1 Samuel 25:13

13 And David said to his men, "Every man strap on his sword!" And every man of them strapped on his sword. David also strapped on his sword. And ¹about four hundred men went up after David, ²while two hundred ³remained with the baggage.

1 Samuel 25:13 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 25:13

And David said unto his men
Provoked to the last degree to have such a rude churlish answer returned to such a civil and humble message as he had sent:

gird you on every man his sword;
and prepare to march and chastise Nabal for his insolence:

and they girded on every man his sword;
in obedience to David, and in vindication of his honour and their own:

and David also girded on his sword;
in order to march at the head of them, fired with indignation at the affront given him:

and there went up after David about four hundred men;
out of the six hundred he had with him, ( 1 Samuel 23:13 ) ;

and two hundred abode by the stuff;
the baggage in their camp; the Targum is, they

``were left to watch the vessels;''

the things necessary for their use, for the dressing of their food, their bedding

1 Samuel 25:13 In-Context

11 Shall I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it to men who come from I do not know where?"

12 So David's young men turned away and came back and told him all this.

13 And David said to his men, "Every man strap on his sword!" And every man of them strapped on his sword. David also strapped on his sword. And about four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred remained with the baggage.

14 But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, "Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master, and he railed at them.

15 Yet the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, and we did not miss anything when we were in the fields, as long as we went with them.

Cross References

• 1. 1 Samuel 23:13; 1 Samuel 27:2; [1 Samuel 22:2]
• 2. 1 Samuel 23:13; 1 Samuel 27:2; [1 Samuel 22:2]
• 3. 1 Samuel 30:24