife.

David had also married Ahinoam of Jezreel, and both women became his wives.

David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and they were also both of them his wives.

Meanwhile, Saul had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Palti, son of Laish, who was from Gallim.

But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Phalti the son of Laish, which was of Gallim.