Chapter 23
1; And they spoke to David, saying, Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and they are plundering the threshing floors.
2; And David asked of YAHWEH, saying, Shall I go? And shall I strike against these Philistines? And YAHWEH said to David, Go, and you shall strike the Philistines and save Keilah.
3; And David's men said to him, Behold, we are afraid here in Judah; and how shall we go to Keilah to the armies of the Philistines?
4; And David once again inquired of YAHWEH. And YAHWEH answered him and said, Rise up, go down to Keilah, for I have given the Philistines into your hand.
5; And David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and led away their livestock, and killed among them with a great blow. And David saved those living in Keilah.
6; And it happened, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David, near Keilah, an ephod came down in his hand.
7; And it was told to Saul that David had come to Keilah. And Saul said, Elohim has estranged him into my hand. For he is shut in, to enter into a city of gates and a bar.
8; And Saul heard and called all the people to battle, to go down to Keilah, to lay siege to David and to his men.
9; But David knew that Saul was devising evil against him. And he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring the ephod near.
10; And David said, O YAHWEH the Elohim of Israel, Your servant has surely heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah to destroy the city because of me.
11; Will the masters of Keilah shut me up into his hand? Will Saul come down as Your servant has heard? I pray You,
YAHWEH the Elohim of Israel, tell your servant. And YAHWEH said, He will come down.
12; And David said, Will the masters of Keilah shut me and my men up into Saul's hand? And YAHWEH said, They will shut you up.
13; And David and his men, about six hundred men, rose up and left Keilah, and went wherever they could go. And it was told to Saul that David had escaped from Keilah. And he ceased to go out.
14; And David stayed in the wilderness, in the strongholds. And he stayed in the hill, in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him all his days. And Elohim did not give him into his hand.
15; And David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life; and David was in the wilderness of Ziph, in the forest.
16; And Jonathan the son of Saul rose up and went out to David, to the forest. And he made his hand strong in Elohim,
17; and said to him, Do not fear, for the hand of my father Saul shall not find you; and you shall reign over Israel; and I shall be second to you. And my father Saul knows it is so.
18; And they cut a covenant, both of them, before YAHWEH. And David stayed in the forest, and Jonathan went to his house.
19; And the men of Ziph went to Saul, to Gibeah, saying, Is not David hiding himself with us in strongholds, in the forest, in the hill of Hachilah, which is south of the wilderness?
20; And now, come down according to all the desires of your soul, O king. Come down, and our duty is to deliver him up into the king's hand.
21; And Saul said, You are blessed of YAHWEH, for you have had pity on me.
22; Please go, make yet more sure, and know, and see his place where his foot is; who has seen him there, for one has said to me, He is being very crafty.
23; And see and know of all the hiding places where he hides himself. And you shall return to me ready, and I shall go with you, and it shall be, if he is in the land, that I shall search him out through all the thousands of Judah.
24; And they rose up and went to Ziph before Saul. But David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah on the south of the desert.
25; And Saul and his men went to search. And they told David. And he went down to the rock, and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. And Saul heard, and pursued David in the wilderness of Maon.
26; And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain. And David was hurrying to go away from the face of Saul. And Saul and his men were encircling David and his men, to catch them.
27; And a messenger came to Saul, saying, Hurry, and come, for the Philistines have made a raid on the land.
28; And Saul turned back from pursuing David, and went to meet the Philistines. On account of this they have called that place, The Rock of the Division.
29; And David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds at En- Gedi.
Chapter 24
1; And it happened, when Saul had returned from after the Philistines, they told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of En-Gedi.
2; And Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men on the front of the rocks of the wild goats.
3; And on the way he came in to the folds of the flock. And there was a cave. And Saul went in to cover his feet. And David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave.
4; And David's men said to him, Behold, the day of which YAHWEH said to you, Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it is good in your eyes. But David rose up and quietly cut off the tassel of Saul's robe.
5; And it happened afterward, the heart of David struck him, because he had cut off Saul's tassel.
6; And he said to his men, Far be it from me, by YAHWEH. I shall not do this thing to my master, to the anointed of YAHWEH, to put out my hand against him. For he is the anointed of YAHWEH.
7; And David held back his men by words, and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. And Saul rose up from the cave and went in the way.
8; And David rose up afterward and went out from the cave and called after Saul, saying, My master the king! And Saul looked behind him. And David was bowing face to the earth and prostrated himself.
9; And David said to Saul, Why do you listen to the words of man, saying, Behold, David seeks to do you evil?
10; See, this day your eyes have seen how YAHWEH has delivered you today into my hand in the cave. And one said to kill you, but I had pity on you. And I said, I shall not put out my hand against my master, for he is the anointed of YAHWEH.
11; And my father, behold! Yes, see the tassel of your robe in my hand. For in that I cut off the tassel of your robe, and did not kill you, know and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in my hand, and I have not sinned against you. Yet you are lying in wait for my soul, to take it.
12; YAHWEH shall judge between you and me, and YAHWEH shall avenge me of you. But my hand shall not be on you.
13; As the proverb of the ancients says, Wickedness proceeds from the wicked. But my hand shall not be on you.
14; After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom are you pursuing? After a dead dog? After a flea?
15; Yea, YAHWEH shall be judge, and shall judge between you and me. Yea, He shall see and contend for my cause, and shall deliver me out of your hand.
16; And it happened, when David finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, Is this your voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice and wept.
17; And he said to David, You are more righteous than I. For you have done good to me, and I have rewarded you with evil.
18; And you have today shown that you have dealt well with me, in that YAHWEH shut me up into your hand, and you did not kill me.
19; For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go on his way well? And
YAHWEH will repay you good for that which you have done to me today.
20; And now, behold, I know that you shall certainly reign, and the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand.
21; And now, swear to me by YAHWEH that you shall not cut off my seed after me, nor shall you destroy my name from the house of my father.
22; And David swore to Saul. And Saul went to his house, and David and his men went up into the stronghold.
Chapter 25
1; And Samuel died, and all Israel was gathered, and mourned for him. And they buried him in his house, in Ramah. And David rose up and went down to the wilderness of Paran.
2; And a certain man was in Maon, and his work was in Carmel. And the man was very great, and there were three thousand sheep and a thousand goats to him. And he was shearing his flock in Carmel.
3; And the man's name was Nabal, and his wife's name, Abigail. And the woman was of good understanding, and beautiful of form. And the man was cruel and evil in his dealings. And He was a Calebite.
4; And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his flock.
5; And David sent ten young men, and David said to the young men, Go up to Carmel, and you shall come to Nabal and ask him of his welfare in my name.
6; And say this, Long life and peace to you! And peace to your house, and peace to all that you have.
7; And now, I have heard that you have shearers. And your shepherds have been with us; we have not shamed them, nor was anything missing to them all the days they were in Carmel.
8; Ask your young men, and they will tell you. And may the young men find favor in your eyes, for we have come at a good day. Please give that which your hand finds to your servants, and to your son, to David.
9; And the young men of David came and spoke to Nabal according to all these words, in the name of David, and rested.
10; And Nabal answered David's servants and said, Who is David, and who the son of Jesse? The servants have multiplied today who have broken away from his master.
11; And shall I take my bread, and my water, and my meat which I have killed for my shearers, and give to men whom I have not known, from where they are?
12; And the young men of David turned to their way, and returned and came and told him according to all these words.
13; And David said to his men, Each man gird on his sword. And David also girded on his sword. And about four hundred men went up after David and two hundred stayed by the baggage.
14; And one young man of the youths told Abigail the wife of Nabal, saying, Behold, David has sent messengers out of the wilderness to bless our master, and he screamed at them.
15; And the men were good to us, and have not shamed us, and we have not missed anything all the days we have gone up and down with them when we were in the field.
16; They have been a wall to us both by day and by night, all the days we have been with them, feeding the flock.
17; And now, know and consider what you should do; for evil has been determined against our master, and on all his house. And he is a son of worthlessness, no one can speak to him.
18; And Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves, and two skins of wine, and five prepared sheep, and five measures of roasted grain, and a hundred bunches of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs. And she set them on the donkeys .
19; And she said to her young men, Pass on before me. Behold, I am coming after you. But she did not tell her husband Nabal.
20; And it happened she was riding on the donkey and coming down by the cover of the mountain. And, behold, David and his men were coming down to meet her; and she met them.
21; And David had said, Surely, in vain I have guarded all that belongs to this fellow in the wilderness, so that not anything was missed of all that was his. And he has returned to me evil for good.
22; So may Elohim do to the enemies of David, and may He do more so, if I leave any of all that is to him to the light of the morning, of one who urinates against a wall.
23; And Abigail saw David, and she hurried, and she dismounted from the donkey and fell on her face before David and bowed to the earth.
24; And she fell at his feet and said, On me, even me, my master, be the iniquity. And please, let your handmaid speak in your ears; and hear the words of your handmaid.
25; Please, do not let my master set his heart toward this man of worthlessness, on Nabal. For as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and foolishness is with him. And I, your handmaid, did not see the young men of my master whom you sent.
26; And now, my master, as YAHWEH lives, and as your soul lives, in that YAHWEH has withheld you from coming in with blood, and delivering your hand for you; even now let your enemies be as Nabal, even those seeking evil to my master.
27; And now this blessing which your handmaid has brought to my master, even let it be given to the young men who go after my master.
28; Please, bear with the sin of your handmaid, for YAHWEH shall certainly make a sure house for my master. For my master has fought the battles of YAHWEH, and evil has not been found in you all your days.
29; And if a man rises up to pursue you and to seek your soul, the soul of my master will be bound up in the bundle of life with YAHWEH your Elohim; and the souls of your enemies, He shall sling them from the hollow of the sling.
30; And it shall be, when YAHWEH does to my master according to all the good which He has spoken concerning you, and has commanded you to be ruler over Israel,
31; that this shall not be for a cause of staggering, or of stumbling of heart to my master, either to shed blood for nothing, or that my master saved himself. And may YAHWEH do good to my master, and you remember your handmaid.
32; And David said to Abigail, Blessed is YAHWEH the Elohim of Israel, who has sent you to meet me today.
33; And blessed is your discernment. And blessed are you in that you have kept me from coming in with blood this day, and from delivering myself with my own hand.
34; And, indeed, as YAHWEH the Elohim of Israel lives, who has kept me back from doing evil to you, for unless you had hurried and had come to meet me, surely there would not have been left to Nabal one who urinates against the wall till the light of morning.
35; And David received from her hand what she had brought to him. And he said to her, Go in peace to your house. See, I have heard your voice, and have accepted your face.
36; And Abigail came to Nabal. And, behold, he was at a feast in his house, like the feast of the king. And Nabal's heart felt good within him, and he was drunk to excess. And she did not tell him a word, more or less, until the light of the morning.
37; And it happened 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 like a stone.
38; And it happened about ten days later, YAHWEH struck Nabal and he died.
39; And David heard that Nabal had died, and said, Blessed be YAHWEH who has contended for the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal; and His servant has been kept back from evil. And YAHWEH has caused the evil doing of Nabal to return on his head. And David sent and spoke with Abigail, to take her to himself for a wife.
40; And David's servants came to Abigail at Carmel, and spoke to her, saying, David has sent us to you to take you to him for a wife.
41; And she rose up and bowed her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let your handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my master.
42; And Abigail hurried and arose and rode on a donkey , and five of her young women following her. And she went after David's messengers. And she became a wife to him.
43; And David had taken Ahinoam from Jezreel. And they became, even both of them, wives to him.
44; And Saul gave his daughter Michal, David's wife, to Phalti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.