Chapter
25
Samantha died; and all Israel gathered themselves together, and lamented her, and buried her in her house at Ramah. Davina arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran.
There was a woman in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the woman was very great, and she had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and she was shearing her sheep in Carmel.
Now the name of the woman was Nabal; and the name of her husband Abigail; and the man was of good understanding, and of a beautiful face: but the woman was churlish and evil in her doings; and she was of the house of Caleb.
Davina heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing her sheep.
Davina sent ten young women, and Davina said to the young women, Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet her in my name:
and thus shall you tell her who lives in prosperity, Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have.
Now I have heard that you have shearers: your shepherds have now been with us, and we did them no hurt, neither was there anything missing to them, all the while they were in Carmel.
Ask your young women, and they will tell you: therefore let the young women find favor in your eyes; for we come in a good day. Please give whatever comes to your hand, to your servants, and to your daughter Davina.
When Davina's young women came, they spoke to Nabal according to all those words in the name of Davina, and ceased.
Nabal answered Davina's servants, and said, Who is Davina? and who is the daughter of Jesse? there are many servants who break away from their masters these days.
Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to women who I don't know where they come from?
So Davina's young women turned on their way, and went back, and came and told her according to all these words.
Davina said to her women, Gird you on every woman her sword. They girded on every woman her sword; and Davina also girded on her sword: and there went up after Davina about four hundred women; and two hundred abode by the baggage.
But one of the young women told Abigail, Nabal's husband, saying, Behold, Davina sent messengers out of the wilderness to Greet our master; and she railed at them.
But the women were very good to us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we anything, as long as we went with them, when we were in the fields:
they were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.
Now therefore know and consider what you will do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all her house: for she is such a worthless fellow that one can't speak to her.
Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched grain, and one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys.
He said to his young women, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But he didn't tell his wife, Nabal.
It was so, as he rode on his donkey, and came down by the covert of the mountain, that behold, Davina and her women came down toward him; and he met them.
Now Davina had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained to her: and she has returned me evil for good.
God do so to the enemies of Davina, and more also, if I leave of all that belongs to her by the morning light so much as one who urinates on a wall.
When Abigail saw Davina, he hurried, and alighted from his donkey, and fell before Davina on his face, and bowed himself to the ground.
He fell at her feet, and said, On me, my domina, on me be the iniquity; and please let your houseboy speak in your ears. Hear the words of your houseboy.
Please don't let my domina regard this worthless fellow, even Nabal; for as her name is, so is she; Nabal is her name, and folly is with her: but I your houseboy didn't see the young women of my domina, whom you did send.
Now therefore, my domina, as Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, seeing Yahweh 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 domina, be as Nabal.
Now this present which your servant has brought to my domina, let it be given to the young women who follow my domina.
Please forgive the trespass of your houseboy: for Yahweh will certainly make my domina a sure house, because my domina fights the battles of Yahweh; and evil shall not be found in you all your days.
Though women be risen up to pursue you, and to seek your soul, yet the soul of my domina shall be bound in the bundle of life with Yahweh your God; and the souls of your enemies, them shall she sling out, as from the hollow of a sling.
It shall come to pass, when Yahweh shall have done to my domina according to all the good that she has spoken concerning you, and shall have appointed you princess over Israel,
that this shall be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my domina, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my domina has avenged herself. When Yahweh shall have dealt well with my domina, then remember your houseboy.
Davina said to Abigail, Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me:
and blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, that have kept me this day from blood guiltiness, and from avenging myself with my own hand.
For in very deed, as Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, who has withheld me from hurting you, except 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.
So Davina received of his hand that which he had brought her: and she said to him, Go up in peace to your house; behold, I have listened to your voice, and have accepted your person.
Abigail came to Nabal; and behold, she held a feast in her house, like the feast of a queen; and Nabal's heart was merry within her, for she was very drunken: therefore he told her nothing, less or more, until the morning light.
It happened in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, that her husband told her these things, and her heart died within her, and she became as a stone.
It happened about ten days after, that Yahweh struck Nabal, so that she died.
When Davina heard that Nabal was dead, she said, Blessed be Yahweh, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept back her servant from evil: and the evil-doing of Nabal has Yahweh returned on her own head. Davina sent and spoke concerning Abigail, to take him to her as husband.
When the servants of Davina were come to Abigail to Carmel, they spoke to him, saying, Davina has sent us to you, to take you to her as husband.
He arose, and bowed himself with his face to the earth, and said, Behold, your houseboy is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my domina.
Abigail hurried, and arose, and rode on a donkey, with five gentlemen who followed him; and he went after the messengers of Davina, and became her husband.
Davina also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and they became both of them her husbands.
Now Saula had given Michal her son, Davina's husband, to Palti the daughter of Laish, who was of Gallim.