Shmuel Alef 25:8

8 Ask thy ne’arim, and they will show thee. Wherefore let the ne’arim find chen (favor, grace) in thine eyes; for we come on yom tov; give, now, whatsoever cometh to thine yad unto thy avadim, and to thy ben, Dovid.

Shmuel Alef 25:8 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 25:8

Ask thy young men, and they will show thee
The shepherds before mentioned, who kept their flocks hard by them:

wherefore let the young men find favour in thine eyes;
the ten young men David sent to Nabal:

for we are come in a good day;
a day in which Nabal made a feast for his shearers, as was usual then, and still is, see ( 2 Samuel 13:23-28 ) ; and at such times as persons are generally cheerful and merry, so free and liberal, and as there were plenty of provisions, not only enough for the guests and shearers, but to spare, and there was no need for an increase of expense, it might upon the whole be concluded it was a proper time for David to apply for accommodations for himself and his men:

give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants,
and to thy son David;
he did not request anything extraordinary of him, or to put him to any expense, but what was at hand, and he could spare, he prayed him to deliver to the young men he sent, for their use, and the use of other his servants, and particularly David, who styled himself his son, being of the same tribe with Nabal, and Nabal his senior.

Shmuel Alef 25:8 In-Context

6 And thus shall ye say to him, Koh lechai (good fortune to you), shalom to thee, shalom to thine bais, shalom unto all that thou hast.
7 And now I have heard that thou hast shearers; now thy ro’im (shepherds) which were with us, we hurt them not, and nothing was missing by them, all the while they were in Carmel.
8 Ask thy ne’arim, and they will show thee. Wherefore let the ne’arim find chen (favor, grace) in thine eyes; for we come on yom tov; give, now, whatsoever cometh to thine yad unto thy avadim, and to thy ben, Dovid.
9 And when the naarei Dovid came, they spoke to Naval according to all those devarim b’shem Dovid, and ceased.
10 And Naval answered the avadim of Dovid, and said, Who is Dovid? And who is Ben Yishai? There be many avadim nowadays who break away every ish from his adon.
The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.