Tanakh, Bible & Qu'ran: The Pillars of Three Faiths. Various Authors

these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. ³⁸And it came to pass about ten days after, that the Lord smote Nabal, so that he died.

      ³⁹And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said: 'Blessed be the Lord, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept back His servant from evil; and the evil-doing of Nabal hath the Lord returned upon his own head.' And David sent and spoke concerning Abigail, to take her to him to wife. ⁴⁰And when the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, they spoke unto her, saying: 'David hath sent us unto thee, to take thee to him to wife.' ⁴¹And she arose, and bowed down with her face to the earth, and said: 'Behold, thy handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.' ⁴²And Abigail hastened, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that followed her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife.

      ⁴³David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and they became both of them his wives. ⁴⁴Now Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.

      26And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah, saying: 'Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon?' ²Then Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. ³And Saul pitched in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon, by the way. But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness. ⁴David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come of a certainty. ⁵And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched; and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host; and Saul lay within the barricade, and the people pitched round about him.

      ⁶Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying: 'Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp?' And Abishai said: 'I will go down with thee.' ⁷So David and Abishai came to the people by night; and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the barricade, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the people lay round about him. ⁸Then said Abishai to David: 'God hath delivered up thine enemy into thy hand this day; now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear to the earth at one stroke, and I will not smite him the second time.' ⁹And David said to Abishai: 'Destroy him not; for who can put forth his hand against the Lord's anointed, and be guiltless?' ¹⁰And David said: 'As the Lord liveth, nay, but the Lord shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall go down into battle, and be swept away. ¹¹The Lord forbid it me, that I should put forth my hand against the Lord's anointed; but now take, I pray thee, the spear that is at his head, and the cruse of water and let us go.' ¹²So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul's head; and they got them away, and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither did any awake; for they were all asleep; because a deep sleep from the Lord was fallen upon them.

      ¹³Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of the mountain afar off; a great space being between them. ¹⁴And David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying: 'Answerest thou not, Abner?' Then Abner answered and said: 'Who art thou that criest to the king?' ¹⁵And David said to Abner: 'Art not thou a valiant man? and who is like to thee in Israel? wherefore then hast thou not kept watch over thy lord the king? for there came one of the people in to destroy the king thy lord. ¹⁶This thing is not good that thou hast done. As the Lord liveth, ye deserve to die, because ye have not kept watch over your lord, the Lord's anointed. And now, see, where the king's spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his head.'

      ¹⁷And Saul knew David's voice, and said: 'Is this thy voice, my son David?' And David said: 'It is my voice, my lord, O king.' ¹⁸And he said: 'Wherefore doth my lord pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in my hand? ¹⁹Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it be the Lord that hath stirred thee up against me, let Him accept an offering; but if it be the children of men, cursed be they before the Lord; for they have driven me out this day that I should not cleave unto the inheritance of the Lord, saying: Go, serve other gods. ²⁰Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of the Lord; for the king of Israel is come out to seek a single flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains.'

      ²¹Then said Saul: 'I have sinned; return, my son David; for I will no more do thee harm, because my life was precious in thine eyes this day; behold, I have played the fool and erred exceedingly.' ²²And David answered and said: 'Behold the king's spear! let then one of the young men come over and fetch it. ²³And the Lord will render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness; forasmuch as the Lord delivered thee into my hand to-day, and I would not put forth my hand against the Lord's anointed. ²⁴And, behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the Lord, and let Him deliver me out of all tribulation.' ²⁵Then Saul said to David: 'Blessed be thou, my son David; thou shalt both do mightily, and shalt surely prevail.' So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place.

      27And David said in his heart: 'I shall now be swept away one day by the hand of Saul; there is nothing better for me than that I should escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me any more in all the borders of Israel; so shall I escape out of his hand.' ²And David arose, and passed over, he and the six hundred men that were with him, unto Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath. ³And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal's wife. ⁴And it was told Saul that David was fled to Gath; and he sought no more again for him.

      ⁵And David said unto Achish: 'If now I have found favour in thine eyes, let them give me a place in one of the cities in the country, that I may dwell there; for why should thy servant dwell in the royal city with thee?' ⁶Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day; wherefore Ziklag belongeth unto the kings of Judah unto this day.

      ⁷And the number of the days that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was a full year and four months. ⁸And David and his men went up, and made a raid upon the Geshurites, and the Gizrites, and the Amalekites; for those were the inhabitants of the land, who were of old, as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt. ⁹And David smote the land, and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the apparel. And he returned, and came to Achish. ¹⁰And Achish said: 'Whither have ye made a raid to-day?' And David said: 'Against the South of Judah, and against the South of the Jerahmeelites, and against the South of the Kenites.' ¹¹And David left neither man nor woman alive, to bring them to Gath, saying: 'Lest they should tell on us, saying: So did David, and so hath been his manner all the while he hath dwelt in the country of the Philistines.' ¹²And Achish believed David, saying: 'He hath made his people Israel utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever.'

      28And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines gathered their hosts together for warfare, to fight with Israel. And Achish said unto David: 'Know thou assuredly, that thou shalt go out with me in the host, thou and thy men.' ²And David said to Achish: 'Therefore thou shalt know what thy servant will do.' And Achish said to David: 'Therefore will I make thee keeper of my head for ever.'

      ³Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that divined by a ghost or a familiar spirit out of the land. ⁴And the Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and pitched in Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in Gilboa. ⁵And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. ⁶And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets. ⁷Then said Saul unto his servants: 'Seek me a woman that divineth by a ghost, that I may go to her, and inquire of her.' And his servants said to him: 'Behold, there is a woman that divineth by a ghost at En-dor.'