Mar 4 - 1 Samuel 25-27
1 Samuel
1Then Samuel died, and all of Israel gathered together, and they mourned him. And they buried him at his house in Ramah. And David, rising up, descended to the desert of Paran2Now there was a certain man in the wilderness of Maon, and his possessions were at Carmel. And this man was exceedingly great. And three thousand sheep, and one thousand goats were his. And it happened that he was shearing his sheep at Carmel3Now the name of this man was Nabal. And the name of his wife was Abigail. And she was a very prudent and beautiful woman. But her husband was hard-hearted, and very wicked, and malicious. And he was of the stock of Caleb4Therefore, when David, in the desert, had heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep5he sent ten young men, and he said to them: "Ascend to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name peacefully6And you shall say: ‘Peace be to my brothers and to you, and peace to your house, and peace to whatever you have7I have heard that your shepherds, who were with us in the desert, were shearing. We have never troubled them, nor was anything from the flock missing to them at any time, during the entire time that they have been with us in Carmel8Question your servants, and they will tell you. Now therefore, may your servants find favor in your eyes. For we have arrived on a good day. Whatever your hand will find, give it to your servants and to your son David.’ 9And when the servants of David had arrived, they spoke to Nabal all these words in the name of David. And then they were silent10But Nabal, responding to the servants of David, said: "Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? Today, servants who are fleeing from their lords are increasing11Therefore, shall I take my bread, and my water, and the meat of the cattle that I have slain for my shearers, and give it to men, when I do not know where they are from?12And so the servants of David traveled back along their way. And returning, they went and reported to him all the words that he had said13Then David said to his servants, "Let each one gird his sword." And each one girded his sword. And David also girded his sword. And about four hundred men followed David. But two hundred remained behind with the supplies14Then it was reported to Abigail, the wife of Nabal, by one of his servants, saying: "Behold, David has sent messengers from the desert, so that they might speak kindly to our lord. But he turned them away15These men were good enough to us, and were not troublesome. Neither did we ever lose anything, during the entire time that we conversed with them in the desert16They were a wall to us, as much in the night as in the day, during all the days that we were with them, pasturing the sheep17For this reason, consider and realize what you should do. For evil has been decided against your husband and against your house. And he is a son of Belial, so that no one is able to speak to him.18And so Abigail hurried, and she took two hundred loaves, and two vessels of wine, and five cooked sheep, and five measures of cooked grain, and one hundred clusters of dried grapes, and two hundred masses of dried figs, and she set them upon donkeys19And she said to her servants: "Go before me. Behold, I will follow after your back." But she did not reveal it to her husband, Nabal20And when she had climbed on a donkey, and was descending to the base of the mountain, David and his men were descending to meet her. And she met them21And David said: "Truly, in vain have I preserved all that was his in the wilderness, so that nothing perished out of all that belonged to him. And he has repaid evil to me for good22May God do these things, by the enemies of David, and may he add these other things, if I leave behind until morning, out of all that belongs to him, anything that urinates against a wall.23Then, when Abigail had seen David, she hurried and descended from the donkey. And she fell upon her face before David, and she reverenced on the ground24And she fell at his feet, and she said: "May this iniquity be upon me, my lord. I beg you, let your handmaid speak to your ears, and listen to the words of your servant25Let not my lord, the king, I beseech you, set his heart upon this iniquitous man, Nabal. For in accord with his name, he is senseless, and foolishness is with him. But I, your handmaid, did not see your servants, my lord, whom you had sent26Now therefore, my lord, as your soul lives, and as the Lord lives, who has kept your hand to yourself, and has prevented you from coming to blood: now, let your enemies be like Nabal, and like all those who are seeking evil for my lord27Because of this, accept this blessing, which your handmaid has brought to you, my lord. And give it to the young men who follow you, my lord28Forgive the iniquity of your handmaid. For the Lord will surely make for you, my lord, a faithful house, because you, my lord, fight the battles of the Lord. Therefore, let no evil be found in you all the days of your life29For if a man, at any time, will rise up, pursuing you and seeking your life, the life of my lord will be preserved, as if in the sheave of the living, with the Lord your God. But the lives of your enemies will be spun around, as if with the force of a whirling sling30Therefore, when the Lord will have done for you, my lord, all the good that he has spoken about you, and when he will have appointed you as leader over Israel31this will not be for you a regret or a scruple of the heart, my lord, that you had shed innocent blood, or had taken revenge for yourself. And when the Lord will have done well for my lord, you shall remember your handmaid.32And David said to Abigail: "Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me. And blessed is your eloquence33And blessed are you, who prevented me today from going to blood, and from taking revenge for myself with my own hand34But instead, as the Lord God of Israel lives, he has prevented me from doing evil to you. But if you had not come quickly to meet me, there would not have been left to Nabal by the morning light, anything that urinates against a wall.35Then David received from her hand all that she had brought to him. And he said to her: "Go in peace to your own house. Behold, I have heeded your voice, and I have honored your face.36Then Abigail went to Nabal. And behold, he was holding a feast for himself in his house, like the feast of a king. And the heart of Nabal was cheerful. For he was greatly inebriated. And she did not reveal a word to him, small or great, until morning37Then, at first light, when Nabal had digested his wine, his wife revealed to him these words, and his heart died within himself, and he became like a stone38And after ten days had passed, the Lord struck Nabal, and he died39And when David had heard that Nabal was dead, he said: "Blessed is the Lord, who has judged the case of my reproach at the hand of Nabal, and who has preserved his servant from evil. And the Lord has repaid the malice of Nabal upon his own head." Then David sent and he spoke with Abigail, so that he might take her to himself as wife40And David’s servants went to Abigail at Carmel, and they spoke to her, saying, "David has sent us to you, so that he might take you to himself as wife.41And rising up, she reverenced prone on the ground, and she said, "Behold, let your servant be a handmaid, to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.42And Abigail rose up and hurried, and she climbed upon a donkey, and five girls went with her, her attendants. And she followed the messengers of David, and she became his wife43Moreover, David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel. And both of them were his wives44Then Saul gave his daughter Michal, the wife of David, to Palti, the son of Laish, who was from Gallim
1And the Ziphites went to Saul at Gibeah, saying: "Behold, David is hidden on the hill of Hachilah, which is opposite the wilderness.2And Saul rose up, and he descended into the desert of Ziph, and with him three thousand elect men of Israel, so that he might seek David in the desert of Ziph3And Saul encamped at Gibeah on Hachilah, which was opposite the wilderness on the way. But David was living in the desert. Then, seeing that Saul had arrived after him in the wilderness4he sent explorers, and he learned that he certainly had arrived in that place5And David rose up secretly, and he went to the place where Saul was. And when he had seen the place where Saul was sleeping, and Abner, the son of Ner, the leader of his military, and Saul sleeping in a tent, and the remainder of the common people all around him6David spoke to Ahimelech, the Hittite, and to Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, saying, "Who will descend with me to Saul in the camp?" And Abishai said, "I will descend with you.7Therefore, David and Abishai went to the people by night, and they found Saul lying down and sleeping in the tent, with his spear fixed in the ground at his head. And Abner and the people were sleeping all around him8And Abishai said to David: "God has enclosed your enemy this day in your hands. Now therefore, I will pierce him with my lance, through to the ground, once, and there will not need to be a second.9And David said to Abishai: "You shall not kill him. For who may extend his hand against the Christ of the Lord, and yet be innocent?10And David said: "As the Lord lives, unless the Lord himself will strike him, or unless his day to die will have arrived, or unless, descending into battle, he will perish11may the Lord be gracious to me, so that I may not extend my hand against the Christ of the Lord. Now therefore, take the spear that is at his head, and the cup of water, and let us go.12And so, David took the spear, and the cup of water that was at Saul’s head, and they went away. And there was no one who saw it, or realized it, or awakened, but they were all sleeping. For a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen over them13And when David had crossed over to the opposite side, and had stood upon the top of the hill far away, so that there was a great interval between them14David cried out to the people, and to Abner, the son of Ner, saying, "Will you not respond, Abner?" And responding, Abner said, "Who are you, that you would cry out and disquiet the king?15And David said to Abner: "Are you not a man? And who else is like you in Israel? Then why have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people entered, so that he might kill the king, your lord16This is not good, what you have done. As the Lord lives, you are sons of death, because you have not guarded your lord, the Christ of the Lord. Now therefore, where is the king’s spear, and where is the cup of water that was at his head?17Then Saul recognized the voice of David, and he said, "Is this not your voice, my son David?" And David said, "It is my voice, my lord the king.18And he said: "For what reason has my lord pursued his servant? What have I done? Or what evil is there in my hand19Now therefore, listen, I beg you, my lord the king, to the words of your servant. If the Lord has stirred you up against me, let him make the sacrifice fragrant. But if the sons of men have done so, they are accursed in the sight of the Lord, who has cast me out this day, so that I would not live within the inheritance of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve strange gods.20And now, let not my blood be poured out upon the earth before the Lord. For the king of Israel has gone out, so that he might seek a flea, just as the partridge is pursued amid the mountains.21And Saul said: "I have sinned. Return, my son David. For I will never again do evil to you, because my life has been precious in your eyes this day. For it is apparent that I have acted senselessly, and have been ignorant of very many things.22And responding, David said: "Behold, the king’s spear. Let one of the servants of the king cross over and take it23And the Lord will repay each one according to his justice and faith. For the Lord has delivered you this day into my hand, but I was not willing to extend my hand against the Christ of the Lord24And just as your soul has been magnified this day in my eyes, so let my soul be magnified in the eyes of the Lord, and may he free me from all distress.25Then Saul said to David: "You are blessed, my son David. And whatever you may do, it shall certainly succeed." And David departed on his way. And Saul returned to his place
1And David said in his heart: "At some time, I will one day fall into the hands of Saul. Is it not better if I flee, and be saved in the land of the Philistines, so that Saul may despair and cease to seek me in all the parts of Israel? Therefore, I will flee away from his hands.2And David rose up and went away, he and the six hundred men who were with him, to Achish, the son of Maoch, the king of Gath3And David lived with Achish at Gath, he and his men: each man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam, the Jezreelite, and Abigail, the wife of Nabal of Carmel4And it was reported to Saul that David had fled to Gath. And so, he did not continue to seek him5And David said to Achish: "If I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be given to me in one of the cities of this region, so that I may live there. For why should your servant stay in the city of the king with you?6And so, Achish gave Ziklag to him on that day. And for this reason, Ziklag belongs to the kings of Judah, even to this day7Now the number of days that David lived in the region of the Philistines was four months8And David and his men went up and took plunder from Geshuri, and from Girzi, and from the Amalekites. For in the land long ago, these were the inhabitants of the area, going from Shur as far as the land of Egypt9And David struck the entire land. Neither did he leave alive man or woman. And he took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the donkeys, and the camels, and the garments. And he returned and went to Achish10Then Achish said to him, "Whom did you go out against today?" And David responded, "Against the south of Judah, and against the south of Jerahmeel, and against the south of Keni.11Neither man nor woman was left alive by David. Neither did he lead back any of them to Gath, saying, "Lest perhaps they may speak against us." David did these things. And this was his decision during all the days that he lived in the region of the Philistines12Therefore, Achish trusted David, saying: "He has worked much harm against his people Israel. And so, he will be a servant to me forever.