AND Shemu'el died; and all Yashar'el were gathered together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Pa'ran.
And there was a man in Ma'on, whose possessions were in Karmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Karmel.
Now the name of the man was Naval; and the name of his woman Aviygayil: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Kalev.
And David heard in the wilderness that Naval did shear his sheep.
And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Karmel, and go to Naval, and greet him in my name:
And thus shall ye say to him that lives in prosperity, Peace be both to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be unto all that you have.
And now I have heard that you have shearers: now your shepherds which were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there ought missing unto them, all the while they were in Karmel.
Ask your young men, and they will show you. Wherefore let the young men find favor in your eyes: for we come in a good day: give, I pray you, את whatsoever comes to your hand unto your servants, and to your son David.
And when David's young men came, they spoke to Naval according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased.
And Naval answered David's servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Yishai? there be many servants now a days that break away every man from his adoniy.
Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and את my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be?
So David's young men turned their way, and went again, and came and told him all those sayings.
And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the stuff.
But one of the young men told Aviygayil, Naval's woman, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our adoniy; and he railed on them.
But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we anything, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields:
They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.
Now therefore know and consider what you will do; for evil is determined against our adoniy, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Beliya`al, that a man cannot speak to him.
Then Aviygayil made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two skins of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched grain, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.
And she said unto her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she told not her man Naval.
And it was so, as she rode on the ass, that she came down by the covert of the hill, and, behold, David and his men came down against her; and she met them.
Now David had said, Surely in vain have I guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he has requited me evil for good.
So and more also do Elohiym unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.
And when Aviygayil saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground,
And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my adoniy, upon me let this iniquity be: and let your handmaid, I pray you, speak in your audience, and hear את the words of your handmaid.
Let not my adoniy, I pray you, regard this man of Beliya`al, even Naval: for as his name is, so is he; Naval is his name, and folly is with him: but I your handmaid saw not the young men of my adoniy, whom you did send.
Now therefore, my adoniy, as Yahuah lives, and as your soul lives, seeing Yahuah has withheld you from coming to shed blood, and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now let your enemies, and they that seek evil to my el-adoniy, be as Naval.
And now this blessing which your handmaid has brought unto my adoniy, let it even be given unto the young men that follow my adoniy.
I pray you, forgive the transgression of your handmaid: for Yahuah will certainly make my adoniy a sure house; because my adoniy fights the battles of Yahuah, and evil has not been found in you all your days.
Yet a man is risen to pursue you, and to seek your soul: but the soul of my adoniy shall be bound in the bundle of life with את Yahuah Elohayka; and the souls of your enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling.
And it shall come to pass, when Yahuah shall have done to my adoniy according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you, and shall have appointed you ruler over Yashar'el;
That this shall be no grief unto you, nor offence of heart unto my adoniy, either that you have shed blood causeless, or that my adoniy has avenged himself: but when Yahuah shall have dealt well with my adoniy, then remember your handmaid.
And David said to Aviygayil, Blessed be Yahuah Elohai of Yashar'el, which sent you this day to meet me:
And blessed be your advice, and blessed be you, which have kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with my own hand.
For in very deed, as Yahuah Elohai of Yashar'el lives, which has kept me back from hurting you, except you had hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Naval by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.
So David received of her hand את that which she had brought him, and said unto her, Go up in peace to your house; see, I have hearkened to your voice, and have accepted your person.
And Aviygayil came to Naval; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Naval's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.
But it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Naval, and his woman had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.
And it came to pass about ten days after, that Yahuah smote Naval, that he died.
And when David heard that Naval was dead, he said, Blessed be Yahuah, that has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Naval, and has kept his servant from evil: for Yahuah has returned the wickedness of Naval upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Aviygayil, to take her to him to be his woman.
And when the servants of David were come to Aviygayil to Karmel, they spoke unto her, saying, David sent us unto you, to take you to him to be his woman.
And she arose, and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let your handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my adoniy.
And Aviygayil hasted, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that went after her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his woman.
David also took Achiyno'am of Yizre'el; and they were also both of them his women.
But Sha'ul had given Miykal his daughter, David's woman, to Paltiy the son of Layish, which was of Galliym.