---
title: "1 Samuel 25 – Catholic Bible (CPDV) & Latin Vulgate · Bless"
url: https://blessbible.app/bible/1-samuel/25/
description: "The death of Samuel. David, provoked by Nabal, threateneth to destroy him: but… 1 Samuel 25 in the Catholic Public Domain Version, with the Latin Vulgate."
---

# 1 Samuel 25

1 Samuel 25 is chapter 25 of 31 in the First Book of Samuel. Here are all 44 verses in the Catholic Public Domain Version, with the Latin of the Clementine Vulgate beside them.

> The death of Samuel. David, provoked by Nabal, threateneth to destroy him: but is appeased by Abigail.
>
> — Bp. Richard Challoner, chapter summary

## 1 Samuel 25 (Catholic Public Domain Version)

1. Then Samuel died, and all of Israel gathered together, and they mourned him. And they buried him at his house in Ramah. And David, rising up, descended to the desert of Paran.
2. Now there was a certain man in the wilderness of Maon, and his possessions were at Carmel. And this man was exceedingly great. And three thousand sheep, and one thousand goats were his. And it happened that he was shearing his sheep at Carmel.
3. Now the name of this man was Nabal. And the name of his wife was Abigail. And she was a very prudent and beautiful woman. But her husband was hard-hearted, and very wicked, and malicious. And he was of the stock of Caleb.
4. Therefore, when David, in the desert, had heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep,
5. he sent ten young men, and he said to them: “Ascend to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name peacefully.
6. And you shall say: ‘Peace be to my brothers and to you, and peace to your house, and peace to whatever you have.
7. I have heard that your shepherds, who were with us in the desert, were shearing. We have never troubled them, nor was anything from the flock missing to them at any time, during the entire time that they have been with us in Carmel.
8. Question your servants, and they will tell you. Now therefore, may your servants find favor in your eyes. For we have arrived on a good day. Whatever your hand will find, give it to your servants and to your son David.’”
9. And when the servants of David had arrived, they spoke to Nabal all these words in the name of David. And then they were silent.
10. But Nabal, responding to the servants of David, said: “Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? Today, servants who are fleeing from their lords are increasing.
11. Therefore, shall I take my bread, and my water, and the meat of the cattle that I have slain for my shearers, and give it to men, when I do not know where they are from?”
12. And so the servants of David traveled back along their way. And returning, they went and reported to him all the words that he had said.
13. Then David said to his servants, “Let each one gird his sword.” And each one girded his sword. And David also girded his sword. And about four hundred men followed David. But two hundred remained behind with the supplies.
14. Then it was reported to Abigail, the wife of Nabal, by one of his servants, saying: “Behold, David has sent messengers from the desert, so that they might speak kindly to our lord. But he turned them away.
15. These men were good enough to us, and were not troublesome. Neither did we ever lose anything, during the entire time that we conversed with them in the desert.
16. They were a wall to us, as much in the night as in the day, during all the days that we were with them, pasturing the sheep.
17. For this reason, consider and realize what you should do. For evil has been decided against your husband and against your house. And he is a son of Belial, so that no one is able to speak to him.”
18. And so Abigail hurried, and she took two hundred loaves, and two vessels of wine, and five cooked sheep, and five measures of cooked grain, and one hundred clusters of dried grapes, and two hundred masses of dried figs, and she set them upon donkeys.
19. And she said to her servants: “Go before me. Behold, I will follow after your back.” But she did not reveal it to her husband, Nabal.
20. And when she had climbed on a donkey, and was descending to the base of the mountain, David and his men were descending to meet her. And she met them.
21. And David said: “Truly, in vain have I preserved all that was his in the wilderness, so that nothing perished out of all that belonged to him. And he has repaid evil to me for good.
22. May God do these things, by the enemies of David, and may he add these other things, if I leave behind until morning, out of all that belongs to him, anything that urinates against a wall.”
23. Then, when Abigail had seen David, she hurried and descended from the donkey. And she fell upon her face before David, and she reverenced on the ground.
24. And she fell at his feet, and she said: “May this iniquity be upon me, my lord. I beg you, let your handmaid speak to your ears, and listen to the words of your servant.
25. Let not my lord, the king, I beseech you, set his heart upon this iniquitous man, Nabal. For in accord with his name, he is senseless, and foolishness is with him. But I, your handmaid, did not see your servants, my lord, whom you had sent.
26. Now therefore, my lord, as your soul lives, and as the Lord lives, who has kept your hand to yourself, and has prevented you from coming to blood: now, let your enemies be like Nabal, and like all those who are seeking evil for my lord.
27. Because of this, accept this blessing, which your handmaid has brought to you, my lord. And give it to the young men who follow you, my lord.
28. Forgive the iniquity of your handmaid. For the Lord will surely make for you, my lord, a faithful house, because you, my lord, fight the battles of the Lord. Therefore, let no evil be found in you all the days of your life.
29. For if a man, at any time, will rise up, pursuing you and seeking your life, the life of my lord will be preserved, as if in the sheave of the living, with the Lord your God. But the lives of your enemies will be spun around, as if with the force of a whirling sling.
30. Therefore, when the Lord will have done for you, my lord, all the good that he has spoken about you, and when he will have appointed you as leader over Israel,
31. this will not be for you a regret or a scruple of the heart, my lord, that you had shed innocent blood, or had taken revenge for yourself. And when the Lord will have done well for my lord, you shall remember your handmaid.”
32. And David said to Abigail: “Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me. And blessed is your eloquence.
33. And blessed are you, who prevented me today from going to blood, and from taking revenge for myself with my own hand.
34. But instead, as the Lord God of Israel lives, he has prevented me from doing evil to you. But if you had not come quickly to meet me, there would not have been left to Nabal by the morning light, anything that urinates against a wall.”
35. Then David received from her hand all that she had brought to him. And he said to her: “Go in peace to your own house. Behold, I have heeded your voice, and I have honored your face.”
36. Then Abigail went to Nabal. And behold, he was holding a feast for himself in his house, like the feast of a king. And the heart of Nabal was cheerful. For he was greatly inebriated. And she did not reveal a word to him, small or great, until morning.
37. Then, at first light, when Nabal had digested his wine, his wife revealed to him these words, and his heart died within himself, and he became like a stone.
38. And after ten days had passed, the Lord struck Nabal, and he died.
39. And when David had heard that Nabal was dead, he said: “Blessed is the Lord, who has judged the case of my reproach at the hand of Nabal, and who has preserved his servant from evil. And the Lord has repaid the malice of Nabal upon his own head.” Then David sent and he spoke with Abigail, so that he might take her to himself as wife.
40. And David’s servants went to Abigail at Carmel, and they spoke to her, saying, “David has sent us to you, so that he might take you to himself as wife.”
41. And rising up, she reverenced prone on the ground, and she said, “Behold, let your servant be a handmaid, to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.”
42. And Abigail rose up and hurried, and she climbed upon a donkey, and five girls went with her, her attendants. And she followed the messengers of David, and she became his wife.
43. Moreover, David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel. And both of them were his wives.
44. Then Saul gave his daughter Michal, the wife of David, to Palti, the son of Laish, who was from Gallim.

## 1 Samuel 25 in Latin (Clementine Vulgate, 1592)

1. Mortuus est autem Samuel, et congregatus est universus Israël, et planxerunt eum, et sepelierunt eum in domo sua in Ramatha. Consurgensque David descendit in desertum Pharan.
2. Erat autem vir quispiam in solitudine Maon, et possessio ejus in Carmelo, et homo ille magnus nimis: erantque ei oves tria millia, et mille capræ: et accidit ut tonderetur grex ejus in Carmelo.
3. Nomen autem viri illius erat Nabal. Et nomen uxoris ejus Abigail: eratque mulier illa prudentissima, et speciosa: porro vir ejus durus, et pessimus, et malitiosus: erat autem de genere Caleb.
4. Cum ergo audisset David in deserto quod tonderet Nabal gregem suum,
5. misit decem juvenes, et dixit eis: Ascendite in Carmelum, et venietis ad Nabal, et salutabitis eum ex nomine meo pacifice.
6. Et dicetis: Sit fratribus meis et tibi pax, et domui tuæ pax, et omnibus, quæcumque habes, sit pax.
7. Audivi quod tonderent pastores tui, qui erant nobiscum in deserto: numquam eis molesti fuimus, nec aliquando defuit quidquam eis de grege, omni tempore quo fuerunt nobiscum in Carmelo.
8. Interroga pueros tuos, et indicabunt tibi. Nunc ergo inveniant pueri tui gratiam in oculis tuis: in die enim bona venimus: quodcumque invenerit manus tua, da servis tuis, et filio tuo David.
9. Cumque venissent pueri David, locuti sunt ad Nabal omnia verba hæc ex nomine David: et siluerunt.
10. Respondens autem Nabal pueris David, ait: Quis est David? et quis est filius Isai? hodie increverunt servi qui fugiunt dominos suos.
11. Tollam ergo panes meos, et aquas meas, et carnes pecorum quæ occidi tonsoribus meis, et dabo viris quos nescio unde sint?
12. Regressi sunt itaque pueri David per viam suam, et reversi venerunt, et nuntiaverunt ei omnia verba quæ dixerat.
13. Tunc ait David pueris suis: Accingatur unusquisque gladio suo. Et accincti sunt singuli gladiis suis, accinctusque est et David ense suo: et secuti sunt David quasi quadringenti viri: porro ducenti remanserunt ad sarcinas.
14. Abigail autem uxori Nabal nuntiavit unus de pueris suis, dicens: Ecce David misit nuntios de deserto, ut benedicerent domino nostro: et aversatus est eos.
15. Homines isti boni satis fuerant nobis, et non molesti: nec quidquam aliquando periit omni tempore quo fuimus conversati cum eis in deserto:
16. pro muro erant nobis tam in nocte quam in die, omnibus diebus quibus pavimus apud eos greges.
17. Quam ob rem considera, et recogita quid facias: quoniam completa est malitia adversum virum tuum, et adversum domum tuam, et ipse est filius Belial, ita ut nemo possit ei loqui.
18. Festinavit igitur Abigail, et tulit ducentos panes, et duos utres vini, et quinque arietes coctos, et quinque sata polentæ, et centum ligaturas uvæ passæ, et ducentas massas caricarum, et posuit super asinos:
19. dixitque pueris suis: Præcedite me: ecce ego post tergum sequar vos: viro autem suo Nabal non indicavit.
20. Cum ergo ascendisset asinum, et descenderet ad radices montis, David et viri ejus descendebant in occursum ejus: quibus et illa occurrit.
21. Et ait David: Vere frustra servavi omnia quæ hujus erant in deserto, et non periit quidquam de cunctis quæ ad eum pertinebant: et reddidit mihi malum pro bono.
22. Hæc faciat Deus inimicis David, et hæc addat, si reliquero de omnibus quæ ad ipsum pertinent usque mane mingentem ad parietem.
23. Cum autem vidisset Abigail David, festinavit, et descendit de asino, et procidit coram David super faciem suam, et adoravit super terram,
24. et cecidit ad pedes ejus, et dixit: In me sit, domine mi, hæc iniquitas: loquatur, obsecro, ancilla tua in auribus tuis, et audi verba famulæ tuæ.
25. Ne ponat, oro, dominus meus rex cor suum super virum istum iniquum Nabal: quoniam secundum nomen suum stultus est, et stultitia est cum eo: ego autem ancilla tua non vidi pueros tuos, domine mi, quos misisti.
26. Nunc ergo, domine mi, vivit Dominus, et vivit anima tua, qui prohibuit te ne venires in sanguinem, et salvavit manum tuam tibi: et nunc fiant sicut Nabal inimici tui, et qui quærunt domino meo malum.
27. Quapropter suscipe benedictionem hanc, quam attulit ancilla tua tibi domino meo, et da pueris qui sequuntur te dominum meum.
28. Aufer iniquitatem famulæ tuæ: faciens enim faciet Dominus tibi domino meo domum fidelem, quia prælia Domini, domine mi, tu præliaris: malitia ergo non inveniatur in te omnibus diebus vitæ tuæ.
29. Si enim surrexerit aliquando homo persequens te, et quærens animam tuam, erit anima domini mei custodita quasi in fasciculo viventium apud Dominum Deum tuum: porro inimicorum tuorum anima rotabitur, quasi in impetu et circulo fundæ.
30. Cum ergo fecerit Dominus tibi domino meo omnia quæ locutus est bona de te, et constituerit te ducem super Israël,
31. non erit tibi hoc in singultum, et in scrupulum cordis domino meo, quod effuderis sanguinem innoxium, aut ipse te ultus fueris: et cum benefecerit Dominus domino meo, recordaberis ancillæ tuæ.
32. Et ait David ad Abigail: Benedictus Dominus Deus Israël, qui misit hodie te in occursum meum, et benedictum eloquium tuum,
33. et benedicta tu, quæ prohibuisti me hodie ne irem ad sanguinem, et ulciscerer me manu mea.
34. Alioquin vivit Dominus Deus Israël, qui prohibuit me ne malum facerem tibi: nisi cito venisses in occursum mihi, non remansisset Nabal usque ad lucem matutinam mingens ad parietem.
35. Suscepit ergo David de manu ejus omnia quæ attulerat ei, dixitque ei: Vade pacifice in domum tuam: ecce audivi vocem tuam, et honoravi faciem tuam.
36. Venit autem Abigail ad Nabal: et ecce erat ei convivium in domo ejus quasi convivium regis, et cor Nabal jucundum: erat enim ebrius nimis: et non indicavit ei verbum pusillum aut grande usque mane.
37. Diluculo autem cum digessisset vinum Nabal, indicavit ei uxor sua verba hæc: et emortuum est cor ejus intrinsecus, et factus est quasi lapis.
38. Cumque pertransissent decem dies, percussit Dominus Nabal, et mortuus est.
39. Quod cum audisset David mortuum Nabal, ait: Benedictus Dominus, qui judicavit causam opprobrii mei de manu Nabal, et servum suum custodivit a malo, et malitiam Nabal reddidit Dominus in caput ejus. Misit ergo David, et locutus est ad Abigail, ut sumeret eam sibi in uxorem.
40. Et venerunt pueri David ad Abigail in Carmelum, et locuti sunt ad eam, dicentes: David misit nos ad te, ut accipiat te sibi in uxorem.
41. Quæ consurgens, adoravit prona in terram, et ait: Ecce famula tua sit in ancillam, ut lavet pedes servorum domini mei.
42. Et festinavit, et surrexit Abigail, et ascendit super asinum, et quinque puellæ ierunt cum ea, pedissequæ ejus, et secuta est nuntios David: et facta est illi uxor.
43. Sed et Achinoam accepit David de Jezraël: et fuit utraque uxor ejus.
44. Saul autem dedit Michol filiam suam, uxorem David, Phalti filio Lais, qui erat de Gallim.

## Bishop Challoner's notes

Bp. Richard Challoner, notes on the Douay-Rheims (1750); they comment on its older wording.
- Verse 22: “If I leave” … David certainly sinned in his designs against Nabal and his family, as he himself was afterwards sensible, when he blessed God for hindering him from executing the revenge he had proposed.
- Verse 25: “His name” … Nabal, in Hebrew, signifies a fool.
- Verse 39: David praiseth God, on this occasion, not out of joy for the death of Nabal (which would have argued a rancour of heart), but because he saw that God had so visibly taken his cause in hand, in punishing the injury done to him; whilst, by a merciful providence he kept him from revenging himself.

Source: Catholic Public Domain Version (Ronald L. Conte Jr., 2009), public domain; Latin: Clementine Vulgate (1592).