TRV
Nabal Insults David
1 Samuel 25:4-17
4
David, there in the desert, heard that Naval was shearing his sheep.
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David sent off ten young men with these orders: "Go up to Naval in Karmel, and bring him greetings from me.
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Say, 'Long life and shalom to you, shalom to your household, and shalom to everything that is yours!
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I've heard that you now have shearers. Your shepherds were with us [for a while], we did them no harm, and they found nothing missing all the time they were in Karmel.
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Ask your own men; they'll tell you. Therefore, receive my men favorably, since we have come on a festive day. Please give what you can to your servants and to your son David.'"
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On arrival, David's men said all these things to Naval in David's name. When they had finished,
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Naval answered David's servants, "Who is David? Who is the son of Yishai? There are many servants nowadays running away from their masters.
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Am I supposed to take my bread, my water and my meat that I slaughtered for my shearers and give it to men coming from who knows where?"
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So David's men turned around, went back and came and told him everything Naval had said.
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David said to his men, "Buckle your swords on, all of you!" Each one buckled on his sword, David too; and there went up after David about four hundred men, while two hundred stayed with the equipment.
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But one of Naval's men told Avigayil his wife, "David sent messengers from the desert to greet our master, and he flew on them in a rage,
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even though the men had been very good to us - they didn't harm us, and we found nothing missing during the entire time we went with them, while we were out in the countryside.
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They served as a wall protecting us day and night all the time we were with them caring for the sheep.
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So now decide what you are going to do, for clearly harm is on its way to our master and all his household, but he's so mean that no one can tell him anything."
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