1 And Samuel died; and all Israel were gathered together, and lamented him; and they buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose and went down to the wilderness of Paran.
2 And there was a man at Maon, whose business was at Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats; and he was shearing his sheep at Carmel.
3 And the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail; and the woman was of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance; but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was a Calebite.
4 And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep.
5 Then David sent out 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 And thus shall ye say: Long life {to thee}! and peace be to thee, and peace be to thy house, and peace be to all that thou hast!
7 And now I have heard that thou hast shearers; now thy shepherds who were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there aught missed by them, all the while they were in Carmel.
8 Ask thy young men, and they will tell thee. Therefore let the young men find favour in thine eyes; for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee, what thy hand may find to thy servants, and to thy son David.
9 And David's young men came, and spoke to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased.
10 And Nabal answered David's servants and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there are many servants now-a-days that break away every man from his master.
11 And shall I take my bread, and my water, and my flesh which I have killed for my shearers, and give {it} to men whom I know not whence they are?
12 And David's young men turned their way, and went back, and came and reported to him according to all those words.
13 And David said to 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 baggage.
14 And one of {Nabal's} young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to bless our master; and he has insulted them.
15 And the men were very good to us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we anything, as long as we companied with them, when we were in the fields.
16 They were a wall to us both by night and day, all the while we were with them feeding the sheep.
17 And now know and consider what thou wilt do, for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household; and he is such a son of Belial, that one cannot speak to him.
18 And Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two skin-bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched {corn}, and a hundred raisin-cakes, and two hundred fig-cakes, and laid them on asses.
19 And she said to her young men, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she did not tell her husband Nabal.
20 And as she was riding on the ass, and coming down by the covert of the hill, behold, David and his men came down opposite to her; and she met them.
21 Now David had said, Surely, in vain have I kept all that this {man} had in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that was his; and he has requited me evil for good.
22 So and more also do God to the enemies of David, if I leave of all that is his by the morning light any male.
23 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,
24 and fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, {upon} me let the iniquity be; but let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine ears, and hear the words of thy handmaid.
25 Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, Nabal; for as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and folly is with him; and I thy handmaid did not see the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send.
26 And now, my lord, {as} Jehovah liveth, and {as} thy soul liveth, seeing Jehovah has restrained thee from coming with bloodshed, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.
27 And now this blessing which thy bondmaid has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men that follow my lord.
28 I pray thee, forgive the transgression of thy handmaid: for Jehovah will certainly make my lord a lasting house; because my lord fights the battles of Jehovah, and evil has not been found in thee all thy days.
29 And if a man is risen up to pursue thee and to seek thy life, the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with Jehovah thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out from the hollow of the sling.
30 And it shall come to pass, when Jehovah shall do to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning thee, and shall appoint thee ruler over Israel,
31 that this shall be no stumbling-block to thee, nor offence of heart for my lord, either that thou hast shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. And when Jehovah shall deal well with my lord, then remember thy handmaid.
32 And David said to Abigail, Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, who sent thee this day to meet me.
33 And blessed be thy discernment, and blessed be thou, who hast kept me this day from coming with bloodshed, and from avenging myself with mine own hand.
34 But indeed, as Jehovah the God of Israel liveth, who has restrained me from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, there had not been left to Nabal by the morning light any male.
35 So David received of her hand what she had brought him, and said to her, Go up in peace to thy house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person.
36 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 drunken to excess; so she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.
37 And it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, that his wife told him these things; and his heart died within him, and he became {as} a stone.
38 And it came to pass in about ten days that Jehovah smote Nabal, and he died.
39 And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be Jehovah, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from evil; but Jehovah has returned Nabal's evil upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her as his wife.
40 And the servants of David came to Abigail to Carmel, and spoke to her, saying, David has sent us to thee, to take thee as his wife.
41 And she arose and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let thy handmaid be a bondwoman to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.
42 And Abigail hasted, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that followed her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife.
43 David had also taken Ahinoam of Jizreel; and they became, even both of them, his wives.
44 But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Phalti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.
1 撒母耳死了， 以色列众人都聚集起来， 为他哀哭， 把他埋葬在拉玛他自己的家里。大卫起身， 下到巴兰的旷野去。
2 在玛云有一个人， 他的产业在迦密。他是一个很富有的人， 有绵羊三千只， 山羊一千只， 那时他正在迦密剪羊毛。
3 那人名叫拿八， 他的妻子名叫亚比该。这女人既聪明， 又美丽。但那男人为人粗暴， 又行事凶恶。他是个迦密族的人。
4 大卫在旷野听说拿八正在剪羊毛，
5 就差派十个仆人， 对他们说： "你们上迦密去见拿八， 以我的名义向他问安。
6 你们要这样说： ‘愿你长寿！ 愿你平安！ 愿你的家平安！ 愿你所有的一切都平安！
7 现在我听说有人为你剪羊毛。你的牧人与我们在一起的时候， 我们都没有侮辱他们； 他们在迦密的日子， 也从没有遗失过什么。
8 你可以问问你的仆人， 他们必会告诉你。愿我派来的这些仆人在你眼前蒙恩， 因为我们是在好日子来的， 请你把手中所有的， 随便赏赐一点给你的仆人和你的儿子大卫。’"
9 大卫的仆人到了， 就以大卫的名义， 把这些话都对拿八说了， 然后等候答复。
10 拿八回答大卫的仆人说： "大卫是谁？耶西的儿子是谁？现在离开主人逃走的仆人太多了。
11 我怎能把我的饼、我的水， 和我为剪羊毛的人宰杀的肉， 给那些我不知道从哪里来的人呢？"
12 于是大卫的仆人转回原路， 回去了。他们到了以后， 就把这一切话都告诉大卫。
13 大卫对跟随他的人说： "你们各人都佩上刀。"他们各人就佩上自己的刀， 大卫也佩上自己的刀。跟随大卫上去的约有四百人， 有二百人留下来看守器具。
14 拿八的一个仆人告诉拿八的妻子亚比该说： "大卫从旷野派遣使者来向我们的主人问候， 主人却辱骂了他们。
15 但是， 那些人对我们很好。我们在田野与他们往来的时候， 他们都没有侮辱我们， 我们也从没有遗失过什么。
16 我们与他们在一起牧羊的日子， 他们日夜都作保护我们的墙。
17 现在， 你要想一想， 看看你该怎么办， 因为灾祸必定临到我们的主人和他的全家。他是一个性情凶恶的人， 没有人敢对他说话。"
18 亚比该急忙拿了两百个饼、两皮袋酒、五只预备好了的羊、十七公斤烘好了的穗子、一百个葡萄饼、两百个无花果饼， 都驮在驴背上，
19 然后对她的仆人说： "你们先去， 我随着你们来。"这事她却没有告诉她的丈夫拿八。
20 亚比该骑着驴， 正从山坡下来， 忽见大卫和跟随他的人也正从对面迎着她走下来， 亚比该就与他相遇了。
21 大卫曾经说过： "我在旷野看守这人一切所有的， 使他一切所有的一样也没有失落， 实在是白费心机了。他竟然对我以恶报善。
22 如果我让这人一切所有的， 就是一个男丁， 留到明天早晨， 神怎样惩罚大卫的仇敌， 愿他也怎样加倍惩罚我。"
23 亚比该见了大卫， 就急忙从驴背下来， 俯伏在大卫面前， 脸伏于地， 向他叩拜。
24 她又俯伏在大卫的脚前， 说： "我王啊， 愿这罪孽归我。求你容婢女向你讲话， 求你听婢女所说的话。
25 请我主不要把这个性情凶恶的人拿八放在心上。因为他的名字怎样， 他的为人也怎样。他名叫拿八， 他也真是愚笨。我主派来的仆人， 你的婢女并没有看见。
26 我主啊， 现在我指着永活的耶和华， 又在你面前起誓， 耶和华既然阻止了你流人的血， 又阻止了你亲手报仇， 愿你的仇敌和那些谋害我主的人， 都像拿八一样。
27 现在， 请把你婢女给我主带来的这礼物， 赐给跟随我主的仆人。
28 求你饶恕你婢女的过犯。耶和华必为我主建立一个坚固的家， 因为我主为耶和华争战； 在你一生的日子里， 在你身上也找不到什么过错。
29 虽然有人起来追赶你， 寻索你的命， 我主的性命必得保全在耶和华你的 神生命的囊中。至于你仇敌的命， 耶和华却要甩去， 像从甩石机甩出去一样。
30 将来耶和华照着他应许的一切善待了你， 立了你作以色列的领袖的时候，
31 我主就不致因为无缘无故流人的血或亲自报仇而良心不安， 心里有愧了。耶和华恩待了我主以后， 求你记念你的婢女。"
32 大卫对亚比该说： "耶和华以色列的 神是应当称颂的！ 他今天差派你来迎接我。
33 你的智慧和你的为人也是应当称赞的， 因为你今天阻止了我流人的血， 又阻止了我亲手报仇。
34 我指着那拦阻了我加害你的永活的耶和华以色列的 神起誓， 如果你不及时来迎见我， 到明天早晨， 拿八所有的男丁必不留一个。"
35 大卫从亚比该手中接受了她带来给他的东西， 就对她说： "你平平安安回家去吧！ 你看， 我已经听了你的话， 也答应了你的请求。"
36 亚比该到了拿八那里， 他正在家中摆设筵席， 好像帝王的筵席一样。拿八心里畅快， 喝得烂醉如泥， 所以无论大事小事亚比该都没有告诉他， 直到第二天早晨。
37 到了早晨， 拿八酒醒了， 他的妻子才把这些事告诉他， 他就吓得魂不附体， 立刻中风瘫痪了。
38 大约过了十天， 耶和华击打拿八， 他就死了。
39 大卫听见拿八死了， 就说： "耶和华是应当称颂的， 因为他为我伸了拿八羞辱我的冤， 又阻止了仆人行恶， 也使拿八的恶归到他自己的头上。"于是大卫派人去对亚比该说要娶她作他的妻子。
40 大卫的仆人到了迦密去见亚比该， 对她说： "大卫差派我们到你这里来， 要娶你作他的妻子。"
41 亚比该就起来， 面伏于地叩拜， 说： "婢女愿意作女仆， 洗我主人的脚！ "
42 亚比该急忙起来， 骑上驴， 带着五个跟随她的女仆， 跟从大卫的使者去了， 就作了大卫的妻子。
43 大卫先娶了耶斯列人亚希暖， 她们二人都作了他的妻子。
44 扫罗已经把他的女儿米甲， 就是大卫的妻子， 赐给了迦琳人拉亿的儿子帕提作妻子。