And Samuel died, and all Israel was gathered together, and they mourned for him, and buried him in his house in Ramatha. And David rose and went down into the wilderness of Pharan.

Mortuus est autem Samuel, et congregatus est universus Israël, et planxerunt eum, et sepelierunt eum in domo sua in Ramatha. Consurgensque David descendit in desertum Pharan.

And now the Israelites must bewail the death of Samuel; all gathered with one accord and gave him burial at Ramatha, his home. Afterwards, David betook himself to the wilderness of Pharan.

Now there was a certain man in the wilderness of Maon, and his possessions were in Carmel, and the man was very great: and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and it happened that he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

Erat autem vir quispiam in solitudine Maon, et possessio ejus in Carmelo, et homo ille magnus nimis: erantque ei oves tria millia, et mille capræ: et accidit ut tonderetur grex ejus in Carmelo.

There was a man who lived in the desert of Maon, and had lands at Carmel, a very rich man, owning three thousand sheep and a thousand goats; it happened just then that he was shearing his flocks at Carmel.

Now the name of the man was Nabal: and the name of his wife was Abigail. And she was a prudent and very comely woman, but her husband was churlish, and very bad and ill natured: and he was of the house of Caleb.

Nomen autem viri illius erat Nabal. Et nomen uxoris ejus Abigail: eratque mulier illa prudentissima, et speciosa: porro vir ejus durus, et pessimus, et malitiosus: erat autem de genere Caleb.

Nabal was his name, and he had a wife called Abigail, that was a woman of good sense and of great beauty; but this husband of hers, descended from Caleb, was a churlish fellow, wicked and spiteful in all his dealings.

And when David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep,

Cum ergo audisset David in deserto quod tonderet Nabal gregem suum,

When news came to David, there in the desert, that Nabal was at his shearing,

He sent ten young men, and said to them: Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and salute him in my name with peace.

misit decem juvenes, et dixit eis: Ascendite in Carmelum, et venietis ad Nabal, et salutabitis eum ex nomine meo pacifice.

he sent ten of his men to Carmel, to find Nabal and wish him well in David’s name.

And you shall say: Peace be to my brethren, and to thee, and peace to thy house, and peace to all that thou hast.

Et dicetis: Sit fratribus meis et tibi pax, et domui tuæ pax, et omnibus, quæcumque habes, sit pax.

And they were to bear this message: My brethren wish thee well, and thy kindred too, and all that is thine.

I heard that thy shepherds that were with us in the desert were shearing: we never molested them, neither was there ought missing to them of the flock at any time, all the while they were with us in Carmel.

Audivi quod tonderent pastores tui, qui erant nobiscum in deserto: numquam eis molesti fuimus, nec aliquando defuit quidquam eis de grege, omni tempore quo fuerunt nobiscum in Carmelo.

News has come to me that they are shearing, those herdsmen of thine whom we met out in the desert; all the time we were at Carmel, we left them unmolested, and never a beast was missing from their herds;

Ask thy servants, and they will tell thee. Now therefore let thy servants find favour in thy eyes: for we are come in a good day, whatsoever thy hand shall find give to thy servants, and to thy son David.

Interroga pueros tuos, et indicabunt tibi. Nunc ergo inveniant pueri tui gratiam in oculis tuis: in die enim bona venimus: quodcumque invenerit manus tua, da servis tuis, et filio tuo David.

ask thy men, and they will assure thee of it. My servants come at an auspicious time; look kindly on their request, and send such a present as thou canst best afford to thy servants here, and thy son David.

And when David’s servants came, they spoke to Nabal all these words in David’s name: and then held their peace.

Cumque venissent pueri David, locuti sunt ad Nabal omnia verba hæc ex nomine David: et siluerunt.

So David’s men went on their errand, gave him the message in David’s name, and waited for his answer.

But Nabal answering the servants of David, said: Who is David? and what is the son of Isai? servants are multiplied now a days who flee from their masters.

Respondens autem Nabal pueris David, ait: Quis est David? et quis est filius Isai? hodie increverunt servi qui fugiunt dominos suos.

From David? said he. From the son of Jesse? There is no lack, in these days, of slaves that run away from their masters.

Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and the flesh of my cattle, which I have killed for my shearers, and give to men whom I know not whence they are?

Tollam ergo panes meos, et aquas meas, et carnes pecorum quæ occidi tonsoribus meis, et dabo viris quos nescio unde sint?

Tell him that bread of mine and water of mine and the meat I kill are for my shearers here, not for strangers that have sprung up I know not whence.

So the servants of David went back their way, and returning came and told him all the words that he said.

Regressi sunt itaque pueri David per viam suam, et reversi venerunt, et nuntiaverunt ei omnia verba quæ dixerat.

So David’s men must make their way home again, and bring him his answer.

Then David said to his young men: Let every man gird on his sword. And they girded on every man his sword. And David also girded on his sword: and there followed David about four hundred men: and two hundred remained with the baggage.

Tunc ait David pueris suis: Accingatur unusquisque gladio suo. Et accincti sunt singuli gladiis suis, accinctusque est et David ense suo: et secuti sunt David quasi quadringenti viri: porro ducenti remanserunt ad sarcinas.

Whereupon he bade all his followers gird on their swords. Gird themselves they did, and so did he; some four hundred men went with him, and the other two hundred were left to guard the baggage.

But one of the servants told Abigail the wife of Nabal, saying: Behold David sent messengers out of the wilderness, to salute our master: and he rejected them.

Abigail autem uxori Nabal nuntiavit unus de pueris suis, dicens: Ecce David misit nuntios de deserto, ut benedicerent domino nostro: et aversatus est eos.

Meanwhile Abigail, Nabal’s wife, had been warned by one of the servants, Some messengers came here, sent by David from the desert to greet our master, and he has turned them away.

These men were very good to us, and gave us no trouble: neither did we ever lose any thing all the time that we conversed with them in the desert.

Homines isti boni satis fuerant nobis, et non molesti: nec quidquam aliquando periit omni tempore quo fuimus conversati cum eis in deserto:

And yet these men were good friends to us, leaving us ever unmolested; loss had we none all the time they were with us in the desert;

They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.

pro muro erant nobis tam in nocte quam in die, omnibus diebus quibus pavimus apud eos greges.

nay, they were a protection to us, night and day, while we pastured our flocks among them.

Wherefore consider, and think what thou hast to do: for evil is determined against thy husband, and against thy house, and he is a son of Belial, so that no man can speak to him.

Quam ob rem considera, et recogita quid facias: quoniam completa est malitia adversum virum tuum, et adversum domum tuam, et ipse est filius Belial, ita ut nemo possit ei loqui.

Take thought, then, and resolve what thou wilt do; thy husband and thy house are marked down for vengeance, and he is so cross-grained a man that there is no reasoning with him.

Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves, and two vessels of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of dry figs, and laid them upon asses:

Festinavit igitur Abigail, et tulit ducentos panes, et duos utres vini, et quinque arietes coctos, et quinque sata polentæ, et centum ligaturas uvæ passæ, et ducentas massas caricarum, et posuit super asinos:

Abigail wasted no time; she brought out two hundred loaves, two skins of wine, five rams ready cooked, five pecks of flour, a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of dried figs; all these she loaded on asses,

And she said to her servants: Go before me: behold I will follow after you: but she told not her husband Nabal.

dixitque pueris suis: Præcedite me: ecce ego post tergum sequar vos: viro autem suo Nabal non indicavit.

and bade the drivers go on before; she herself would follow. But she said no word of this to her husband Nabal.

And when she had gotten upon an ass, and was coming down to the foot of the mountain, David and his men came down over against her, and she met them.

Cum ergo ascendisset asinum, et descenderet ad radices montis, David et viri ejus descendebant in occursum ejus: quibus et illa occurrit.

She had mounted her ass, and was now at the bottom of the valley, when she saw David and his men coming down towards her; and she went to meet them.

And David said: Truly in vain have I kept all that belonged to this man in the wilderness, and nothing was lost of all that pertained unto him: and he hath returned me evil for good.

Et ait David: Vere frustra servavi omnia quæ hujus erant in deserto, et non periit quidquam de cunctis quæ ad eum pertinebant: et reddidit mihi malum pro bono.

And still, as he came, David uttered threats; It was a thankless care of mine to protect all this man’s goods, out in the desert, so that he never felt loss; it is an ill return he makes me for such a service.

May God do so and so, and add more to the foes of David, if I leave of all that belong to him till the morning, any that pisseth against the wall.

Hæc faciat Deus inimicis David, et hæc addat, si reliquero de omnibus quæ ad ipsum pertinent usque mane mingentem ad parietem.

God grant David’s enemies all they desire and more than they desire, if I let any male in this man’s house live till morning!

And when Abigail saw David she made haste and lighted off the ass, and fell before David, on her face, and adored upon the ground.

Cum autem vidisset Abigail David, festinavit, et descendit de asino, et procidit coram David super faciem suam, et adoravit super terram,

But Abigail no sooner met David than she dismounted from her ass and fell down before him, her face bowed to earth,

And she fell at his feet, and said: Upon me let this iniquity be, my lord: let thy handmaid speak, I beseech thee, in thy ears: and hear the words of thy servant.

et cecidit ad pedes ejus, et dixit: In me sit, domine mi, hæc iniquitas: loquatur, obsecro, ancilla tua in auribus tuis, et audi verba famulæ tuæ.

and said, kneeling at his feet, For this fault, my lord, let me bear the blame! Listen to thy handmaid, that craves audience of thee.

Let not my lord the king, I pray, regard this naughty man Nabal: for according to his name, he is a fool, and folly is with him: but I thy handmaid did not see thy servants, my lord, whom thou sentest.

Ne ponat, oro, dominus meus rex cor suum super virum istum iniquum Nabal: quoniam secundum nomen suum stultus est, et stultitia est cum eo: ego autem ancilla tua non vidi pueros tuos, domine mi, quos misisti.

My lord, pay no heed to this cross-grained fellow Nabal, a fool in nature as in name; I myself saw nothing of the men that came from thee.

Now therefore, my lord, the Lord liveth, and thy soul liveth, who hath withholden thee from coming to blood, and hath saved thy hand to thee: and now let thy enemies be as Nabal, and all they that seek evil to my lord.

Nunc ergo, domine mi, vivit Dominus, et vivit anima tua, qui prohibuit te ne venires in sanguinem, et salvavit manum tuam tibi: et nunc fiant sicut Nabal inimici tui, et qui quærunt domino meo malum.

Oh, then, as thou art a living man, and the Lord is a living God, the Lord who has restrained thee from deeds of blood and kept thy hands clean, (may all my Lord’s enemies and ill-wishers be as ill-advised as Nabal!),

Wherefore receive this blessing, which thy handmaid hath brought to thee, my lord: and give it to the young men that follow thee, my lord.

Quapropter suscipe benedictionem hanc, quam attulit ancilla tua tibi domino meo, et da pueris qui sequuntur te dominum meum.

I entreat thee to accept this offering I have brought thee, as a handmaid to her master; share it, my lord, with thy followers.

Forgive the iniquity of thy handmaid: for the Lord will surely make for my lord a faithful house, because thou, my lord, fightest the battles of the Lord: let not evil therefore be found in thee all the days of thy life.

Aufer iniquitatem famulæ tuæ: faciens enim faciet Dominus tibi domino meo domum fidelem, quia prælia Domini, domine mi, tu præliaris: malitia ergo non inveniatur in te omnibus diebus vitæ tuæ.

And so let the fault of thy handmaid be forgiven! Sure it is the Lord means to grant thee abiding posterity, so well, my lord, dost thou fight his battles; and never may ill fortune attend thee, long as thou livest!

For if a man at any time shall rise, and persecute thee, and seek thy life, the soul of my lord shall be kept, as in the bundle of the living, with the Lord thy God: but the souls of thy enemies shall be whirled, as with the violence and whirling of a sling.

Si enim surrexerit aliquando homo persequens te, et quærens animam tuam, erit anima domini mei custodita quasi in fasciculo viventium apud Dominum Deum tuum: porro inimicorum tuorum anima rotabitur, quasi in impetu et circulo fundæ.

Rise up who may to wrong thee and plot against thee, yet shall that soul of thine be in safe keeping with the Lord thy God, stored up in his casket of life; it is the souls of thy enemies he shall cast away, as from the whirling heart of a sling.

And when the Lord shall have done to thee, my lord, all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have made thee prince over Israel,

Cum ergo fecerit Dominus tibi domino meo omnia quæ locutus est bona de te, et constituerit te ducem super Israël,

Why then, when the Lord has granted thee all his promised blessings, and made thee master of Israel,

This shall not be an occasion of grief to thee, and a scruple of heart to my lord, that thou hast shed innocent blood, or hast revenged thyself: and when the Lord shall have done well by my lord, thou shalt remember thy handmaid.

non erit tibi hoc in singultum, et in scrupulum cordis domino meo, quod effuderis sanguinem innoxium, aut ipse te ultus fueris: et cum benefecerit Dominus domino meo, recordaberis ancillæ tuæ.

let there be no sigh of remorse in my Lord’s heart, at the memory of innocent blood shed, or vengeance cruelly taken! Rather, when the Lord has so blessed thee, mayest thou think gratefully of me, thy handmaid.

And David said to Abigail: Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, who sent thee this day to meet me, and blessed be thy speech:

Et ait David ad Abigail: Benedictus Dominus Deus Israël, qui misit hodie te in occursum meum, et benedictum eloquium tuum,

And David said to her, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel! A blessing, too, on these words of thine,

And blessed be thou, who hast kept me to day, from coming to blood, and revenging me with my own hand.

et benedicta tu, quæ prohibuisti me hodie ne irem ad sanguinem, et ulciscerer me manu mea.

and on thyself, who hast prevented me this day from going on a bloody errand, using violence to avenge my wrongs!

Otherwise as the Lord liveth the God of Israel, who hath withholden me from doing thee any evil: if thou hadst not quickly come to meet me, there had not been left to Nabal by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.

Alioquin vivit Dominus Deus Israël, qui prohibuit me ne malum facerem tibi: nisi cito venisses in occursum mihi, non remansisset Nabal usque ad lucem matutinam mingens ad parietem.

Nay, as the Lord is a living God, the Lord who has preserved me from doing thee hurt, if thou hadst not come to meet me thus early, never a male in Nabal’s house should have lived till morning.

And David received at her hand all that she had brought him, and said to her: Go in peace into thy house, behold I have heard thy voice, and honoured thy face.

Suscepit ergo David de manu ejus omnia quæ attulerat ei, dixitque ei: Vade pacifice in domum tuam: ecce audivi vocem tuam, et honoravi faciem tuam.

So David accepted all the gifts she brought him; Go home in peace, he said to her; thy prayer is granted, thy suit has prospered.

And Abigail came to Nabal: and behold he had a feast in his house, like the feast of a king, and Nabal’s heart was merry: for he was very drunk: and she told him nothing less or more until morning.

Venit autem Abigail ad Nabal: et ecce erat ei convivium in domo ejus quasi convivium regis, et cor Nabal jucundum: erat enim ebrius nimis: et non indicavit ei verbum pusillum aut grande usque mane.

So she went home to Nabal, and found him feasting royally. His heart was merry, for he had drunk deep; and she said no word to him, of little import, or great, till morning.

But early in the morning when Nabal had digested his wine, his wife told him these words, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.

Diluculo autem cum digessisset vinum Nabal, indicavit ei uxor sua verba hæc: et emortuum est cor ejus intrinsecus, et factus est quasi lapis.

But in the morning, when he had slept away his carouse, his wife told him of all that had passed, and his heart went dead within him, cold as a stone;

And after ten days had passed, the Lord struck Nabal, and he died.

Cumque pertransissent decem dies, percussit Dominus Nabal, et mortuus est.

and when ten days had passed, the Lord struck Nabal down, and he died.

And when David had heard that Nabal was dead, he said: Blessed be the Lord, who hath judged the cause of my reproach at the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil, and the Lord hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his head. Then David sent and treated with Abigail, that he might take her to himself for a wife.

Quod cum audisset David mortuum Nabal, ait: Benedictus Dominus, qui judicavit causam opprobrii mei de manu Nabal, et servum suum custodivit a malo, et malitiam Nabal reddidit Dominus in caput ejus. Misit ergo David, et locutus est ad Abigail, ut sumeret eam sibi in uxorem.

When David heard of his death, he said, Blessed be the Lord, that has given me redress for Nabal’s ill usage of me, keeping his servant clear of wrong, and himself punishing Nabal’s spite! Then he sent a message to Abigail, offering her marriage.

And David’s servants came to Abigail to Carmel, and spoke to her, saying: David hath sent us to thee, to take thee to himself for a wife.

Et venerunt pueri David ad Abigail in Carmelum, et locuti sunt ad eam, dicentes: David misit nos ad te, ut accipiat te sibi in uxorem.

And when David’s messengers reached her at Carmel, and told her David had sent them on this errand,

And she arose and bowed herself down with her face to the earth, and said: Behold, let thy servant be a handmaid, to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.

Quæ consurgens, adoravit prona in terram, et ait: Ecce famula tua sit in ancillam, ut lavet pedes servorum domini mei.

she rose up, and bowed down to earth; Let thy handmaid be a waiting-woman, she said, to wash the feet of my Lord’s retainers!

And Abigail arose, and made haste, and got upon an ass, and five damsels went with her, her waiting maids, and she followed the messengers of David, and became his wife.

Et festinavit, et surrexit Abigail, et ascendit super asinum, et quinque puellæ ierunt cum ea, pedissequæ ejus, et secuta est nuntios David: et facta est illi uxor.

Then, without more ado, Abigail mounted her ass, took five maidens with her to wait on her needs, and went with David’s messengers; and so he made her his wife.

Moreover David took also Achinoam of Jezrahel: and they were both of them his wives.

Sed et Achinoam accepit David de Jezraël: et fuit utraque uxor ejus.

He wedded Achinoam, too, from Jezrahel; both of these were wives to David.

But Saul gave Michol his daughter, David’s wife, to Phalti, the son of Lais, who was of Gallium.

Saul autem dedit Michol filiam suam, uxorem David, Phalti filio Lais, qui erat de Gallim.

But as for Michol, that had been his wife once, her father Saul gave her in marriage to Phalti, son of Lais, a man of Gallim.