1 Samuel 25 in the early church

When Samuel died, all Israel gathered to mourn for him; and they buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David set out and went down to the Wilderness of Paran.

Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. He was a very wealthy man with a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel.

His name was Nabal, and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband, a Calebite, was harsh and evil in his dealings.

And David said to his men, “Strap on your swords!” So David and all his men strapped on their swords, and about four hundred men followed David, while two hundred stayed with the supplies.

Now David had just said, “In vain I have protected all that belonged to this man in the wilderness. Nothing that belongs to him has gone missing, yet he has paid me back evil for good.

May God punish David, and ever so severely, if I let one male belonging to Nabal survive until morning.”

Please forgive your servant’s offense, for the LORD will surely make a lasting dynasty for my lord, because he fights the LORD’s battles. May no evil be found in you as long as you live.

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

Blessed is your discernment, and blessed are you, because today you kept me from bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand.

Otherwise, as surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, then surely no male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by morning light.”

In the morning when Nabal was sober, his wife told him about these events, and his heart failed within him, and he became like a stone.

About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal dead.

On hearing that Nabal was dead, David said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has upheld my cause against the reproach of Nabal and has restrained His servant from evil. For the LORD has brought the wickedness of Nabal down upon his own head.” Then David sent word to Abigail, asking her to become his wife.

She arose, bowed facedown, and said, “Here is your servant, ready to serve and to wash the feet of my lord’s servants.”

But Saul had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Palti son of Laish, who was from Gallim.