1
And Samuel died; all Israel gathered and mourned for him, and they buried him at his house in Ramah. And David set out and went down to the wilderness of Paran.
2
Now there was a man in Maon who had a business in Carmel. The man was very wealthy: he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was in Carmel at the shearing of his sheep.
3
The man’s name was Nabal, and his wife’s name was Abigail. The woman was wise and beautiful, but the man was harsh and evil in his dealings. He was a descendant of Caleb.
4
When David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep,
5
David sent ten men, and David said to the men, “Go up to Carmel and meet Nabal. Greet him in my name
6
and give him this greeting: Peace! Peace be to you, peace to your house, and peace to all that you have.
7
Recently I heard that you have sheep-shearing. Now your shepherds who were with us, we did not harm them, and nothing was missing from them all the time they were in Carmel.
8
Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let these men find favor in your eyes, for we have come on a feast day. Please give to your servants and to your son David whatever you have at hand.”
9
When David’s men came there, they spoke to Nabal in David’s name just as he had told them, and then they waited.
10
But Nabal answered David’s servants, saying, “Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants these days who are running away from their masters.
11
Shall I take my bread, my water, and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men I do not know where they come from?”
12
So David’s men turned back and came and told him just as he had spoken to them.
13
Then David said to his men, “Each of you, strap on your sword!” So each man strapped on his sword, and David also strapped on his sword. About four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred stayed with the baggage.
14
But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, “Behold, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, but he insulted them.”
15
Yet those men were very good to us; they did not trouble us, and we lost nothing while we went to and fro among them, when we were in the fields.
16
They were like a wall of protection around us day and night, while we were keeping the sheep near them.
17
Now therefore consider and think what you should do, for harm has been determined against our master and against all his house; and he is such a worthless man that one cannot speak to him.”
18
Then Abigail quickly took two hundred loaves, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five measures of roasted grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and loaded them on donkeys.
19
Then she said to her servants, “Go on before me; I will follow you at once.” But she did not tell Nabal her husband.
20
As she rode on her donkey and came down under cover of the mountain, behold, David and his men were coming down toward her, and she met them.
21
Now David had said, “Surely I have guarded all this man’s possessions in the wilderness so that nothing was missing from all that belonged to him; yet he has repaid my kindness with evil.
22
May God do so to David, and more also, if I leave alive by morning even one male of all who belong to him.”
23
When Abigail saw David, she quickly dismounted from her donkey and bowed down before David with her face to the ground.
24
She fell at his feet and said, “On me alone, my lord, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak to you, and hear the words of your servant.
25
Please do not let my lord pay attention to Nabal, that worthless man, for as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and folly is with him. But I, your servant, did not see the men whom my lord sent.
26
Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD lives and as you live, since the LORD has kept you from coming to bloodguilt and from taking matters into your own hands, may your enemies and those who seek evil against my lord be like Nabal!
27
And now let this gift that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the men who follow my lord.
28
Please forgive the trespass of your servant, for the LORD will surely make for my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the LORD, and no evil has been found in you all your days.
29
If anyone rises to pursue you and seeks to take your life, then the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the LORD your God; but the lives of your enemies He shall sling away from the hollow of the sling.
30
And when the LORD has done for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you ruler over Israel,
31
then let my lord have no grief or remorse for having shed blood without cause, and for having avenged himself. And when the LORD has dealt well with my lord, remember your maidservant.”
32
Then David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet me today;
33
blessed be your good sense, and blessed be you yourself, who have kept me this day from coming to bloodshed and from avenging myself.
34
But as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, who has kept me from doing evil to you—if you had not come quickly to meet me, there would not have been left to Nabal so much as one man alive by the morning light.”
35
So David received from her what she had brought him, and he said to her, “Go up in peace to your house; see, I have listened to your words and have granted your request.”
36
When Abigail came to Nabal, behold, he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. Nabal was very merry and very drunk. So she told him nothing at all until the morning light.
37
But in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him all these things. Then his heart failed within him, and he became like a stone.
38
And about ten days later the LORD struck Nabal, and he died.
39
When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has upheld my cause against the insult of Nabal and has kept His servant from evil. The LORD has returned the evil of Nabal upon his own head.” Then David sent and spoke to Abigail about taking her as his wife.
40
David’s servants came to Abigail at Carmel and said to her, “David has sent us to you to take you as his wife.”
41
Then she arose, bowed with her face to the ground, and said, “Behold, your maidservant is ready to be a servant to wash the feet of my lord’s servants.”
42
Then Abigail hurried and made ready; she rode on a donkey, accompanied by five of her maidens. She followed David’s messengers and became David’s wife.
43
David also had taken Ahinoam of Jezreel as his wife; both women became his wives.
44
But Saul had given Michal, his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was from Gallim.
🍞⚔️🧠 Summary of 1 Samuel 25 – Between Foolish Nabal and Wise Abigail
1 Samuel 25 portrays the conflict between emotion and wisdom, and shows how the influence of one wise person—Abigail—can save many lives. David was nearly driven to revenge because he was insulted by Nabal, a wealthy and foolish man. But Abigail’s wise and humble action stopped the shedding of blood, and the Lord himself repaid Nabal. In the end, Abigail became David’s wife. This is a story of spiritual maturity, self-control, and God’s justice.
📌 1. Samuel’s Death, and David Goes to the Wilderness of Paran (verse 1)
➡️ The prophet Samuel died, and all Israel mourned
➡️ David withdrew to the wilderness of Paran, marking a harder season and one farther from the prophet’s guidance
🎯 Even a spiritual leader can feel alone after losing a guiding figure.
📌 2. David Is Insulted by Nabal (verses 2–13)
➡️ David and his men protected the flocks of Nabal, a stubborn rich man in Carmel
➡️ At the time of the harvest feast, David asked for a little food—politely
➡️ But Nabal insulted David, calling him a runaway servant
➡️ David became very angry and swore to kill all the men in Nabal’s household
🎯 Anger, if not controlled, can destroy many people—even on the side of what is right.
📌 3. Abigail Acts Wisely (verses 14–31)
➡️ One of the servants told Abigail—Nabal’s wife—about the great danger
➡️ Abigail acted at once: she brought food and went to meet David in secret
➡️ She humbled herself and asked forgiveness for her husband’s foolishness, and reminded David not to shed blood in vain
➡️ David was moved and praised the Lord because Abigail had kept him from sin
🎯 One wise person can keep an army from destroying itself.
📌 4. Nabal’s Death & Abigail Becomes David’s Wife (verses 32–44)
➡️ After Abigail returned, Nabal was drunk—she waited until morning to speak
➡️ When he was told, his heart failed and he died after 10 days—because of the Lord
➡️ David saw this as divine judgment on the insult
➡️ David then asked for Abigail’s hand in marriage, and she became David’s second wife
🎯 The Lord knows how to repay more justly than man—and knows whom to preserve.
📖 Main Lessons
- Do not repay evil with evil; leave it to the Lord
- Wisdom, humility, and courage can save many lives
- The Lord does not remain silent when His servant is insulted
- Leadership is not only about strength, but also the ability to be corrected
- Even the righteous can go astray when angry, but the Lord can warn through others
✨ Spiritual Meaning (New Testament)
“Do not avenge yourselves, but give place to the wrath of God.”
➡️ David finally left vengeance to the Lord—and the Lord repaid Nabal.
“A gentle answer turns away wrath.”
➡️ Abigail answered wisely and gently, calming David’s anger.
“The wisdom from above… full of mercy, peaceable…”
➡️ Abigail is a living example of wisdom that comes from God.
“Do not repay evil with evil…”
➡️ David was at first going to repay, but God used Abigail to remind him.
🕊️ “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me.” – 1 Samuel 25:32
🕊️ “Please let your servant speak…” – 1 Samuel 25:24
🕊️ “The Lord himself has repaid Nabal.” – 1 Samuel 25:39
🕊️ “David sent men to ask for Abigail to be his wife.” – 1 Samuel 25:39
