²⁴ She fell at his feet and said, “On me ^[a]alone, my lord, be the blame. And please let your slave speak ^[b]to you, and listen to the words of your slave. ²⁵ Please do not let my lord ^[c]pay attention to this ^[d]worthless man, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. ^[e]Nabal is his name, and stupidity is with him; but I your slave did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.

²⁶ “Now then, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, since the Lord has restrained you from ^[f]shedding blood, and ^(A)from ^[g]avenging yourself by your own hand, now then, ^(B)may your enemies and those who seek evil against my lord, be like Nabal. ²⁷ And now let ^(C)this ^[h]gift which your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who ^[i]accompany my lord. ²⁸ Please forgive ^(D)the offense of your slave; for ^(E)the Lord will certainly make for my lord an ^[j]enduring house, because my lord is ^(F)fighting the battles of the Lord, and ^(G)evil will not be found in you all your days. ²⁹ Should anyone rise up to pursue you and to seek your ^[k]life, then the ^[l]life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the Lord your God; but the ^[m]lives of your enemies ^(H)He will sling out ^[n]as from the hollow of a sling. ³⁰ And when the Lord does for my lord in accordance with all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and ^(I)appoints you ruler over Israel, ³¹ this will not become an obstacle to you, or a ^[o]troubled heart to my lord, both by having shed blood without cause and by my lord’s having ^[p]avenged himself. ^(J)When the Lord deals well with my lord, then remember your slave.”

³² Then David said to Abigail, “^(K)Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me, ³³ and blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, ^(L)who have kept me this day from ^[q]bloodshed and from ^[r]avenging myself by my own hand.