18 T Then Abigail made haſt2, and took two hun- dred loaves z, and two bottles of wine, and five beep ready dreſſed, and five meaſures of parched corn, and an hundred Þ cluſters of raiſins, and two hundred cakes of tigs, and laid hems on aſſes. Fe
z Which ſhe did without his leave, and againſt his mind, be=
cauſe it was a caſe of apparent neceſlicy, for the preſervation of her ſelf, and Husband, and all the Family from imminent ruin. And
ſurely, thar real and urgent neceſliry which diſpenſeth with God's poſitive Commands, might well diſpenſe with the Husband's right in this caſe. |
19 And ſhe faid unto her ſervants, Go on before me behold, I come after you @ 2 bur the told nor her huf- band Nabal.
# For ſhe knew ſhe could quickly overtake them.
20 And it was ſo, a ſhe rode on the aſs, that ſhe canie down by the covert of the hill b, and behold, Da- vid and his mien came down «© againſt her, and the mer them. CS : h
b In the lower part, and under the ſhadow of the Hill, or of the Trees that grew upon it; ſo that David did nor ſee her till ſhe mer him- c To wit, trom another oppoſice Hill.
21 ( Now David had faid &, Surely in vain haveT kept all that this fe/l9w e hath in the wilderneſs, ſo that nothing was mitled of all, that pertained unco him, and he hath requited me evil for good. - d Either in.his Jourvey, or as ſoon as he heard that reproachfu
anſwer.. e Whom he thought unworthy to be named, for his bar- barous Ingratitude and Churlifhnets. |
22 So, and_ more alſo do God unto the enemies of David f, if I leave of all that pertain. unto him by the morning light, any that piſfech againſt the walig.)
f 7. e. Unto David himſelf. , But becauſe it might ſeem ominous and unnatural to Curſe himſelf, therefore by a Figure called Euphe= miſmus, inſtead of David, he mentions David's Enemies. See 1 Sam, 20.16. The words may be thus rendered : $4 and more alſo let Grd do for ( the Hebrew Lamed being very oft ſo uſed ) the Enemies of David, i. e Ler God work for them, and give them as mucn Proſperity and
|
Succeſs as Nabal hath hitherro had. Or, ler, God utterly deſtroy their Enemies ; and eſpecially, . my ſelf the chief of them, ifI do not deſtroy this Man. £ *. e. Any of the Males, for they only do ſo ; and of them this Phraſe is manifeſtly underſtood ; 1 Kings 14. 10. and 21- 21. and 2 Kings 9, 8. And Men ror wholly babarous have generally ſpared Womenin ſuch caſes. Duef. Why then was Abigail ſo much concerned and afraid ? Anſw.. Partly from Huma- nity, and the horrourof ſo general 2nd dreadfula Slaughter of her Family and neareſt Relations : arid partly, becauſe when the Sword was once drawn, ſhe knew not where it would reſts nor whether ſhe ſhould eſcape : for ſhe knew. nething of this limitation of David's cthreatning, till ſhe came to him.
23 And when Abigail ſaw David, ſhe haſted andq lighted off the aſs, and fell before - David on her face a and bowed her ſelf to the ground' þ. 7 2 I
h Not only in token of deep Reverence, but as a moſt humble ſuppliant ; as 2 Kings 4» 27. Ds
24 And fell ar his feet, and faid, Upon me, m lord, «pon me let his iniquity be b, and let thine hand- maid,
pray thee, ſpeak in thine F audience, and f Heb.eer:
hear the words of thine handmaid.
h Tmpute Na#a!'s Sin to me, and if thou pleaſeſt, puniſk it in m. who here offer my ſelf as a Sacrifice to thy juſt Iniiznation. The, whole Speech of Abigail 1s uone with great artifice ; and ſhe doth here, by an abſolute ſubmitting to Mercy, without any pretencs of juſtification of whac way done, ( but rather with aggravation of it } endeavour to work upon David's Generoſfity, and good nature, to Pardon it. And, with great Art, firſt would divert the Puniſhmene from her Husband ta_ her ſclf, becauſe-ſhe had then much more to fay, why David ſhould ſpare her, then why he ſhould ſpare Nadal. And there was hardly any head of Argument, whence the greateſt Oraror might. argue in this caſe, which ſhe doth,nor manage to the beſt adyamage, and moſt plauſible infinuations for ſuch an ext- gent.
25 Let not my lord, F pray thee, + regard / this f Heb
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hap. XXV. "1 + man of Belial #s, even Nabal: for as his name zs, ſo #5 | he: Nabal is his name, and folly 5s with him » 3 but I thine hand-maid ſaw not the young men of my lord,
WH whom thou didit ſend 0. ll- 7 His Perſon and Words deſerve thy contempt, but not thy re- m For ſuch he hath ſhewed himſelf to be by this wicked 214 abominable carriage towards thee. » His noted folly and _ pidity is a more proper Objc for thy pity than anger» Ihs ſordi Anſwer to thy Servants did not proceed from any ill deſign, or but from brutiſh Sottiſheneſs, and want of the under- ' Nagding of a Manin him. Ir may be thought a great Crime, __ ſhe traduceth her Husband in this manner- But this may be fai for her, That ſhe told them nothing but what they all knew COn- | cerning him, and that ſhe only ſeemed to rake away that which he | never had indeed, to wit, his good Name. that ſhe might preſerve , that which he had, and which was more dear and important to him, . even his Life and Soul. o Though I freely ſubmit my ſelf ro the Puniſhment in my Husband's ſtead, yer I was innocent of the
Crime. : "AG Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD liveth,
and as thy ſoul liveth,ſeing the LORD hath withholden Heb, thee from coming to ſhed blood p, and from | avenging ; ;by thy ſelf with thine own hand ; now let thine enenues,
avin Gi fe and they that ſeek evil to my lord be as Nabal 9.