1 Samuel died; and all Israel gathered themselves together and mourned for him, and buried him at his house at Ramah.

Then David arose and went down to the wilderness of Paran. 2 There was a man in Maon whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats; and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail. This woman was intelligent and had a beautiful face; but the man was surly and evil in his doings. He was of the house of Caleb. 4 David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. 5 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 Tell him, ‘Long life to you! Peace be to you! Peace be to your house! Peace be to all that you have! 7 Now I have heard that you have shearers. Your shepherds have now been with us, and we didn’t harm them. Nothing was missing from them all the time they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let the young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on a good day. Please give whatever comes to your hand to your servants and to your son David.’"

9 When David’s young men came, they spoke to Nabal all those words in the name of David, and waited.

10 Nabal answered David’s servants and said, "Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants who break away from their masters these days. 11 Shall I then take my bread, my water, and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men who I don’t know where they come from?"

12 So David’s young men turned on their way and went back, and came and told him all these words.

13 David said to his men, "Every man put on his sword!"

Every man put on his sword. David also put on his sword. About four hundred men followed David, and two hundred stayed by the baggage.

14 But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, "Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master; and he insulted them. 15 But the men were very good to us, and we were not harmed, and we didn’t miss anything as long as we went with them, when we were in the fields. 16 They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. 17 Now therefore know and consider what you will do; for evil is determined against our master and against all his house, for he is such a worthless fellow that one can’t speak to him."

18 Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread, two containers of wine, five sheep ready dressed, five seahs of parched grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys. 19 She said to her young men, "Go on before me. Behold, I am coming after you." But she didn’t tell her husband, Nabal. 20 As she rode on her donkey, and came down hidden by the mountain, behold, David and his men came down toward her, and she met them.

21 Now David had said, "Surely in vain I have kept all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained to him. He has returned me evil for good. 22 God do so to the enemies of David, and more also, if I leave of all that belongs to him by the morning light so much as one who urinates on a wall."

23 When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got off her donkey, and fell before David on her face and bowed herself to the ground. 24 She fell at his feet and said, "On me, my lord, on me be the blame! Please let your servant speak in your ears. Hear the words of your servant. 25 Please don’t let my lord pay attention to this worthless fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and folly is with him; but I, your servant, didn’t see my lord’s young men whom you sent. 26 Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, since the LORD has withheld you from blood guiltiness and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now therefore let your enemies and those who seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal. 27 Now this present which your servant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord. 28 Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord fights the LORD’s battles. Evil will not be found in you all your days. 29 Though men may rise up to pursue you and to seek your soul, yet the soul of my lord will be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD your God. He will sling out the souls of your enemies as from a sling’s pocket. 30 It will come to pass, 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 that this shall be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. When the LORD has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant."

32 David said to Abigail, "Blessed is the LORD, the God of Israel, who sent you today to meet me! 33 Blessed is your discretion, and blessed are you, who have kept me today from blood guiltiness, and from avenging myself with my own hand. 34 For indeed, as the LORD the God of Israel lives, who has withheld me from harming you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely there wouldn’t have been left to Nabal by the morning light so much as one who urinates on a wall."

35 So David received from her hand that which she had brought him. Then he said to her, "Go up in peace to your house. Behold, I have listened to your voice and have granted your request."

36 Abigail came to Nabal; and behold, he held a feast in his house like the feast of a king. Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk. Therefore she told him nothing until the morning light. 37 In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things; and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. 38 About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal, so that he died. 39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, "Blessed is the LORD, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from evil. The LORD has returned the evildoing of Nabal on his own head."

David sent and spoke concerning Abigail, to take her to himself as wife. 40 When David’s servants had come to Abigail to Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, "David has sent us to you, to take you to him as wife."

41 She arose and bowed herself with her face to the earth, and said, "Behold, your servant is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord." 42 Abigail hurriedly arose and rode on a donkey with her five maids who followed her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife. 43 David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and they both became his wives.

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

1 Algum tempo depois morreu Samuel e todo o Israel se juntou para o funeral, sepultando-o no local próprio da sua família, em Ramá ntretanto David desceu para o deserto de Parã.

2 Havia um homem rico de Maom que tinha uma grande propriedade para criação de gado perto da aldeia de Carmelo. Possuia três mil ovelhas e um milhar de cabras. Naquela altura encontrava-se na sua quinta tosquiando as ovelhas.

3 O seu nome era Nabal, e a sua mulher, que era bela e inteligente, chamava-se Abigail. No entanto aquele indivíduo, descendente de Calebe, tinha um mau carácter e uma natureza ruim.

4 Ao ouvir que Nabal estava a tosquiar as ovelhas, David mandou dez dos seus companheiros a Carmelo com esta mensagem:

6 Que o Senhor aumente a tua prosperidade, bem como a da tua família, e que tenhas muita paz, tu e todos os teus! Disseram-me que estás a tosquiar os animais. Hás-de saber certamente que aos teus pastores, enquanto estiveram no nosso meio, nunca lhes aconteceu qualquer mal, e nada lhes faltou enquanto estiveram no Carmelo. Pergunta-lhes e verás se é ou não assim. Agora, envio-te aqui alguns dos meus homens para te pedir um donativo, pois sabemos que é uma altura de fartura para ti. Por favor, dá-nos qualquer coisa do que tiveres à mão.

9 Os moços de David deram o recado e ficaram à espera.

10 Mas quem é esse David, exclamou. Quem pensa, esse filho de Jessé, que é ele? Há montes de servos nestes tempos que correm, fugidos aos seus senhores, porque é que eu havia de pegar no meu pão, na minha água, na carne das reses que eu abati para os meus criados e dá-la a um bando de gente que aparece não se sabe donde?

12 Os mensageiros de David voltaram para trás e contaram-lhe a resposta de Nabal.

13 Peguem nas espadas!, foi a resposta de David, enquanto embainhava a sua. Quatrocentos partiram com ele e duzentos ficaram a guardar as bagagens.

14 Entretanto, um dos criados de Nabal foi contar tudo a Abigail: David mandou cá uns homens seus, desde o deserto, que falaram com muito boas maneiras ao nosso amo, mas este insultou-os e pô-los na rua. E é verdade que a gente de David nos tratou sempre bem e nada sofremos enquanto estivemos com eles; a bem dizer, de dia e de noite, eles eram como um muro de protecção para nós e para o gado; nada nos foi roubado durante todo o tempo que estivemos com eles. Vê bem o que há a fazer, porque as coisas vão correr mal para o nosso amo e a sua família - ele tem tão mau feitio que ninguém pode falar com ele!

18 Então Abigail preparou à pressa duzentos bolos de farinha, dois odres de vinho, cinco ovelhas guisadas, setenta litros de grão torrado, cem bolos de passas, duzentos bolos de figo e carregou tudo em jumentos, dizendo ao criados:

19 Vão já andando com isso, que eu vou a seguir. Mas não disse nada ao marido.

20 Quando ela vinha a caminho montada no seu jumento, encontrou-se com David.

21 David tinha vindo a pensar durante a marcha: Ora aqui está como nos fartámos de fazer bem a este indivíduo, sem recompensa alguma. Protegemos-lhe os rebanhos no deserto de tal forma que nada lhes foi roubado nem lhes faltou, e agora paga-nos desta maneira o bem que lhe fizemos. Tudo o que acabámos por receber foi insultos. Que Deus me castigue se até amanhã de manhã ficar vivo algum homem naquela casa!

23 Abigail ao ver David desmontou rapidamente e inclinou-se.

24 Recaia sobre mim a culpa disto tudo, meu senhor, disse. Peço-te que ouças aquilo que pretendo dizer-te.

25 Nabal é um homem mau; por favor não ligues ao que diz. É um louco, aliás tal como o seu nome indica. Mas a questão é que eu não soube da vinda dos teus mensageiros.

26 E agora, sendo que o Senhor te impediu de matares e de te vingares por tuas próprias mãos, a minha oração a Deus, a favor da tua vida, é que todos os teus inimigos sejam tão castigados como Nabal for.

27 Portanto, aqui está um presente que vos trouxe, para ti e para os teus homens. Perdoa-me a ousadia em ter vindo até aqui. O Senhor certamente te recompensará com uma realeza firme, assim como aos teus descendentes, pois que combates as guerras do Senhor, e nunca se viu que agisses erradamente em toda a tua vida. Mesmo quando és perseguido por aqueles que procuram tirar-te a vida, o Senhor teu Deus te protege como se estivesses na palma da sua mão! Mas as vidas dos teus inimigos desaparecerão como pedras atiradas numa funda. Quando o Senhor tiver cumprido todas as coisas que te prometeu e te tiver feito rei de Israel, certamente não quererás ter a consciência dum assassino, que procurou fazer justiça por suas próprias mãos! Portanto, quando o Senhor tiver realizado todas essas grandes coisas a teu favor, peço-te que te lembres de mim!

32 David respondeu a Abigail desta forma: Seja bendito o Senhor Deus de Israel que te mandou ao meu encontro neste dia!

33 Graças a Deus pelo teu bom senso! Abençoada sejas tu por me teres impedido de matar um homem e de me ter vingado por minhas próprias mãos. Porque, com efeito, juro-te pelo Senhor, o Deus de Israel, que me guardou de te fazer mal, que se não tivesses vindo ao meu encontro, nenhum dos homens de Nabal estaria com vida amanhã de manhã.

35 David aceitou os presentes e disse-lhe que regressasse a casa sem temor, porque não lhe mataria o marido.

36 Quando ela chegou a casa verificou que Nabal tinha dado uma grande festa e que estava a cair de bêbado; por isso nada lhe disse do seu encontro com David até chegar à manhã seguinte. Nessa altura, estando Nabal já recuperado da embriaguês, quando ela lhe contou tudo o que acontecera, ele teve um ataque e caiu paralisado; ficou assim durante dez dias, até que morreu. Foi o Senhor quem lhe tirou a vida.

39 Ao ouvir da morte dele David disse: Louvado seja o Senhor! Deus deu a Nabal a recompensa que merecia e preservou-me de ser eu a fazê-lo. Recebeu assim a paga do seu pecado. David enviou então mensageiros ter com Abigail, pedindo-lhe que se tornasse sua mulher.

40 Quando chegaram a Carmelo e lhe apresentaram o pedido, ela aceitou e aprontou-se para partir. Levou consigo cinco das suas moças, montou no jumento e foi com os homens de David. Assim se tornou mulher de David.

43 David casou também com Ainoã de Jezreel. O rei Saul entretanto tinha obrigado a primeira mulher de David, Mical sua filha, a casar com um indivíduo de Galim chamado Palti, filho de Laís.