1 Samuel 25:22-32

22 The Lord do these things, and add he these things to the enemies of David, if I shall leave (anything) undestroyed of all things that pertain to him till tomorrow (yea, even) a pisser to a wall. (May the Lord do these things, and add he other things, to David's enemies, if I leave anything unwasted until tomorrow out of all the things that pertain to him, yea, even a pisser on the wall.)
23 And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and went down off the ass; and she fell down before David on her face, and worshipped him on the earth (bowing low to the ground before him).
24 And she felled down to his feet, and said, My lord the king, this wickedness be in me; I beseech thee, speak thine handmaid in thine ears, and hear thou the words of thy servantess; (And she fell down at his feet, and said, My lord the king, let this wickedness be upon me; I beseech thee, let thy servantess speak to thee, and listen thou to the words of thy servantess;)
25 I pray (thee), my lord the king, set not his heart on this wicked man Nabal, for by his name he is a fool, and folly is with him; but, my lord, I thine handmaid saw not thy young men, which thou sentest (but my lord, I thy servantess, did not see thy young men, whom thou sentest).
26 Now therefore, my lord, the Lord liveth, and thy soul liveth, the which Lord hath forbidden thee, that thou shouldest come into blood, and the Lord saved thy life to thee; and now thine enemies, and they that seek evil to thee my lord, be they made as Nabal. (And so now, my lord, as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, the which Lord hath forbidden thee, that thou shouldest come to shed blood, and so to avenge thyself with thy own hand; yea, now let thy enemies, and they who seek evil for thee my lord, be they made like Nabal.)
27 Wherefore receive thou this blessing, (or this gift,) which thine handmaid [hath] brought to thee, my lord, and give it to the young men that follow thee, my lord.
28 (And) Do thou away the wickedness of thy servantess; for the Lord making shall make a faithful house to thee, my lord (for the Lord shall make a faithful family for thee, my lord), for thou, my lord, fightest the battles of the Lord; therefore malice be not found in thee in all the days of thy life.
29 For if a man riseth any time, and pursueth thee, and seeketh thy life, the life of my lord shall be kept (safe) as in a bundle of living trees, at thy Lord God (with the Lord thy God); but the soul of thine enemies shall be hurled round about as in [the] fierceness, and [the] circle of a sling.
30 Therefore when the Lord hath done to thee, my lord, all these good things, which he hath spoken of thee, and hath ordained thee duke upon Israel (and hath ordained thee ruler upon Israel),
31 this shall not be into sighing, that is, into mourning of soul, and into remorse of conscience, and into doubt of heart to thee, my lord, that thou hast shed out guiltless blood, either that thou hast (a)venged thyself. And when the Lord hath done well to thee, my lord, thou shalt have mind on thine handmaid (thou shalt remember thy servantess), and thou shalt do well to her.
32 And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, that sent thee today into my coming (who sent thee today to meet me),

1 Samuel 25:22-32 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 25

This chapter gives an account of the death of Samuel, and of the ill treatment David met with from Nabal; it begins with the death of Samuel, which was greatly lamented in Israel, 1Sa 25:1; it draws the character of Nabal, and his wife, 1Sa 25:2,3; records a message of David to him, by his young men, desiring he would send him some of his provisions made for his sheep shearers, 1Sa 25:4-9; and Nabal's ill-natured answer to him reported by the young men, which provoked David to arm against him, 1Sa 25:10-13,21,22; and this being told Abigail, the wife of Nabal, and a good character given of David and his men, and of the advantage Nabal's shepherds had received from them, and the danger his family was in through his ingratitude, 1Sa 25:14-17; she prepared a present to pacify David, went with it herself, and addressed him in a very handsome, affectionate, and prudent manner, 1Sa 25:18-31; and met with a kind reception, 1Sa 25:32-35; and the chapter is closed with an account of the death of Nabal, and of the marriage of Abigail to David, 1Sa 25:32-44.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.