1 Samuel 25:24-33

24 She fell at his feet and said, "On me alone, my lord, be the blame. And please let your maidservant speak to you, and listen to the words of your maidservant.
25 "Please do not let my lord pay attention to this worthless man, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name and folly is with him; but I your maidservant did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.
26 "Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, since the LORD has restrained you from shedding blood, and 1from avenging yourself by your own hand, now then 2let your enemies and those who seek evil against my lord, be as Nabal.
27 "Now let 3this gift which your maidservant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who accompany * my lord.
28 "Please forgive 4the transgression of your maidservant; for 5the LORD will certainly make for my lord an enduring house, because my lord is 6fighting the battles of the LORD, and 7evil will not be found in you all your days.
29 "Should anyone rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, then the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the LORD your God; but the lives of your enemies 8He will sling out as from the hollow of a sling.
30 "And when the LORD does for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and 9appoints you ruler over Israel,
31 this will not cause grief or a troubled heart to my lord, both by having shed blood without cause and by my lord having avenged himself. 10When the LORD deals well with my lord, then remember your maidservant."
32 Then David said to Abigail, "11Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me,
33 and blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, 12who have kept me this day from bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand.

1 Samuel 25:24-33 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.

Cross References 12

  • 1. Hebrews 10:30
  • 2. 2 Samuel 18:32
  • 3. Genesis 33:11; 1 Samuel 30:26
  • 4. 1 Samuel 25:24
  • 5. 1 Samuel 22:14; 2 Samuel 7:11, 16
  • 6. 1 Samuel 18:17
  • 7. 1 Samuel 24:11; Psalms 7:3
  • 8. Jeremiah 10:18
  • 9. 1 Samuel 13:14
  • 10. Genesis 40:14; 1 Samuel 25:30
  • 11. Exodus 18:10; 1 Kings 1:48; Psalms 41:13; Psalms 72:18; Psalms 106:48; Luke 1:68
  • 12. 1 Samuel 25:26

Footnotes 17

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California.  All rights reserved.