Study Desk

Therfor, Y preie, go ye, and make redi more diligentli, and do ye more curiousli ether intentifli, and biholde ye swiftly, where his foot is, ethir who siy hym there, where ye seiden; for he thenkith on me, that felli Y aspie hym.

Biholde ye, and se alle his hidyng places, in whiche he is hid, and turne ye ayen to me at a certeyn thing, that Y go with you; that if he closith hym silf yhe in to erthe, Y schal seke hym with alle the thousyndis of Juda.

Aftir these thingis Dauid smoot his herte, for he hadde kit awei the hemme of the mentil of Saul.

And Dauid seide to hise men, The Lord be merciful to me, lest Y do this thing to my lord, the crist of the Lord, that Y sende myn hond `in to hym, for he is the crist of the Lord. The Lord lyueth, for no but the Lord smyte hym, ether his dai come, that he die, ether he go doun in to batel and perische, the Lord be merciful to me, that Y sende not myn hond in to the crist of the Lord.

Sotheli whanne Dauid hadde fillid spekynge siche wordis to Saul, Saul seide, Whether this is thi vois, my sone Dauid? And Saul reiside his vois, and wepte.

For who, `whanne he fyndith his enemy, schal delyuere hym in good weie? But the Lord yelde to thee this while, for that, that thou wrouytist to dai in me.

And Dauid swoor to Saul. Therfor Saul yede in to his hows, and Dauid and hise men stieden to sikire placis.

Forsothe Samuel was deed; and al Israel was gaderid to gidere, and thei biweiliden hym greetly, and birieden hym in his hows in Ramatha. And Dauid roos, and yede doun in to deseert of Faran.

Forsothe a `man was in Maon, and his possessioun was in Carmele, and thilke man was ful greet, and thre thousynde scheep and a thousynde geet `weren to hym; and it bifelde that his flocke was clippid in Carmele.

Forsothe the name of that man was Nabal, and the name of his wijf was Abigail; and thilke womman was moost prudent and fair; forsothe hir hosebond was hard and ful wickid and malicious; sotheli he was of the kyn of Caleph.

Therfor whanne Dauid hadde herde in deseert, that Nabal clippide his floc,

Thanne Dauid seide to hise children, Ech man be gird with his swerd. And alle men weren gird with her swerdis, and Dauid also was gird with his swerd; and as foure hundrid men sueden Dauid, forsothe two hundrid leften at the fardels.

Y preie, my lord the kyng, sette not his herte on this wickid man Nabal, for bi his name he is a fool, and foli is with hym; but, my lord, Y thin handmayde siy not thi children, whiche thou sentist.

Forsothe Abigail cam to Nabal; and, lo! a feeste was to him in his hows, as the feeste of a kyng; and the herte of Nabal was iocounde, for he was `drunkun greetli; and sche schewide not to hym a word litil ether greet til the morewe.

Forsothe in the morewtid, whanne Nabal hadde defied the wiyn, his wijf schewide to hym alle these wordis; and his herte was almest deed with ynne, and he was maad as a stoon.

Which thing whanne Dauid hadde herd, Nabal deed, he seide, Blessid be the Lord God, that vengide the cause of my schenschip of the hond of Nabal, and kepte his seruaunt fro yuel, and the Lord yeldide the malice of Nabal in to the heed of hym. Therfor Dauid sente, and spak to Abigail, that he wolde take hir wijf to hym.

forsothe Saul yaf Mycol his douytir, wijf of Dauid, to Phalti, the sone of Lais, that was of Gallym.

And Dauid roos priueli, and cam to the place where Saul was. And whanne Dauid hadde seyn the place, wher ynne Saul slepte, and Abner, the sone of Ner, the prince of his chyualrye, and Saul slepynge in the tente, and the tother comyn puple bi his cumpas, Dauid seide to Achymelech,

Therfor Dauid and Abisai camen to the puple in the nyyt, and thei founden Saul lyggynge and slepynge in `the tente, and a spere sette faste in the erthe at his heed; `forsothe thei founden Abner and the puple slepynge in his cumpas.

And Dauid seide to Abysai, Sle thou not hym, for who schal holde forth his hond into the crist of the Lord, and schal be innocent?