[23] And Abigaia saw David, and she hasted and alighted from her ass; and she felt before David on her face, and did obeisance to him, bowing to the ground [24] even to his feet, and said, On me, my lord, be my wrong: let, I pray thee, thy servant speak in thine ears, and hear thou the words of thy servant. [25] Let not my lord, I pray thee, take to heart this pestilent man, for according to his name, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thy handmaid saw not the servants of my lord whom thou didst send.
[26] And now, my lord, as the Lord lives, and thy soul lives, as the Lord has kept thee from coming against innocent blood, and from executing vengeance for thyself, now therefore let thine enemies, and those that seek evil against my lord, become as Nabal. [27] And now accept this token of goodwill, which thy servant has brought to my lord, and thou shalt give it to the servants that wait on my lord. [28] Remove, I pray thee, the trespass of thy servant; for the Lord will surely make for my lord a sure house, for the Lord fights the battles of my lord, and there shall no evil be ever found in thee. [29] And if a man shall rise up persecuting thee and seeking thy life, yet shall the life of my lord be bound up in the bundle of life with the Lord God, and thou shalt whirl the life of thine enemies as in the midst of a sling. [30] And it shall be when the Lord shall have wrought for my lord all the good things he has spoken concerning thee, and shall appoint thee to be ruler over Israel; [31] then this shall not be an abomination and offence to my lord, to have shed innocent blood without cause, and for my lord to have avenged himself: and so may the Lord do good to my lord, and thou shalt remember thine handmaid to do her good.
[32] And David said to Abigaia, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who sent thee this very day to meet me: [33] and blessed be thy conduct, and blessed be thou, who hast hindered me this very day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself. [34] But surely as the Lord God of Israel lives, who hindered me this day from doing thee harm, if thou hadst not hasted and come to meet me, then I said, There shall surely not be left to Nabal till the morning one male. [35] And David took of her hand all that she brought to him, and said to her, Go in peace to thy house: see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and accepted thy petition.
[36] And Abigaia came to Nabal: and, behold, he had a banquet in this house, as the banquet of a king, and the heart of Nabal was merry within him, and he was very drunken: and she told him nothing great or small till the morning light. [37] And it came to pass in the morning, when Nabal recovered from his wine, his wife told him these words; and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.
[38] And it came to pass after about ten days, that the Lord smote Nabal, and he died. [39] And David heard it and said, Blessed be the Lord, who has judged the cause of my reproach at the hand of Nabal, and has delivered his servant from the power of evil; and the Lord has returned the mischief of Nabal upon his own head.
And David sent and spoke concerning Abigaia, to take her to himself for a wife. [40] So the servants of David came to Abigaia to Carmel, and spoke to her, saying, David has sent us to thee, to take thee to himself for a wife. [41] And she arose, and did reverence with her face to the earth, and said, Behold, thy servant is for an handmaid to wash the feet of thy servants. [42] And Abigaia arose, and mounted her ass, and five damsels followed her: and she went after the servants of David, and became his wife. [43] And David took Achinaam out of Jezrael, and they were both his wives. [44] And Saul gave Melchol his daughter, David’s wife, to Phalti the son of Amis who was of Romma.
Chapter 26
[1] And the Ziphites come out of the dry country to Saul to the hill, saying, Behold, David hides himself with us in the hill Echela, opposite Jessemon. [2] And Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, and with him went three thousand men chosen out of Israel, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. [3] And Saul encamped in the hill of Echela in front of Jessemon, by the way, and David dwelt in the wilderness: and David saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness. [4] And David sent spies, and ascertained that Saul was come prepared out of Keila.
[5] And David arose secretly, and goes into the place where Saul was sleeping, and there was Abenner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul was sleeping in a chariot, and the people had encamped along round about him. [6] And David answered and spoke to Abimelech the Chettite, and to Abessa the son Saruia the brother of Joab, saying, Who will go in with me to Saul into the camp? And Abessa said, I will go in with thee.
[7] So David and Abessa go in among the people by night: and behold, Saul was fast asleep in the chariot, and his spear was stuck in the ground near his head, and Abenner and his people slept round about him. [8] And Abessa said to David, The Lord has this day shut up thine enemy into thine hands, and now I will smite him to the earth with the spear to the ground once for all, and I will not smite him again. [9] And David said to Abessa, Do not lay him low, for who shall lift up his hand against the anointed of the Lord, and be guiltless? [10] And David said, As the Lord lives, if the Lord smite him not, or his day come and he die, or he go down to battle and be added to his fathers, do not so. [11] The Lord forbid it me that I should lift up my hand against the anointed of the Lord: and now take, I pray thee, the spear from his bolster, and the pitcher of water, and let us return home. [12] So David took the spear, and the pitcher of water from his bolster, and they went home: and there was no one that saw, and no one that knew, and there was no one that awoke, all being asleep, for a stupor from the Lord had fallen upon them.
[13] So David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of a hill afar off, and there was a good distance between them. [14] And David called to the people, and spoke to Abenner, saying, Wilt thou not answer, Abenner? and Abenner answered and said, Who art thou that callest? [15] And David said to Abenner, Art not thou a man? and who is like thee in Israel? Why then dost thou not guard thy lord the king? for one out of the people went in to destroy thy lord the king. [16] And this thing is not good which thou hast done. As the Lord lives, ye are worthy of death, ye who guard your lord the king, the anointed of the Lord: and now behold, I pray you, the spear of the king, and the cruse of water: where are the articles that should be at his head?
[17] And Saul recognized the voice of David, and said, Is this thy voice, son David? and David said, I am thy servant, my lord, O king. [18] And he said, Why does my lord thus pursue after his servant? for in what have I sinned? and what unrighteousness has been found in me? [19] And now let my lord the king hear the word of his servant. If God stirs thee up against me, let thine offering be acceptable: but if the sons of men, they are cursed before the Lord, for they have cast me out this day so that I should not be established in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, Go, serve other Gods. [20] And now let not my blood fall to the ground before the Lord, for the king of Israel has come forth to seek thy life, as the night hawk pursues its prey in the mountains.
[21] And Saul said, I have sinned: turn, son David, for I will not hurt thee, because my life was precious in thine eyes; and to-day I have been foolish and have erred exceedingly. [22] And David answered and said, Behold, the spear of the king: let one of the servants come over and take it. [23] And the Lord shall recompense each according to his righteousness and his truth, since the Lord delivered thee this day into my hands, and I would not lift my hand against the Lord’s anointed. [24] And, behold, as thy life has been precious this very day in my eyes, so let my life be precious before the Lord, and may he protect me, and deliver me out of all affliction. [25] And Saul said to David, Blessed be thou, my son; and thou shalt surely do valiantly, and surely prevail. And David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.
Chapter 27
[1] And David said in his heart, Now shall I be one day delivered for death into the hands of Saul; and there is no good thing for me unless I should escape into the land of the Philistines, and Saul should cease from seeking me through every coast of Israel: so I shall escape out of his hand. [2] So David arose, and the six hundred
men that were with him, and he went to Anchus, son Ammach, king of Geth. [3] And David dwelt with Anchus, he and his men, each with his family; and David and both his wives, Achinaam, the Jezraelitess, and Abigaia the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. [4] And it was told Saul that David had fled to Geth; and he no longer sought after him.
[5] And David said to Anchus, If now thy servant has found grace in thine eyes, let them give me, I pray thee, a place in one of the cities in the country, and I will dwell there: for why does thy servant dwell with thee in a royal city? [6] And he gave him Sekelac in that day: therefore Sekelac came into possession of the king of Judea to this day. [7] And the number of the days that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was four months.
[8] And David and his men went up, and made an attack on all the Gesirites and on the Amalekites: and behold, the land was inhabited, (even the land from Gelampsur) by those who come from the fortified cities even to the land of Egypt. [9] And he smote the land, and saved neither man nor woman alive; and they took flocks, and herds, and asses, and camels, and raiment; and they returned and came to Anchus. [10] And Anchus said to David, On whom have ye made an attack to-day? And David said to Anchus, On the south of Judea, and on the south of Jesmega, and on the south of the Kenezite. [11] And I have not saved man or woman alive to bring them to Geth, saying, Lest they carry a report to Geth against us, saying, These things David does. And this was his manner all the days that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines. [12] So David had the full confidence of Anchus, who said, He is thoroughly disgraced among his people in Israel and he shall be my servant for ever.
Chapter 28
[1] And it came to pass in those days that the Philistines gathered themselves together with their armies to go out to fight with Israel; and Anchus said to David, Know surely, that thou shalt go forth to battle with me, thou, and thy men. [2] And David said to Anchus, Thus now thou shalt know what thy servant will do. And Anchus said to David, So will I make thee captain of my body-guard continually. [3] And Samuel died, and all Israel lamented for him, and they bury him in his city, in Armathaim. And Saul had removed those who had in them divining spirits, and the wizards, out of the land. [4] And the Philistines assemble themselves, and come and encamp in Sonam: and Saul gathers all the men of Israel, and they encamp in Gelbue. [5] And Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, and he was alarmed, and his heart was greatly dismayed. [6] And Saul enquired of the Lord; and the Lord answered him not by dreams, nor by manifestations, nor by prophets.
[7] Then Saul said to his servants, Seek for me a woman who has in her a divining spirit, and I will go to her, and enquire of her: and his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman who has in her a divining spirit at Aendor.
[8] And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he goes, and two men with him, and they come to the woman by night; and he said to her, Divine to me, I pray thee, by the divining spirit within thee, and bring up to me him whom I shall name to thee. [9] And the woman said to him, Behold now, thou knowest what Saul has done, how he has cut off those who had in them divining spirits, and the wizards from the land, and why dost thou spread a snare for my life to destroy it? [10] And Saul swore to her, and said, As the Lord lives, no injury shall come upon thee on this account. [11] And the woman said, Whom shall I bring up to thee? and he said, Bring up to me Samuel.
[12] And the woman saw Samuel, and cried out with a loud voice: and the woman said to Saul, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul. [13] And the king said to her, Fear not; tell me whom thou has seen. And the woman said to him, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. [14] And he said to her, What didst thou perceive? and she said to him, An upright man ascending out of the earth, and he was clothed with a mantle. And Saul knew that this was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the earth, and did obeisance to him.
[15] And Samuel said, Why hast thou troubled me, that I should come up? And Saul said, I am greatly distressed, and the Philistines war against me, and God has departed from me, and no longer hearkens to me either by the hand of the prophets or by dreams: and now I have called thee to tell me what I shall do. [16] And Samuel said, Why askest thou me, whereas the Lord has departed from thee, and taken part with thy neighbour? [17] And the Lord has done to thee, as the Lord spoke by me; and the Lord will rend thy kingdom out of thy hand, and will give it to thy neighbour David. [18] because thou didst not hearken to the voice of the Lord, and didst not execute his fierce anger upon Amalec, therefore the Lord has done this thing to thee this day. [19] And the Lord shall deliver Israel with thee into the hands of the Philistines, and to-morrow thou and thy sons with thee shall fall, and the Lord shall deliver the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.
[20] And Saul instantly fell at his full length upon the earth, and was greatly afraid because of the words of Samuel; and there was no longer any strength in him, for he had eaten no bread all that day, and all that night. [21] And the woman went in to Saul, and saw that he was greatly disquieted, and said to him, Behold now, thine handmaid has hearkened to thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have heard the words which thou has spoken to me. [22] And now hearken, I pray thee, to the voice of thine handmaid, and I will set before thee a morsel of bread, and eat, and thou shalt be strengthened, for thou wilt be going on thy way. [23] But he would not eat; so his servants and the woman constrained him, and he hearkened to their voice, and rose up from the earth, and sat upon a bench. [24] And the woman had a fat heifer in the house; and she hasted and slew it; and she took meal and kneaded it, and baked unleavened cakes. [25] And she brought the meat before Saul, and before his servants; and they ate, and rose up, and departed that night.
Chapter 29
[1] And the Philistines gather all their armies to Aphec, and Israel encamped in Aendor, which is in Jezrael. [2] And the lords of the Philistines went on by hundreds and thousands, and David and his men went on in the rear with Anchus. [3] And the lords of the Philistines said, Who are these that pass by? And Anchus said to the captains of the Philistines, Is not this David the servant of Saul king of Israel? He has been with us some time, even this second year, and I have not found any fault in him from the day that he attached himself to me even until this day. [4] And the captains of the Philistines were displeased at him, and they say to him, Send the man away, and let him return to his place, where thou didst set him; and let him not come with us to the war, and let him not be a traitor in the camp: and wherewith will he be reconciled to his master? Will it not be with the heads of those men? [5] Is not this David whom they celebrated in dances, saying, Saul has smitten his thousands, and David his ten thousands?
[6] And Anchus called David, and said to him, As the Lord lives, thou art right and approved in my eyes, and so is thy going out and thy coming in with me in the army, and I have not found any evil to charge against thee from the day that thou camest to me until this day: but thou art not approved in the eyes of the lords. [7] Now then return and go in peace, thus thou shalt not do evil in the sight of the lords of the Philistines.
[8] And David said to Anchus, What have I done to thee? and what hast thou found in thy servant from the first day that I was before thee even until this day, that I should not come and war against the enemies of the lord my king?
[9] And Anchus answered David, I know that thou art good in my eyes, but the lords of the Philistines say, He shall not come with us to the war. [10] Now then rise up early in the morning, thou and the servants of thy lord that are come with thee, and go to the place where I appointed you, and entertain no evil thought in thy heart, for thou art good in my sight: and rise early for your journey when it is light, and depart.
[11] So David arose early, he and his men, to depart and guard the land of the Philistines: and the Philistines went up to Jezrael to battle.
Chapter 30
[1] And it came to pass when David and his men had entered Sekelac on the third day, that Amalec had made an incursion upon the south, and upon Sekelac, and
smitten Sekelac, and burnt it with fire. [2] And as to the women and all things that were in it, great and small, they slew neither man nor woman, but carried them captives, and went on their way.
[3] And David and his men came into the city, and, behold, it was burnt with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters were carried captive. [4] And David and his men lifted up their voice, and wept till there was no longer any power within them to weep. [5] And both the wives of David were carried captive, Achinaam, the Jezraelitess, and Abigaia the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. [6] And David was greatly distressed, because the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, each for his sons and his daughters: but David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
[7] And David said to Abiathar the priest the son of Achimelech, Bring near the ephod. [8] And David enquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? and he said to him, Pursue, for thou shalt surely overtake them, and thou shalt surely rescue the captives. [9] So David went, he an the six hundred men with him, an they come as far as the brook Bosor, and the superfluous ones stopped. [10] And he pursued them with four hundred men; and there remained behind two hundred men, who tarried on the other side of the brook Bosor.
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