^aNow Samuel died; and all Israel assembled and ^bmourned for him, and they ^cburied him at his house in Ramah. Then David left and went down to the ^dWilderness of Paran.

2 Now there was a man in ^aMaon whose business and possessions were in ^bCarmel; and the man was very rich. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats, and ^che was shearing his sheep in Carmel 3 (now the man’s name was Nabal and his ^awife’s name was Abigail. She was intelligent and beautiful in appearance, but the man was harsh and evil in his dealings; he was ^ba ¹Calebite). 4 David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. 5 So David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel and go to Nabal, and ¹greet him in my name; 6 and this is what you shall say, ‘^1aHave a long life! Peace be to you, and peace to your house, and peace to all that you have. 7 Now I have heard ^athat you have shearers. Now your shepherds have been with us and we have not harmed them, nor were they ^bmissing anything all the time they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your young men and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your sight and be well-treated, for we have come on a ^1agood (festive) day. ²Please, give whatever you find at hand to your servants and to your son David.’”

9 When David’s young men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all these words in the name of David; then they waited. 10 But Nabal answered David’s servants and said, “^aWho is David? And who is the son of Jesse? ¹There are many servants today, each of whom is breaking away from his master. 11 So should I ^atake my bread and my water and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men when I do not know where they are from?” 12 So David’s young men made their way back and returned; and they came and told him everything that was said to them by Nabal. 13 David said to his men, “Each man put on your sword.” So each man put on his sword. David also put on his sword, and about ^afour hundred men went up behind David while two hundred ^bstayed back with the provisions and supplies.

14 But one of Nabal’s young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “Listen, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to ^abless (greet) our master, and he shouted at them in contempt. 15 But David’s men were very good to us, and we were not ^aharmed or treated badly, nor did we miss anything as long as we were with them, when we were in the fields. 16 ^aThey were a wall of protection to us both night and day, all the time that we were with them tending the sheep. 17 Now then, know this and consider what you should do, for evil is already planned against our master and against all his household; but he is such a ¹worthless and wicked man that one cannot speak reasonably to him.”

18 Then Abigail hurried and ^atook two hundred loaves of bread, two jugs of wine, five sheep already prepared for roasting, five measures of roasted grain, a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and loaded them on donkeys. 19 She said to her young men (servants) , “^aGo on ahead of me; behold, I am coming after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. 20 It happened that as she was riding on her donkey and coming down by way of the hidden part of the mountain, that suddenly David and his men were coming down toward her, and she met them. 21 Now David had said, “Surely in vain I have protected and guarded all that this man has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missing of all that belonged to him; and he has ^arepaid me evil for good. 22 ^aMay God do so to the enemies of David, and more also, ^bif by morning I leave alive even one ¹male of any who belong to him.”

23 When Abigail saw David, she hurried and dismounted from the donkey, and ¹kneeled face downward before David ^aand bowed down to the ground in respect. 24 ¹Kneeling at his feet she said, “My lord, let the blame and guilt be on me alone. And please let your maidservant speak ²to you, and listen to the words of your maidservant. 25 Please do not let my lord ¹pay attention to this worthless man, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal (fool) is his ²name and foolishness (stupidity) is with him; but I your maidservant did not see my lord’s young men whom you sent.

26 “So now, my lord, as the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, since the LORD has prevented you from shedding blood, and ^afrom avenging yourself by your own hand, now then ^blet your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord, be as self-destructive as Nabal. 27 Now ^athis gift, which your maidservant has brought my lord, let it be given to the young men who ¹accompany and follow my lord. 28 Please forgive ^athe transgression of your maidservant; for ^bthe LORD will certainly make my lord a secure and enduring house, because my lord is ^cfighting the battles of the LORD, and ^devil will not be found in you all your days. 29 Should anyone rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, then the life of my lord will be bound in the precious bundle of the living with the LORD your God; but the lives of your enemies—those ^aHe will hurl out as from the center of a sling. 30 And it will happen when the LORD does for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken (promised) concerning you, and ^aappoints you ruler over Israel, 31 that this incident will not cause grief or bring a troubled conscience to my lord, both by having shed blood without cause and by my lord having avenged himself. ^aWhen the LORD deals well with my lord, then remember with favor your maidservant.”

32 David said to Abigail, “^aBlessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet me this day. 33 And blessed be your discretion and discernment, and blessed be you, ^awho has kept me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself by my own hand. 34 Nevertheless, as the LORD the God of Israel lives, ^awho has prevented me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, most certainly by the morning light there would not have been left to Nabal so much as one male.” 35 So David ¹accepted what she had brought to him and said to her, “^aGo up to your house in peace. See, I have listened to you and have ^2bgranted your request.”

36 Then Abigail came to Nabal, and he was holding ^aa feast in his house for the shearers, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s ¹mood was joyous ^bbecause he was very drunk; so ^cshe told him nothing at all until the morning light. 37 But in the morning, when ¹Nabal was sober, and his wife told him these things, his ²heart died within him and he became paralyzed and helpless like a stone. 38 About ten days later, ^athe LORD struck Nabal and he died.

39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has ^apleaded the cause of my reproach suffered at the hand of Nabal and has ^bkept His servant from retaliating with evil. For the Lord has returned the wickedness of Nabal on his own head.” Then David sent ^cword to Abigail, proposing to take her as his wife. 40 When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, “David sent us to you to take you to him to be his wife.” 41 And she stood ^aand bowed with her face to the ground and said, “Behold, your maidservant is ready to be a maid ^bto wash the feet of the servants of my lord.” 42 Then ^aAbigail quickly got up, and rode on a donkey, with five of her maidens who ¹attended her; and she followed the messengers of David and became his wife.

43 David had also taken Ahinoam of ^aJezreel, and ^bthey both became his wives.

44 But Saul had given ^aMichal his younger daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was from ^bGallim.

^aThen Samuel died; and all Israel assembled and ^bmourned for him, and they ^cburied him at his house in Ramah. And David set out and went down to the ^dwilderness of Paran.

2 Now there was a man in ^aMaon whose business was in ^bCarmel; and the man was very ¹rich, and he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And it came about while ^che was shearing his sheep in Carmel 3 (now the man’s name was Nabal, and his ^awife’s name was Abigail. And the woman was ¹intelligent and beautiful in appearance, but the man was harsh and evil in his dealings, and he was ^ba Calebite), 4 that David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. 5 So David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel and ¹visit Nabal, and greet him in my name; 6 and this is what you shall say: ‘¹Have a long life, ^apeace to you, and peace to your house, and peace to all that you have! 7 Now then, I have heard ^athat you have shearers. Now, your shepherds have been with us; we have not harmed them, ^bnor has anything of theirs gone missing all the days they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your young men and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we have come on ^aa ¹festive day. Please give whatever you find at hand to your servants and to your son David.’”

9 When David’s young men came, they spoke to Nabal in accordance with all these words in David’s name; then they waited. 10 But Nabal answered David’s servants and said, “^aWho is David? And who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants today who are each breaking away from his master. 11 Shall I then ^atake my bread and my water and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men ¹whose origin I do not know?” 12 So David’s young men made their way back and returned; and they came and informed him in accordance with all these words. 13 Then David said to his men, “Each of you strap on his sword.” So each man strapped on his sword. And David also strapped on his sword, and about ^afour hundred men went up behind David, while two hundred ^bstayed with the baggage.

14 Now one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, “Behold, David sent messengers from the wilderness to ^1agreet our master, and he spoke to them in anger. 15 Yet the men were very good to us, and we were not ^aharmed, nor did anything go missing ¹as long as we went with them, while we were in the fields. 16 ^aThey were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the time we were with them tending the sheep. 17 Now then, be aware and ¹consider what you should do, because harm is plotted against our master and against all his household; and he is such a ²worthless man that no one can speak to him.”

18 Then Abigail hurried and ^atook two hundred loaves of bread and two jugs of wine, and five sheep already prepared and five measures of roasted grain, and a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and she loaded them on donkeys. 19 Then she said to her young men, “^aGo on ahead of me; behold, I am coming after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. 20 And it happened as she was riding on her donkey and coming down by the hidden part of the mountain, that behold, David and his men were coming down toward her; so she met them. 21 Now David had said, “It is certainly for nothing that I have guarded everything that this man has in the wilderness, so that nothing has gone missing of all that belonged to him! For he has ^areturned me evil for good. 22 ^aMay God do so to the enemies of David, and more so, ^bif by morning I leave alive as much as one ¹male of any who belong to him.”

23 When Abigail saw David, she hurried and dismounted from her donkey, and fell on her face in front of David ^aand bowed herself to the ground. 24 She fell at his feet and said, “On me ¹alone, my lord, be the blame. And please let your slave speak ²to you, and listen to the words of your slave. 25 Please do not let my lord ¹pay attention to this ²worthless man, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. ³Nabal is his name, and stupidity is with him; but I your slave did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.

26 “Now then, my lord, as the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, since the LORD has restrained you from ¹shedding blood, and ^afrom ²avenging yourself by your own hand, now then, ^bmay your enemies and those who seek evil against my lord, be like Nabal. 27 And now let ^athis ¹gift which your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who ²accompany my lord. 28 Please forgive ^athe offense of your slave; for ^bthe LORD will certainly make for my lord an ¹enduring house, because my lord is ^cfighting the battles of the LORD, and ^devil will not be found in you all your days. 29 Should anyone rise up to pursue you and to seek your ¹life, then the ²life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the LORD your God; but the ³lives of your enemies ^aHe will sling out ⁴as from the hollow of a sling. 30 And when the LORD does for my lord in accordance with all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and ^aappoints you ruler over Israel, 31 this will not become an obstacle to you, or a ¹troubled heart to my lord, both by having shed blood without cause and by my lord’s having ²avenged himself. ^aWhen the LORD deals well with my lord, then remember your slave.”

32 Then David said to Abigail, “^aBlessed be the LORD God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me, 33 and blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, ^awho have kept me this day from ¹bloodshed and from ²avenging myself by my own hand. 34 Nevertheless, as the LORD God of Israel lives, ^awho has restrained me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, there certainly would not have been left to Nabal until the morning light as much as one ¹male.” 35 So David accepted from her hand what she had brought him, and said to her, “^aGo up to your house in peace. See, I have listened to ¹you and ^2bgranted your request.”

36 Then Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was having ^aa feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was cheerful within him, ^bfor he was very drunk; so ^cshe did not tell him anything ¹at all until the morning light. 37 But in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him so that he became like a stone. 38 About ten days later, ^athe LORD struck Nabal and he died.

39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has ^apleaded the cause of the shame inflicted on me by the hand of Nabal, and ^bhas kept back His servant from evil. The LORD has also returned the evildoing of Nabal on his own head.” Then David sent ^1ca proposal to Abigail, to take her as his wife. 40 When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, “David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife.” 41 And she got up ^aand bowed with her face to the ground, and said, “Behold, your slave is a servant ^bto wash the feet of my lord’s servants.” 42 Then ^aAbigail got up quickly, and rode on a donkey, with her five female attendants who ¹accompanied her; and she followed the messengers of David and became his wife.

43 David had also taken Ahinoam of ^aJezreel, and ^bthey both became his wives.

44 But Saul had given his daughter ^aMichal, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was from ^bGallim.

^aThen Samuel died; and all Israel gathered together and ^bmourned for him, and ^cburied him at his house in Ramah. And David arose and went down to the ^dwilderness of Paran.

2 Now there was a man in ^aMaon whose business was in ^bCarmel; and the man was very ¹rich, and he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And it came about while ^che was shearing his sheep in Carmel 3 (now the man’s name was Nabal, and his ^awife’s name was Abigail. And the woman was ¹intelligent and beautiful in appearance, but the man was harsh and evil in his dealings, and he was ^ba Calebite), 4 that David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. 5 So David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, ¹visit Nabal and greet him in my name; 6 and thus you shall say, ‘¹Have a long life, ^apeace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. 7 Now I have heard ^athat you have shearers; now your shepherds have been with us and we have not insulted them, ^bnor have they missed anything all the days they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your young men and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we have come on ^aa ¹festive day. Please give whatever you find at hand to your servants and to your son David.’”

9 When David’s young men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all these words in David’s name; then they waited. 10 But Nabal answered David’s servants and said, “^aWho is David? And who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants today who are each breaking away from his master. 11 Shall I then ^atake my bread and my water and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men ¹whose origin I do not know?” 12 So David’s young men retraced their way and went back; and they came and told him according to all these words. 13 David said to his men, “Each of you gird on his sword.” So each man girded on his sword. And David also girded on his sword, and about ^afour hundred men went up behind David while two hundred ^bstayed with the baggage.

14 But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, “Behold, David sent messengers from the wilderness to ^1agreet our master, and he scorned them. 15 Yet the men were very good to us, and we were not ^ainsulted, nor did we miss anything ¹as long as we went about with them, while we were in the fields. 16 ^aThey were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the time we were with them tending the sheep. 17 Now therefore, know and ¹consider what you should do, for evil is plotted against our master and against all his household; and he is such a ²worthless man that no one can speak to him.”

18 Then Abigail hurried and ^atook two hundred loaves of bread and two jugs of wine and five sheep already prepared and five measures of roasted grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and loaded them on donkeys. 19 She said to her young men, “^aGo on before me; behold, I am coming after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. 20 It came about as she was riding on her donkey and coming down by the hidden part of the mountain, that behold, David and his men were coming down toward her; so she met them. 21 Now David had said, “Surely in vain I have guarded all that this man has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him; and he has ^areturned me evil for good. 22 ^aMay God do so to the enemies of David, and more also, ^bif by morning I leave as much as one ¹male of any who belong to him.”

23 When Abigail saw David, she hurried and dismounted from her donkey, and fell on her face before David ^aand bowed herself to the ground. 24 She fell at his feet and said, “On me ¹alone, my lord, be the blame. And please let your maidservant speak ²to you, and listen to the words of your maidservant. 25 Please do not let my lord ¹pay attention to this ²worthless man, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. ³Nabal is his name and folly is with him; but I your maidservant did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.

26 “Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, since the LORD has restrained you from ¹shedding blood, and ^afrom ²avenging yourself by your own hand, now then ^blet your enemies and those who seek evil against my lord, be as Nabal. 27 Now let ^athis ¹gift which your maidservant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who ²accompany my lord. 28 Please forgive ^athe transgression of your maidservant; for ^bthe LORD will certainly make for my lord an enduring house, because my lord is ^cfighting the battles of the LORD, and ^devil will not be found in you all your days. 29 Should anyone rise up to pursue you and to seek your ¹life, then the ²life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the LORD your God; but the ³lives of your enemies ^aHe will sling out ⁴as from the hollow of a sling. 30 And when the LORD does for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and ^aappoints you ruler over Israel, 31 this will not ¹cause grief or a troubled heart to my lord, both by having shed blood without cause and by my lord having ²avenged himself. ^aWhen the LORD deals well with my lord, then remember your maidservant.”

32 Then David said to Abigail, “^aBlessed be the LORD God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me, 33 and blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, ^awho have kept me this day from ¹bloodshed and from ²avenging myself by my own hand. 34 Nevertheless, as the LORD God of Israel lives, ^awho has restrained me from harming you, unless you had come quickly to meet me, surely there would not have been left to Nabal until the morning light as much as one ¹male.” 35 So David received from her hand what she had brought him and said to her, “^aGo up to your house in peace. See, I have listened to ¹you and ^2bgranted your request.”

36 Then Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was holding ^aa feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was merry within him, ^bfor he was very drunk; so ^cshe did not tell him anything ¹at all until the morning light. 37 But in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him so that he became as a stone. 38 About ten days later, ^athe LORD struck Nabal and he died.

39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has ^apleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal and ^bhas kept back His servant from evil. The LORD has also returned the evildoing of Nabal on his own head.” Then David sent ^1ca proposal to Abigail, to take her as his wife. 40 When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, “David has sent us to you to take you as his wife.” 41 She arose ^aand bowed with her face to the ground and said, “Behold, your maidservant is a maid ^bto wash the feet of my lord’s servants.” 42 Then ^aAbigail quickly arose, and rode on a donkey, with her five maidens who ¹attended her; and she followed the messengers of David and became his wife.

43 David had also taken Ahinoam of ^aJezreel, and ^bthey both became his wives.

44 Now Saul had given ^aMichal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was from ^bGallim.

^aThen Samuel died; and all Israel gathered together and ^blamented for him and ^cburied him at his house in Ramah. And David arose and went down to the ^dwilderness of Paran.

2 Now there was a man in ^aMaon whose work was in ^bCarmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep and one thousand goats. And it happened, while ^che was shearing his sheep in Carmel 3 (now the man’s name was Nabal, and his ^awife’s name was Abigail. And the woman was good in insight and beautiful in appearance, but the man was harsh and evil in his dealings, and he was ^ba Calebite), 4 that David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. 5 So David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, come to Nabal, and greet him in my name; 6 and thus you shall say, ‘¹Have a long life; ^apeace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. 7 So now I have heard ^athat you have shearers; now your shepherds have been with us; and we have not dishonored them, ^bnor have they missed anything all the days they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we have come on ^aa ¹festive day. Please give whatever you find at hand to your servants and to your son, to David.’”

9 Then David’s young men came and spoke to Nabal according to all these words in David’s name. Then they waited. 10 But Nabal answered David’s servants and said, “^aWho is David? And who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants today who are each breaking away from his master. 11 Shall I then ^atake my bread and my water and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men ¹whose origin I do not know?” 12 So David’s young men went back on their way and returned; and they came and told him according to all these words. 13 Then David said to his men, “Each of you gird on his sword.” So each man girded on his sword. And David also girded on his sword, and about ^afour hundred men went up behind David, and two hundred ^bstayed with the baggage.

14 But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, “Behold, David sent messengers from the wilderness to ^1agreet our master, and he rushed at them angrily. 15 Yet the men were very good to us, and we were not ^adishonored, nor did we miss anything ¹as long as we went about with them, while we were in the field. 16 ^aThey were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the time we were with them shepherding the sheep. 17 So now, know and see what you should do, for evil is decided against our master and against all his household; and he is such a ¹vile man that no one can speak to him.”

18 Then Abigail hurried and ^atook two hundred loaves of bread and two ¹jugs of wine and five sheep already prepared and ²five seahs of roasted grain and one hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and loaded them on donkeys. 19 Then she said to her young men, “^aGo on before me; behold, I am coming after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. 20 So it was happening, as she was riding on her donkey and coming down by the hidden part of the mountain, that behold, David and his men were coming down toward her; and she met them. 21 Now David had said, “Surely for a lie I have guarded all that this man has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him; and he has ^areturned me evil for good. 22 ^aMay God do so to the enemies of David, and more also, ^bif by morning I leave as much as one ¹male of any who belong to him.”

23 Then Abigail saw David; so she hurried and dismounted from her donkey and fell on her face ¹before David ^aand bowed herself to the ground. 24 And she fell at his feet and said, “On me ¹alone, my lord, be the blame. And please let your maidservant speak in your ears, and listen to the words of your maidservant. 25 Please do not let my lord ¹pay attention to this ²vile man, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. ³Nabal is his name, and wicked foolishness is with him; but I your maidservant did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.

26 “So now, my lord, as Yahweh lives and as your soul lives, since Yahweh has restrained you from ¹shedding blood, and ^afrom saving yourself by your own hand, so now, ^blet your enemies and those who seek evil against my lord, be as Nabal. 27 So now let ^athis ¹gift which your servant-woman has brought to my lord be given to the young men who ²went about with my lord. 28 Please forgive ^athe transgression of your maidservant; for ^bYahweh will certainly make for my lord an enduring house because my lord is ^cfighting the battles of Yahweh, and ^devil will not be found in you all your days. 29 And should anyone rise up to pursue you and to seek your ¹life, then the ²life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with Yahweh your God; but the ³lives of your enemies ^aHe will sling out ⁴as from the hollow of a sling. 30 And it will be that when Yahweh does for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and ^aappoints you ruler over Israel, 31 then this will not ¹cause stumbling or a troubled heart to my lord, both by having shed blood without cause and by my lord having saved himself. ^aWhen Yahweh deals well with my lord, then remember your maidservant.”

32 Then David said to Abigail, “^aBlessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me, 33 and blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, ^awho have kept me this day from ¹bloodshed and from saving myself by my own hand. 34 Nevertheless, as Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, ^awho has restrained me from harming you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely there would not have been left to Nabal until the morning light as much as one ¹male.” 35 So David received from her hand what she had brought him and said to her, “^aGo up to your house in peace. See, I have listened to your voice and ^1bgranted your request.”

36 Then Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was holding ^aa feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was merry within him, ^bfor he was very drunk; so ^cshe did not tell him anything small or great until the morning light. 37 But in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him so that he became as a stone. 38 Now it happened that about ten days later, ^aYahweh smote Nabal, and he died.

39 Then David heard that Nabal was dead, so he said, “Blessed be Yahweh, who has ^apleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal and ^bhas kept back His servant from evil. Yahweh has also returned the evil of Nabal on his own head.” Then David sent ^1ca proposal to Abigail, to take her as his wife. 40 Then the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel and spoke to her, saying, “David has sent us to you to take you as his wife.” 41 And she arose ^aand bowed with her ¹face to the ground and said, “Behold, your maidservant is a servant-woman ^bto wash the feet of my lord’s servants.” 42 Then ^aAbigail hurried and arose, and she rode on a donkey, with her five young women who ¹went about with her; and she went after the messengers of David and became his wife.

43 David had also taken Ahinoam of ^aJezreel, and ^bthey both became his wives.

44 Now Saul had given ^aMichal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was from ^bGallim.