(KJV) 1 Samuel 251

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⥃The Death of Samuel

[1] And Samuel2 died; and all the Israelites were gathered together, and lamented3 him, and buried him in his house4 at Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness5 of Paran.6

⥃David, Nabal, and Abigail

[2] And [there was] a man in Maon7, whose possessions [were8] in Carmel9; and the man10 [was] very great, and he had three thousand11 sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing12 his sheep in Carmel13. [3] Now the name of the man [was] Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and [she was] a woman of good14 understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man [was] churlish15 and evil in his doings; and he [was16] of the house of Caleb.

[4] [¶]And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear17 his sheep. [5] And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him18 in my name: [6] And thus shall ye say to him that liveth19 [in prosperity], Peace [be] both20 to thee, and peace [be] to thine house, and peace [be] unto all that thou hast. [7] And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds21 which were with us, we hurt22 them not, neither was there ought missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel. [8] Ask thy young men, and they will shew thee. Wherefore let the young men find favour in thine eyes: for we come in a good day23: give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants, and to thy son24 David. [9] And when David’s young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased25.

[10] [¶]And Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, Who [is] David26? and who [is] the son of Jesse? there be27 many servants now a days that break away every man from his master. [11] Shall I then28 take my bread, and my water, and my flesh29 that I have killed for my shearers, and give [it30] unto men, whom31 I know not whence they [be]? [12] So David’s young men turned their way, and went again, and came32 and told him all those sayings. [13] And David said unto his men, Gird ye33 on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also34 girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred35 abode by the stuff.

[14] [¶]But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed on them36. [15] But the men [were] very good37 unto us, and we were not hurt38, neither missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields: [16] They were a wall39 unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. [17] Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil40 is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he [is such] a son of Belial41, that [a man42] cannot speak to him.

⥃Abigail Intercedes for Nabal

[18] Then Abigail made haste43, and took two44 hundred loaves, and two bottles45 of wine, and five sheep46 ready dressed, and five measures of parched [corn], and an hundred clusters47 of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs48, and laid [them] on asses. [19] And she said unto her servants, Go49 on before me; behold, I come after you. But50 she told not her husband Nabal. [20] And it was [so], [as] she rode51 on the ass, that she came down52 by the covert of the hill, and, behold, David and his men came down against her; and she met them. [21] Now David had said, Surely53 in vain have I kept all that this [fellow] hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that [pertained] unto him: and he hath requited54 me evil for good. [22] So and more55 also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave56 of all that [pertain] to him by the morning light any that pisseth57 against the wall. [23] And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted58 off the ass, and fell59 before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, [24] And fell60 at his feet, and said, Upon61 me, my lord, [upon] me [let this] iniquity [be]: and let thine62 handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience63, and hear the words of thine handmaid. [25] Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard64 this man of Belial65, [even] Nabal66: for as his name [is], so [is] he; Nabal [is] his name, and folly [is] with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send. [26] Now therefore, my lord, [as] the Lord liveth67, and [as] thy68 soul liveth, seeing the Lord hath69 withholden thee from70 coming to [shed] blood, and from avenging thyself71 with thine own hand, now let72 thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal. [27] And now this blessing73 which thine handmaid hath brought unto my lord, let it even be given unto the young men that follow74 my lord. [28] I pray thee, forgive75 the trespass of thine handmaid: for the Lord76 will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth77 the battles of the Lord, and evil hath78 not been found in thee [all] thy days. [29] Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound79 in the bundle of life with the Lord80 thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out81, [as out] of the middle of a sling82. [30] And it shall come to pass, when the Lord shall have done to my lord according83 to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel; [31] That this shall be no grief84 unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged85 himself: but when the Lord shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember86 thine handmaid.

[32] And David said to Abigail, Blessed [be] the Lord God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me:8788 [33] And blessed89 [be] thy advice, and blessed [be] thou, which hast90 kept me this day from coming to [shed] blood, and from avenging91 myself with mine own hand. [34] For in very deed, [as] the Lord God of Israel liveth, which hath kept me back92 from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted93 and come to meet me, surely there had94 not been left unto Nabal by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall. [35] So David received of her hand [that] which she had brought him, and said unto her, Go up95 in peace to thine house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted96 thy person.

[36] And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast97 in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal’s heart [was] merry98 within him, for he [was] very drunken: wherefore she told him99 nothing, less or more, until the morning light. [37] But it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, and his wife had told him100 these things, that his heart101 died within him, and he became [as] a stone. [38] And it came to pass about ten days [after], that the Lord102 smote Nabal, that he died.

⥃David Marries Abigail

[39] [¶]And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed103 [be] the Lord, that hath pleaded104 the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant105 from evil: for the Lord hath returned106 the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her107 to him to wife. [40] And when the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, they spake unto her, saying, David sent108 us unto thee, to take thee to him to wife. [41] And she arose, and bowed herself on [her] face to the earth, and said, Behold, [let] thine109 handmaid [be] a servant to wash110 the feet of the servants of my lord. [42] And Abigail111 hasted, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that went after her112; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife. [43] David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel113; and they were also both114 of them his wives115.

[44] [¶]But Saul116 had given Michal117 his daughter, David’s wife, to Phalti118 the son of Laish, which [was] of Gallim119.

<< 1 Samuel 24 1 Samuel 26 >>

  1. 1Sam 25:1, Samuel dies; 1Sam 25:2, David in Paran sends to Nabal; 1Sam 25:10, Provoked by Nabal’s churlishness, he minds to destroy him; 1Sam 25:14, Abigail understanding thereof, 1Sam 25:18, takes a present; 1Sam 25:23, and by her wisdom, 1Sam 25:32, pacifies David; 1Sam 25:36, Nabal hearing thereof, dies; 1Sam 25:39, David takes Abigail and Ahinoam to be his wives; 1Sam 25:44, Michal is given to Phalti. ↩

  2. 1Sam 28:3 ↩

  3. Gen 50:11; Num 20:29; Deut 34:8; Acts 8:2 ↩

  4. 1Sam 7:17; 1Kgs 2:34; 2Chr 33:20; Isa 14:18 ↩

  5. Gen 14:6, Gen 21:21; Num 10:12, Num 12:16, Num 13:3, Num 13:26; Ps 120:5 ↩

  6. am 2944, bc 1060, An, Ex, Is 431 ↩

  7. 1Sam 23:24 ↩

  8. or, business was ↩

  9. Not the famous mount Carmel, in the north of Canaan, and in the tribe of Asher; but a city, on a mountain of the same name, in the south of Judah, which seems to have given name to the surrounding territory. Eusebius and Jerome inform us, that there was in their time a town called Carmelia, ten miles east from Hebron, where the Romans kept a garrison, whose position well agrees with this Carmel. ↩

  10. Gen 26:13; 2Sam 19:32; Ps 17:14, Ps 73:3-7; Luke 16:19-25 ↩

  11. Gen 13:2; Job 1:3, Job 42:12 ↩

  12. This was a very ancient custom, and appears to have been always attended with festivity. The ancient Romans, however, used to pluck off the wool from the sheep's backs; and hence a fleece was called vellus, a vellendo, from plucking it off. Pliny says, that in his time sheep were not shorn every where, but in some places the wool was still plucked off. Gen 38:13; 2Sam 13:23-24 ↩

  13. 1Sam 30:5; Josh 15:55 ↩

  14. Prov 14:1, Prov 31:26, Prov 31:30-31 ↩

  15. 1Sam 25:10-11, 1Sam 25:17; Ps 10:3; Isa 32:5-7 ↩

  16. Wehoo calibbee, literally, "and he was a Calebite;" but as the word cailev signifies a dog, the Septuagint has understood it as implying a man of canine disposition, and translated it, και ανθρωπος κυνικος, "and he was a doggish man." It is understood in the same way by the Syriac and Arabic. ↩

  17. Gen 38:13; 2Sam 13:23 ↩

  18. etc. Heb. ask him in my name of peace, 1Sam 17:22; Gen 43:23 ↩

  19. 1Thess 3:8; 1Tim 5:6 ↩

  20. 2Sam 18:28 *marg. 1Chr 12:18; Ps 122:7; Matt 10:12-13; Luke 10:5; John 14:27; 2Thess 3:16 ↩

  21. In those times, and at the present day, wandering Arabs, under their several chiefs, think that they have a right to exact contributions of provisions, etc., wherever they come. But David, though he lived in the wilderness like the Arab emirs, had not adopted their manners. One of them, at the head of 600 men, would have demanded, from time to time, some provision or present from Nabal's servants, for permitting them to feed at quiet; and would have driven them away from the watering place upon any dislike. David had done nothing of this kind; but had protected them against those who would. ↩

  22. Heb. we shamed, 1Sam 25:15-16, 1Sam 25:21, 1Sam 22:2; Isa 11:6-9; Luke 3:14; Phil 2:15, Phil 4:8 ↩

  23. Neh 8:10-12; Esth 9:19; Eccl 11:2; Luke 11:41, Luke 14:12-14 ↩

  24. 1Sam 3:6, 1Sam 24:11 ↩

  25. Heb. rested, or, became quiet, Gen 8:4; 2Kgs 2:15; 2Chr 14:7 ↩

  26. 1Sam 20:30, 1Sam 22:7-8; Exod 5:2; Judg 9:28; 2Sam 20:1; 1Kgs 12:16; Ps 73:7-8; Ps 123:3-4; Isa 32:5, Isa 32:7 ↩

  27. 1Sam 22:2; Eccl 7:10 ↩

  28. 1Sam 25:3, 1Sam 24:13; Deut 8:17; Judg 8:6; Job 31:17; Ps 73:7-8; 1Pet 4:9 ↩

  29. Heb. slaughter ↩

  30. Eccl 11:1-2; Gal 6:10 ↩

  31. 1Sam 25:14-15; John 9:29-30; 2Cor 6:9 ↩

  32. 2Sam 24:13; Isa 36:21-22; Heb 13:17 ↩

  33. Josh 9:14; Prov 14:29, Prov 16:32, Prov 19:2, Prov 19:11, Prov 25:8; Jas 1:19-20 ↩

  34. 1Sam 24:5-6; Rom 12:19-21 ↩

  35. 1Sam 30:9-10, 1Sam 30:21-24 ↩

  36. Heb. flew upon them, Mark 15:29 ↩

  37. 1Sam 25:7, 1Sam 25:21; Phil 2:15 ↩

  38. Heb. shamed ↩

  39. Exod 14:22; Job 1:10; Jer 15:20; Zech 2:5 ↩

  40. 1Sam 20:7, 1Sam 20:9, 1Sam 20:33; 2Chr 25:16; Esth 7:7 ↩

  41. 1Sam 25:25, 1Sam 2:12; Deut 13:13; Judg 19:22; 2Sam 23:6-7; 1Kgs 21:10, 1Kgs 21:13; 2Chr 13:7 ↩

  42. 1Sam 20:32-33; 2Kgs 5:13-14 ↩

  43. 1Sam 25:34; Num 16:46-48; Prov 6:4-5; Matt 5:25 ↩

  44. The Eastern bread is generally both thin and small; and answers to our cakes. Gen 32:13-20, Gen 43:11-14; 2Sam 17:28-29; Prov 18:16, Prov 21:14 ↩

  45. That is, two goatskins' full. ↩

  46. Not one sheep to one hundred men. ↩

  47. Heb. lumps, Raisins dried in the sun, 2Sam 16:1 ↩

  48. Figs cured and then pressed together. Now all this provision was a matter of little worth; and had it been granted in the first instance, it would have perfectly satisfied David, and secured his good offices. ↩

  49. Gen 32:16, Gen 32:20 ↩

  50. Prov 31:11-12, Prov 31:27 ↩

  51. 2Kgs 4:24 ↩

  52. David was coming down mount Paran; Abigail was coming down from Carmel. ↩

  53. 1Sam 25:13; Job 30:8; Ps 37:8; Eph 4:26, Eph 4:31; 1Thess 5:15; 1Pet 2:21-23, 1Pet 3:9 ↩

  54. Gen 44:4; Ps 35:12, Ps 38:20, Ps 109:3-5; Prov 17:13; Jer 18:20; Rom 12:21; 1Pet 2:20, 1Pet 3:17 ↩

  55. Nothing can justify this conduct of David, which was rash, unjust, and cruel in the extreme. David himself condemns it, and thanks God for being prevented from executing this evil (1Sam 25:32-34). 1Sam 3:17, 1Sam 14:44, 1Sam 20:13, 1Sam 20:16; Ruth 1:17 ↩

  56. 1Sam 25:34 ↩

  57. etc. This seems to have been a proverbial expression among the Israelites; and may with the utmost propriety be read "any male." 1Kgs 14:10, 1Kgs 16:11, 1Kgs 21:21; 2Kgs 9:8 ↩

  58. Josh 15:18; Judg 1:14 ↩

  59. 1Sam 20:41, 1Sam 24:8 ↩

  60. 2Kgs 4:37; Esth 8:3; Matt 18:29 ↩

  61. 1Sam 25:28; Gen 44:33-34; 2Sam 14:9; Phlm 1:18-19 ↩

  62. Gen 44:18; 2Sam 14:12 ↩

  63. Heb. ears ↩

  64. Heb. lay it to his heart, 2Sam 13:33; Isa 42:25; Mal 2:2 ↩

  65. 1Sam 25:17, 1Sam 25:26 ↩

  66. that is, fool ↩

  67. 1Sam 25:34, 1Sam 22:3; 2Kgs 2:2, 2Kgs 4:6 ↩

  68. 1Sam 1:26 ↩

  69. 1Sam 25:33; Gen 20:6 ↩

  70. Rom 12:19-20 ↩

  71. Heb. saving thyself, Ps 18:47-48, Ps 44:3 ↩

  72. 2Sam 18:32; Jer 29:22; Dan 4:19 ↩

  73. or, present, 1Sam 30:26; Gen 33:11; 2Kgs 5:15; 2Cor 9:5 ↩

  74. Heb. walk at the feet of, 1Sam 25:42 *marg. Judg 4:10; 2Sam 16:2 ↩

  75. 1Sam 25:24 ↩

  76. 1Sam 15:28; 2Sam 7:11, 2Sam 7:16, 2Sam 7:27; 1Kgs 9:5; 1Chr 17:10, 1Chr 17:25; Ps 89:29 ↩

  77. 1Sam 17:47, 1Sam 18:17; 2Sam 5:2; 2Chr 20:15; Eph 6:10-11 ↩

  78. 1Sam 24:6-7, 1Sam 24:11, 1Sam 24:17; 1Kgs 15:5; Ps 119:1-3; Matt 5:16; Luke 23:41, Luke 23:47 ↩

  79. The metaphors in this verse are derived from the consideration, that things of value are collected together, and often tied up in bundles, like sheaves of corn, to prevent their being scattered and lost, and that whatever is put into a sling is not intended to be preserved, but to be thrown away. 1Sam 2:9; Gen 15:1; Deut 33:29; Ps 66:9, Ps 116:15; Mal 3:17; Matt 10:29-30 ↩

  80. John 10:27-30, John 14:19, John 17:21, John 17:23; Col 3:3-4; 1Pet 1:5 ↩

  81. Jer 10:18 ↩

  82. Heb. in the midst of the bow of a sling ↩

  83. 1Sam 13:14, 1Sam 15:28, 1Sam 23:17; Ps 89:20 ↩

  84. Heb. staggering, or, stumbling, Prov 5:12-13; Rom 14:21; 2Cor 1:12 ↩

  85. 1Sam 25:33, 1Sam 24:15, 1Sam 26:23; 2Sam 22:48; Ps 94:1; Rom 12:19 ↩

  86. 1Sam 25:40; Gen 40:14; Luke 23:42 ↩

  87. David overlooks the rich and seasonable present of Abigail, though pressed with hunger and wearied with travel; but her advice, which disarmed his rage, and calmed his revenge, draws forth these high and affectionate gratulations. These were his joyful and glorious trophies; not over his enemies, but over himself. ↩

  88. Gen 24:27; Exod 18:10; Ezra 7:27; Ps 41:12-13, Ps 72:18; Luke 1:68; 2Cor 8:16 ↩

  89. Ps 141:5; Prov 9:9, Prov 17:10, Prov 25:12, Prov 27:21, Prov 28:23 ↩

  90. 1Sam 25:26 ↩

  91. 1Sam 25:26, 1Sam 25:31, 1Sam 24:19, 1Sam 26:9-10 ↩

  92. 1Sam 25:26 ↩

  93. 1Sam 25:18, 1Sam 11:11; Josh 10:6, Josh 10:9 ↩

  94. 1Sam 25:22 ↩

  95. 1Sam 20:42; 2Sam 15:9; 2Kgs 5:19; Luke 7:50, Luke 8:48 ↩

  96. Gen 19:21; Job 34:19 ↩

  97. 2Sam 13:23; Esth 1:3-7; Luke 14:12 ↩

  98. 2Sam 13:28; 1Kgs 20:16; Prov 20:1, Prov 23:29-35; Eccl 2:2-3, Eccl 10:19; Isa 28:3, Isa 28:7-8; Jer 51:57; Dan 5:1-5; Nah 1:10; Hab 2:15-16; Luke 21:34; Rom 13:13; Eph 5:18; 1Thess 5:7-8 ↩

  99. 1Sam 25:19; Ps 112:5; Matt 10:16; Eph 5:14 ↩

  100. 1Sam 25:22, 1Sam 25:34 ↩

  101. Deut 28:28; Job 15:21-22; Prov 23:29-35 ↩

  102. 1Sam 25:33, 1Sam 6:9; Exod 12:29; 2Kgs 15:5, 2Kgs 19:35; 2Chr 10:15; Acts 12:23 ↩

  103. 1Sam 25:32; Judg 5:2; 2Sam 22:47-49; Ps 58:10-11; Rev 19:1-4 ↩

  104. Prov 22:23; Lam 3:58-60; Mic 7:9 ↩

  105. 1Sam 25:26, 1Sam 25:34; Hos 2:6-7; 2Cor 13:7; 1Thess 5:23; 2Tim 4:18 ↩

  106. 2Sam 3:28-29; 1Kgs 2:44; Esth 7:10; Ps 7:16 ↩

  107. It is probable that David had heard that Saul, to cut off his pretensions to the throne, had married Michal to Phalti; and this justified him in taking Abigail, it not being then unlawful for a man to have several wives. This conduct of David's corresponds with the manner in which the Oriental princes generally form their matrimonial alliances. "The king of Abyssinia," says Mr. Bruce, "sends an officer to the house where the lady lives, who announces to her that it is the king's pleasure she should remove instantly to the palace. She then dresses herself in the best manner, and immediately obeys. Thenceforward he assigns her an apartment in the palace, and gives her a house elsewhere in any part she chooses." Prov 18:22, Prov 19:14, Prov 31:10, Prov 31:30 ↩

  108. Gen 24:37-38, Gen 24:51 ↩

  109. Ruth 2:10, Ruth 2:13; Prov 15:33, Prov 18:12 ↩

  110. Gen 18:4; John 13:3-5; 1Tim 5:10 ↩

  111. Gen 24:61-67; Ps 45:10-11 ↩

  112. Heb. at her feet, 1Sam 25:27 ↩

  113. Josh 15:56; 2Sam 3:2 ↩

  114. Gen 2:24; Matt 19:5, Matt 19:8 ↩

  115. 1Sam 27:3, 1Sam 30:5; 2Sam 5:13-16 ↩

  116. Rather, "For Saul," etc., as the particle ε, wav, frequently signifies; this being the cause why David took another wife. ↩

  117. 1Sam 18:20, 1Sam 18:27 ↩

  118. 2Sam 3:14, 2Sam 3:14, Phaltiel ↩

  119. This town appears to have been situated in the tribe of Benjamin, as it is mentioned in Isa 10:30, with Michmash, Geba, etc. ↩