1 Samuel 25:36

36 Forsooth Abigail came to Nabal; and lo! a feast was to him in his house, as the feast of a king; and the heart of Nabal was merry, certainly he was full drunken; and she showed not to him a word, little or great, till the morrow. (And Abigail came back to Nabal; and lo! he was giving a feast in his house, a feast fit for a king; and Nabal's heart was merry, for he was very drunk; and so she did not tell him anything, little or great, until the morning.)

1 Samuel 25:36 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 25:36

And Abigail came to Nabal
Having sped with David, and taken her leave of him, she returned home to her husband Nabal: and, behold, he held a feast in his house like the feast of a king;
both for the number of dishes on his table and of guests at it though only on the account of sheep shearing; but very probably there were others that were invited to this entertainment besides the shearers; covetous men are generally very profuse when they make feasts: and Nabal's heart [was] merry within him, for he [was] very drunken:
which was a very ill example for the master of the feast to set, and was one instance among others of his folly, and of his conduct answering to his name: wherefore she told him nothing less or more until the morning light;
where she had been, and what she had been about, the danger that he and the whole family were in through his rude and churlish behaviour towards David and his men, and how she had prevented it by a timely application to David, meeting him when in full march, and in a great passion, and with a firm resolution to destroy him and his; but finding Nabal in such a condition, bereaved of his reason, and incapable of attending to what she should say, said not one word about it till the next morning.

1 Samuel 25:36 In-Context

34 else the Lord God of Israel liveth, which forbade me, lest I did evil to thee, if thou haddest not soon come into meeting to me, (yea, even) a pisser to the wall should not have (been) left to Nabal till to the morrow light. (else as the Lord God of Israel liveth, who forbade me, lest I did evil to thee, if thou haddest not swiftly come to meet me, yea, even a pisser on the wall would not have been left to Nabal by the morning light.)
35 Therefore David received (out) of her hand all (the) things which she had brought to him; and he said to her, Go thou in peace into thine house; lo! I have heard thy voice, and I honoured thy face (and I grant thy request).
36 Forsooth Abigail came to Nabal; and lo! a feast was to him in his house, as the feast of a king; and the heart of Nabal was merry, certainly he was full drunken; and she showed not to him a word, little or great, till the morrow. (And Abigail came back to Nabal; and lo! he was giving a feast in his house, a feast fit for a king; and Nabal's heart was merry, for he was very drunk; and so she did not tell him anything, little or great, until the morning.)
37 But in the morrowtide, when Nabal had voided the wine, his wife showed to him all these words; and his heart was almost dead within, and he was made as a stone. (But in the morning, when Nabal had voided the wine, his wife told him everything; and his heart was almost dead within, and he was made like a stone.)
38 And when ten days had passed, the Lord smote Nabal, and he was dead (and he died).
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.