New Living Translation (NLT)
1 Samuel 24
17 And he said to David, “You are a better man than I am, for you have repaid me good for evil.
18 Yes, you have been amazingly kind to me today, for when the LORD put me in a place where you could have killed me, you didn’t do it.
19 Who else would let his enemy get away when he had him in his power? May the LORD reward you well for the kindness you have shown me today.
20 And now I realize that you are surely going to be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will flourish under your rule.
21 Now swear to me by the LORD that when that happens you will not kill my family and destroy my line of descendants!”
22 So David promised this to Saul with an oath. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went back to their stronghold.
1 Samuel 25
1 Now Samuel died, and all Israel gathered for his funeral. They buried him at his house in Ramah. Then David moved down to the wilderness of Maon.
2 There was a wealthy man from Maon who owned property near the town of Carmel. He had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats, and it was sheep-shearing time.
3 This man’s name was Nabal, and his wife, Abigail, was a sensible and beautiful woman. But Nabal, a descendant of Caleb, was crude and mean in all his dealings.
4 When David heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep,
5 he sent ten of his young men to Carmel with this message for Nabal:
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