1 Samuel 25:26

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.)

1 Samuel 25:26 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 25:26

Now therefore, my lord, [as] the Lord liveth, and [as] thy
soul liveth
Which is an oath, and respects either what goes before, that she never saw the young men that were sent to Nabal, or to what follows, the providence of God in preventing David from shedding blood, which she was sure of by an impulse on her own mind, and by observing a change in David's countenance:

seeing the Lord hath withholden thee from coming to [shed] blood, and
from avenging thyself with thine own hand;
she does not impute this to her prudence, and the provision she made to appease David, and prevent him from shedding the blood he intended, and taking the vengeance he had resolved on; but to the Lord, and the interposition of his providence, which she knew would have its weight on the mind of so good a man as David was; who upon reflection would be thankful that he had been prevented from shedding innocent blood, as the Targum calls it:

now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal;
meaning Saul and those with him, wishing they might be as inconsiderable as Nabal; as unable, as weak, and impotent as he to do him any hurt, and as short lived, and cut off by the hand God, as he would be; for, according to Jarchi, she prophesied under the direction of the Holy Spirit. It may be observed that in ( 1 Samuel 25:24-31 ) , she frequently gives David the title of "my lord", in reverence of him, and to atone for the rudeness and insolence of her husband, in speaking of him as a runaway servant, ( 1 Samuel 25:10 ) .

1 Samuel 25:26 In-Context

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.