Chapter 25

¹Then Samuel died; and all Israel gathered together and mourned for him, and buried him at his house in Ramah. And David arose and went down to the wilderness of Paran.

¹撒母耳死了，以色列眾人聚集，為他哀哭，將他葬在拉瑪─他自己的墳墓（原文是房屋）裡。大衛起身，下到巴蘭的曠野。

²Now [there was] a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel; and the man was very rich, and he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And it came about while he was shearing his sheep in Carmel

²在瑪雲有一個人，他的產業在迦密，是一個大富戶，有三千綿羊，一千山羊；他正在迦密剪羊毛。

³(now the man's name was Nabal, and his wife's name was Abigail. And the woman was intelligent and beautiful in appearance, but the man was harsh and evil in [his] dealings, and he was a Calebite),

³那人名叫拿八，是迦勒族的人；他的妻名叫亞比該，是聰明俊美的婦人。拿八為人剛愎凶惡。

⁴that David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep.

⁴大衛在曠野聽見說拿八剪羊毛，

⁵So David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, 'Go up to Carmel, visit Nabal and greet him in my name;

⁵大衛就打發十個僕人，吩咐他們說：你們上迦密去見拿八，提我的名問他安。

⁶and thus you shall say, 'Have a long life, peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have.

⁶要對那富戶如此說：願你平安，願你家平安，願你一切所有的都平安。

⁷'Now I have heard that you have shearers; now your shepherds have been with us and we have not insulted them, nor have they missed anything all the days they were in Carmel.

⁷現在我聽說有人為你剪羊毛，你的牧人在迦密的時候和我們在一處，我們沒有欺負他們，他們也未曾失落甚麼。

⁸'Ask your young men and they will tell you. Therefore let [my] young men find favor in your eyes, for we have come on a festive day. Please give whatever you find at hand to your servants and to your son David.''

⁸可以問你的僕人，他們必告訴你。所以願我的僕人在你眼前蒙恩，因為是在好日子來的。求你隨手取點賜與僕人和你兒子大衛。

⁹When David's young men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all these words in David's name; then they waited.

⁹大衛的僕人到了，將這話提大衛的名都告訴了拿八，就住了口。

¹⁰But Nabal answered David's servants and said, 'Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants today who are each breaking away from his master.

¹⁰拿八回答大衛的僕人說：大衛是誰？耶西的兒子是誰？近來悖逆主人奔逃的僕人甚多，

¹¹'Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men whose origin I do not know?'

¹¹我豈可將飲食和為我剪羊毛人所宰的肉給我不知道從哪裡來的人呢？

¹²So David's young men retraced their way and went back; and they came and told him according to all these words.

¹²大衛的僕人就轉身從原路回去，照這話告訴大衛。

¹³David said to his men, 'Each [of you] gird on his sword.' So each man girded on his sword. And David also girded on his sword, and about four hundred men went up behind David while two hundred stayed with the baggage.

¹³大衛向跟隨他的人說：你們各人都要帶上刀！眾人就都帶上刀，大衛也帶上刀。跟隨大衛上去的約有四百人，留下二百人看守器具。

¹⁴But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, 'Behold, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, and he scorned them.

¹⁴有拿八的一個僕人告訴拿八的妻亞比該說：大衛從曠野打發使者來問我主人的安，主人卻辱罵他們。

¹⁵'Yet the men were very good to us, and we were not insulted, nor did we miss anything as long as we went about with them, while we were in the fields.

¹⁵但是那些人待我們甚好；我們在田野與他們來往的時候，沒有受他們的欺負，也未曾失落甚麼。

¹⁶'They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the time we were with them tending the sheep.

¹⁶我們在他們那裡牧羊的時候，他們晝夜作我們的保障。

¹⁷'Now therefore, know and consider what you should do, for evil is plotted against our master and against all his household; and he is such a worthless man that no one can speak to him.'

¹⁷所以你當籌劃，看怎樣行才好；不然，禍患定要臨到我主人和他全家。他性情凶暴，無人敢與他說話。

¹⁸Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred [loaves] of bread and two jugs of wine and five sheep already prepared and five measures of roasted grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and loaded [them] on donkeys.

¹⁸亞比該急忙將二百餅，兩皮袋酒，五隻收拾好了的羊，五細亞烘好了的穗子，一百葡萄餅，二百無花果餅，都馱在驢上，

¹⁹She said to her young men, 'Go on before me; behold, I am coming after you.' But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

¹⁹對僕人說：你們前頭走，我隨著你們去。這事他卻沒有告訴丈夫拿八。

²⁰It came about as she was riding on her donkey and coming down by the hidden part of the mountain, that behold, David and his men were coming down toward her; so she met them.

²⁰亞比該騎著驢，正下山坡，見大衛和跟隨他的人從對面下來，亞比該就迎接他們。

²¹Now David had said, 'Surely in vain I have guarded all that this [man] has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him; and he has returned me evil for good.

²¹大衛曾說：我在曠野為那人看守所有的，以致他一樣不失落，實在是徒然了！他向我以惡報善。

²²'May God do so to the enemies of David, and more also, if by morning I leave [as much as] one male of any who belong to him.'

²²凡屬拿八的男丁，我若留一個到明日早晨，願神重重降罰與我！

²³When Abigail saw David, she hurried and dismounted from her donkey, and fell on her face before David and bowed herself to the ground.

²³亞比該見大衛，便急忙下驢，在大衛面前臉伏於地叩拜，

²⁴She fell at his feet and said, 'On me alone, my lord, be the blame. And please let your maidservant speak to you, and listen to the words of your maidservant.

²⁴俯伏在大衛的腳前，說：我主啊，願這罪歸我！求你容婢女向你進言，更求你聽婢女的話。

²⁵'Please do not let my lord pay attention to this worthless man, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name and folly is with him; but I your maidservant did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.

²⁵我主不要理這壞人拿八，他的性情與他的名相稱；他名叫拿八（就是愚頑的意思），他為人果然愚頑。但我主所打發的僕人，婢女並沒有看見。

²⁶'Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, since the LORD has restrained you from shedding blood, and from avenging yourself by your own hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek evil against my lord, be as Nabal.

²⁶我主啊，耶和華既然阻止你親手報仇，取流血的罪，所以我指著永生的耶和華，又敢在你面前起誓說：願你的仇敵和謀害你的人都像拿八一樣。

²⁷'Now let this gift which your maidservant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who accompany my lord.

²⁷如今求你將婢女送來的禮物給跟隨你的僕人。

²⁸'Please forgive the transgression of your maidservant; for the LORD will certainly make for my lord an enduring house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the LORD, and evil will not be found in you all your days.

²⁸求你饒恕婢女的罪過。耶和華必為我主建立堅固的家，因我主為耶和華爭戰；並且在你平生的日子查不出有甚麼過來。

²⁹'Should anyone rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, then the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the LORD your God; but the lives of your enemies He will sling out as from the hollow of a sling.

²⁹雖有人起來追逼你，尋索你的性命，你的性命卻在耶和華─你的神那裡蒙保護，如包裹寶器一樣；你仇敵的性命，耶和華必拋去，如用機弦甩石一樣。

³⁰'And when the LORD does for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and appoints you ruler over Israel,

³⁰我主現在若不親手報仇流無辜人的血，到了耶和華照所應許你的話賜福與你，立你作以色列的王，那時我主必不至心裡不安，覺得良心有虧。耶和華賜福與我主的時候，求你記念婢女。

³¹this will not cause grief or a troubled heart to my lord, both by having shed blood without cause and by my lord having avenged himself. When the LORD deals well with my lord, then remember your maidservant.'

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³²Then David said to Abigail, 'Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me,

³²大衛對亞比該說：耶和華─以色列的神是應當稱頌的，因為他今日使你來迎接我。

³³and blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand.

³³你和你的見識也當稱讚；因為你今日攔阻我親手報仇、流人的血。

³⁴'Nevertheless, as the LORD God of Israel lives, who has restrained me from harming you, unless you had come quickly to meet me, surely there would not have been left to Nabal until the morning light [as much as] one male.'

³⁴我指著阻止我加害於你的耶和華─以色列永生的神起誓，你若不速速地來迎接我，到明日早晨，凡屬拿八的男丁必定不留一個。

³⁵So David received from her hand what she had brought him and said to her, 'Go up to your house in peace. See, I have listened to you and granted your request.'

³⁵大衛受了亞比該送來的禮物，就對他說：我聽了你的話，准了你的情面，你可以平平安安地回家罷！

³⁶Then Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk; so she did not tell him anything at all until the morning light.

³⁶亞比該到拿八那裡，見他在家裡設擺筵席，如同王的筵席；拿八快樂大醉。亞比該無論大小事都沒有告訴他，就等到次日早晨。

³⁷But in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him so that he became [as] a stone.

³⁷到了早晨，拿八醒了酒，他的妻將這些事都告訴他，他就魂不附體，身僵如石頭一般。

³⁸About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal and he died.

³⁸過了十天，耶和華擊打拿八，他就死了。

³⁹When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, 'Blessed be the LORD, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal and has kept back His servant from evil. The LORD has also returned the evildoing of Nabal on his own head.' Then David sent a proposal to Abigail, to take her as his wife.

³⁹大衛聽見拿八死了，就說：應當稱頌耶和華，因他伸了拿八羞辱我的冤，又阻止僕人行惡；也使拿八的惡歸到拿八的頭上。於是大衛打發人去，與亞比該說，要娶他為妻。

⁴⁰When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, 'David has sent us to you to take you as his wife.'

⁴⁰大衛的僕人到了迦密見亞比該，對他說：大衛打發我們來見你，想要娶你為妻。

⁴¹She arose and bowed with her face to the ground and said, 'Behold, your maidservant is a maid to wash the feet of my lord's servants.'

⁴¹亞比該就起來，俯伏在地，說：我情願作婢女，洗我主僕人的腳。

⁴²Then Abigail quickly arose, and rode on a donkey, with her five maidens who attended her; and she followed the messengers of David and became his wife.

⁴²亞比該立刻起身，騎上驢，帶著五個使女，跟從大衛的使者去了，就作了大衛的妻。

⁴³David had also taken Ahinoam of Jezreel, and they both became his wives.

⁴³大衛先娶了耶斯列人亞希暖，他們二人都作了他的妻。

⁴⁴Now Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was from Gallim.

⁴⁴掃羅已將他的女兒米甲，就是大衛的妻，給了迦琳人拉億的兒子帕提為妻。