1 samuel 25 good news translation
Here is 1 Samuel 25 in the Good News Translation (GNT):
1 Samuel 25
David and Nabal
25:1 Some time later, David and his men were living in the wilderness near Ziklag. One day, a man named Nabal was shearing his sheep in Carmel.
2 David heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep, so he sent ten young men to greet him. "Peace be with you, Nabal!" they said. "I'm David, the son of Jesse. I've heard that you're shearing your sheep. Now is the time to be kind to your guests, since the Lord has blessed you with abundance."
3 Nabal answered the young men, "Who is David? Who is Jesse's son? Many servants are as strong as he is. I've got plenty of food and wine. Why should I take care of these men? They're just a bunch of vagabonds."
4 So David's young men returned and told him what Nabal had said. 5 David said to his men, "Get ready. We're going to attack Nabal by surprise, since he refused to show us kindness."
6 David and his men went up to Nabal's house and found the whole household eating and drinking. Nabal was feeling very happy because his shepherds had just finished shearing his sheep. They were celebrating with a big feast.
7 When David approached, Nabal looked out the window and saw him. He asked, "Who is this?" One of his servants replied, "This is David, the son of Jesse. He's the one who came to your house yesterday and asked for food, but you refused to give it to him."
8 Nabal said, "Ah, David! Don't be so foolish! I'm not going to give you anything. You're just a bunch of vagabonds. You're not even worthy to eat at my table!"
9 David's men whispered to each other, "Listen to what Nabal is saying! He's talking like a fool!"
10 So David's anger flared up against Nabal. He said, "May God strike Nabal and his whole household with a curse! He refused to show kindness to me, even though I was a guest in his house."
11 David sent some of his men to Nabal's wife, Abigail, to tell her what had happened. 12 When Abigail heard what her husband had said, she quickly gathered 200 loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep that were ready to be slaughtered, and a bushel of roasted grain.
13 She loaded the food onto donkeys and sent them to David, accompanied by her servants. 14 When David's men arrived, they told him, "David, the Israelites have been defeated by the Philistines, and all their men have been killed, except for you and your four hundred men who escaped."
15 David was overcome with grief when he heard this news. 16 Abigail, however, had taken a long time to get to David, for she had been delayed by her donkeys. When she finally arrived, she fell at his feet and said, "Please forgive me, my lord. I've brought some food to help you and your men."
17 David said to Abigail, "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet me today! 18 You have shown kindness to me, even though I was a guest in your husband's house. May you be rewarded for your kindness to me."
19 Abigail gave birth to a son, and David named him Amnon, because he said, "The Lord has given me a son to take the place of the one who was killed."
20 When Nabal heard that his wife Abigail had taken 200 loaves of bread and two skins of wine to David, he became very angry. 21 He said, "What have you done? You should have kept the food for me and my men!"
22 But Abigail had already gone to David, and he had received her kindly. 23 When Nabal heard that Abigail had gone to David, he became even angrier. About ten days later, 24 Nabal had a stroke and died.
25 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, "May God strike me and my family dead if I don't do something to honor Nabal's memory." 26 David sent some of his men to Carmel to take Nabal's wife Abigail and bring her to him as his wife.
27 When Abigail arrived, David married her, and she became his wife. She helped him to calm down and comfort him after the death of his wife Saul.