Глава 25

1 Samuel 25:1. And Samuel died; and all the Israelites gathered together and wept for him, and buried him in his house in Ramah. David stood up and went down to the desert of Paran. The Paran Desert is the northern part of the Arabian Desert, between Palestine and Egypt, Idumea and the Sinai Peninsula. 1 Samuel 25:2. There was a certain man in Maon, and his estate was in Carmel, a very rich man; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats; and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. Mahon. See note. to 1 Samuel 22:5. Carmel mentioned here is a city south of Hebron. 1 Samuel 25:3. The name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife was Abigail; this woman was very smart and beautiful in face, and he was a cruel and evil person; he was from the family of Caleb. The name Nabal means "mad." “Without a doubt, this was not his real name, but a nickname given by the people. Naval amazed those around him with the savagery and absurdity of his character, and folk humor, hiding his real, perhaps completely inappropriate name, established for him the name of a tyrant” (Ya. Bogorodsky. “Jewish Tsars”, p. 112). 1 Samuel 25:5. And David sent ten youths, and David said to the youths: Go up to Carmel and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name, 1 Samuel 25:6. and say this: “[hello,] peace to you, peace to your house, peace to all yours; 1 Samuel 25:7. Now I have heard that your sheep are being sheared. Behold, your shepherds were with us, and we did not offend them, and nothing was missing from them during their entire stay in Carmel; 1 Samuel 25:8. ask your servants, and they will tell you; So let the youths find favor in your eyes, for we have come on a good day; Give then to your servants and to your son David whatever your hand finds.” 1 Samuel 25:9. And David's men went and spoke all these words to Nabal in the name of David, and they were silent. “David counted on Nabal’s gratitude for the fact that David’s soldiers, similar in nature to those idle riders from whom the owners of the herds suffered a lot, not only did not steal anything from Nabal’s herds, but also protected them from predators; were a fence for his shepherds, as the shepherds themselves admitted. But Nabal showed that it was not for nothing that he bore his nickname” (Ya. Bogorodsky. “Jewish Tsars”, p. 112). 1 Samuel 25:13. Then David said to his men, “Gird on each one your sword.” And they all girded themselves with their swords, and David himself girded himself with his sword, and about four hundred men followed David, and two hundred remained with the baggage train. David left Saul’s injustice unpunished, sparing the Anointed of God in his person and seeing in his submission to him the duty of a loyal subject (1 Samuel 24:7,10–16), but could not leave Nabal’s wild trick unpunished, since humility before Nabal could be interpreted by his supporters as simple powerlessness to defend their honor and rights. 1 Samuel 25:21. And David said: Yes, in vain I guarded all this man’s property in the wilderness, and nothing that belonged to him was lost; he pays me evil for good; 1 Samuel 25:22. may God do this and that to the enemies of David, and may he do even more if, before dawn of the morning, of all that belongs to Nabal, I leave him urinating against the wall. 1 Samuel 25:24. and she fell at his feet and said, “I have sin, my lord; let your handmaid speak in your ears and listen to the words of your handmaid. 1 Samuel 25:25. Let my lord pay no attention to this evil man, Nabal; for as his name is, so is he. Nabal** is his name, and his madness is with him. But I, your servant, did not see the servants of my master whom you sent. 1 Samuel 25:26. And now, my lord, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, the Lord will not allow you to shed blood and will restrain your hand from vengeance, and now let your enemies and those who plot evil against my lord be like Nabal. 1 Samuel 25:27. These are the gifts that your handmaid brought to my master, to give them to the youths who serve my master. 1 Samuel 25:28. Forgive the guilt of your servant; The Lord will certainly build a strong house for my lord, for my lord wages the wars of the Lord, and evil will not be found in you as long as you live. 1 Samuel 25:29. If a man arises to pursue you and seek your life, then the soul of my master will be tied in the knot of life with the Lord your God, and He will cast the soul of your enemies as with a sling. 1 Samuel 25:30. And when the Lord has done to my master all that he has said good about you, and has made you a leader over Israel, 1 Samuel 25:31. then this will not cause grief and anxiety to my master’s heart because he did not shed blood in vain and saved himself from vengeance. And the Lord will favor my master, and you will remember your servant [and show mercy to her]. Abigail apologizes to David for the misunderstanding that has occurred, explaining it by the innate, well-known stupidity and tyranny of Nabal; begging David to tame his anger, predicting for him in the future a firm and glorious reign, which may not be overshadowed by the memory of the unjustly shed blood of the insane Nabal and his household. 1 Samuel 25:36. And Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he had a feast in his house like a king’s feast, and Nabal’s heart was glad; he was very drunk; and did not say a word to him, neither big nor small, until the morning. “And she did not say a word to him” about the past, since this would be useless at this time, and perhaps even directly harmful, taking into account Nabal’s unbridled temper. You might be interested in: