And Samueldied; and allthe Israeliteswere gathered together, and lamentedhim, and buriedhim in his houseat Ramah. And Davidarose, and went downtothe wildernessof Paran. And there was a manin Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was verygreat, and he had threethousandsheep, and a thousandgoats: and he wasshearinghis sheepin Carmel. Now the nameof the man was Nabal; and the nameof his wifeAbigail: and she was a womanof goodunderstanding, and of a beautifulcountenance: but the man was churlishand evilin his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb. And Davidheardin the wildernessthatNabaldid shearhis sheep. And Davidsent outtenyoung men, and Davidsaidunto the young men, Get you upto Carmel, and gotoNabal, and greethim in my name: And thusshall ye sayto him that liveth in prosperity , Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto allthatthou hast. And nowI have heardthatthou hast shearers: nowthy shepherdswhichwerewithus, we hurtthem not, neitherwas there aughtmissingunto them, allthe whilethey werein Carmel. Askthy young men, and they will showthee. Wherefore let the young menfindfavorin thine eyes: forwe comeina goodday: give, I pray thee, whatsoevercomethto thine handunto thy servants, and to thy sonDavid. And when David's young mencame, they spoketoNabalaccording to allthosewordsin the nameof David, and ceased. And NabalansweredDavid's servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the sonof Jesse? there be manyservantsnow a daysthat break awayevery manfromhis master. Shall I then takemy bread, and my water, and my fleshthatI have killedfor my shearers, and give it unto men, whomI knownotwhencethey be ? So David's young menturnedtheir way, and went again, and cameand toldhim allthosesayings. And Davidsaidunto his men, Gird ye onevery manhis sword. And they girded onevery manhis sword; and Davidalsogirded onhis sword: and there went upafterDavidabout fourhundredmen; and two hundredabodebythe stuff. But oneof the young mentoldAbigail, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold, Davidsentmessengersout of the wildernessto saluteour master; and he railedon them. But the men were verygoodunto us, and we were nothurt, neithermissedwe any thing, as long aswe were conversantwiththem, when we werein the fields: They werea walluntous bothby nightandday, allthe whilewe werewiththem keepingthe sheep. Nowtherefore knowand considerwhatthou wilt do; forevilis determinedagainstour master, and againstallhis household: for he is such a sonof Belial, that a man cannot speaktohim. Then Abigailmade haste, and tooktwo hundredloaves, and twobottlesof wine, and fivesheepready dressed, and fivemeasuresof parched corn , and a hundredclusters of raisins, and two hundredcakes of figs, and laid them onasses. And she saidunto her servants, Go onbeforeme; behold, I comeafteryou. But she toldnother husbandNabal. And it was so, as sherodeonthe ass, that she came downby the covertof the hill, and, behold, Davidand his mencame downagainsther; and she metthem. Now Davidhad said, Surelyin vainhave I keptallthatthis fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothingwas missedof allthat pertained unto him: and he hath requitedme evilforgood. Soand morealsodoGodunto the enemiesof David, ifI leaveof allthat pertain to him bythe morning lightany that pissethagainst the wall. And when AbigailsawDavid, she hasted, and lightedoffthe ass, and fellbeforeDavidonher face, and bowed herselfto the ground, And fellathis feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be : and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speakin thine audience, and hearthe wordsof thine handmaid. Let notmy lord, I pray thee, regardthismanof Belial, even Nabal: foras his name is , so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is withhim: but Ithine handmaidsawnotthe young menof my lord, whomthou didst send. Nowtherefore, my lord, as the LORDliveth, and as thy soulliveth, seeingthe LORDhath withheldthee from comingto shed blood, and from avengingthyself with thine own hand, nowlet thine enemies, and they that seekeviltomy lord, beas Nabal. And nowthisblessingwhichthine handmaidhath broughtunto my lord, let it even be givenunto the young menthat followmy lord. I pray thee, forgivethe trespassof thine handmaid: forthe LORDwill certainly makemy lorda surehouse; becausemy lordfighteththe battlesof the LORD, and evilhath notbeen foundin thee all thy days. Yet a manis risento pursuethee, and to seekthy soul: but the soulof my lordshall beboundin the bundleof lifewiththe LORDthy God; and the soulsof thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middleof a sling. And it shall come to pass, whenthe LORDshall have doneto my lordaccording to allthe goodthathe hath spokenconcerningthee, and shall have appointedthee ruleroverIsrael; That thisshall benogriefunto thee, nor offenseof heartunto my lord, either that thou hast shedbloodcauseless, or that my lordhath avengedhimself: but when the LORDshall have dealt wellwith my lord, then rememberthine handmaid. And Davidsaidto Abigail, Blessed be the LORDGodof Israel, whichsentthee thisdayto meetme: And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, whichhast keptme thisdayfrom comingto shed blood, and from avengingmyself with mine own hand. For in very deed, as the LORDGodof Israelliveth, whichhath kept me backfrom hurtingthee, exceptthou hadst hastedand cometo meetme, surelythere had notbeen leftunto Nabalbythe morninglightany that pissethagainst the wall. So Davidreceivedof her hand that whichshe had broughthim, and saidunto her, Go upin peaceto thine house; see, I have hearkenedto thy voice, and have acceptedthy person. And AbigailcametoNabal; and, behold, he held a feastin his house, like the feastof a king; and Nabal's heart was merrywithinhim, for he was verydrunken: wherefore she toldhim nothing, lessor more, untilthe morninglight. But it came to passin the morning, when the winewas gone outof Nabal, and his wifehad toldhim thesethings, that his heartdiedwithinhim, and hebecame as a stone. And it came to passabout tendays after , that the LORDsmoteNabal, that he died. And when DavidheardthatNabalwas dead, he said, Blessed be the LORD, thathath pleadedthe causeof my reproachfrom the handof Nabal, and hath kepthis servantfrom evil: for the LORDhath returnedthe wickednessof Nabalupon his own head. And Davidsentand communedwith Abigail, to takeher to him to wife. And when the servantsof Davidwere cometoAbigailto Carmel, they spokeuntoher, saying, Davidsentus untothee, to takethee to him to wife. And she arose, and bowed herselfon her faceto the earth, and said, Behold, let thine handmaid be a servantto washthe feetof the servantsof my lord. And Abigailhasted, and arose, and rodeuponan ass, with fivedamselsof hers that wentafterher; and she wentafterthe messengersof David, and becamehis wife. Davidalso tookAhinoamof Jezreel; and they werealsobothof them his wives. But Saulhad givenMichalhis daughter, David's wife, to Phaltithe sonof Laish, which was of Gallim.