When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed is Yahweh, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from evil. Yahweh has returned the evildoing of Nabal on his own head.” David sent and spoke concerning Abigail, to take her to himself as wife.
Parallel Translations
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When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed is Yahweh, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from evil. Yahweh has returned the evildoing of Nabal on his own head.” David sent and spoke concerning Abigail, to take her to himself as wife.
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And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the LORD, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil: for the LORD hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to him to wife.
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And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said: 'Blessed be the LORD, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept back His servant from evil; and the evil-doing of Nabal hath the LORD returned upon his own head.' And David sent and spoke concerning Abigail, to take her to him to wife.
Cross-references (24)
Passages linked to 1 Samuel 25:39 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Samuel 25:26 Now therefore, my lord, as Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, since Yahweh has withheld you from blood guiltiness, and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now therefore let your enemies, and those who seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.
- 1 Samuel 25:34 For indeed, as Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, who has withheld me from harming you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely there wouldn’t have been left to Nabal by the morning light so much as one who urinates on a wall.”
- Proverbs 22:23 for Yahweh will plead their case, and plunder the life of those who plunder them.
- 1 Samuel 24:15 May Yahweh therefore be judge, and give sentence between me and you, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of your hand.”
- 1 Samuel 25:32 David said to Abigail, “Blessed is Yahweh, the God of Israel, who sent you today to meet me!
- 1 Kings 2:44 The king said moreover to Shimei, “You know in your heart all the wickedness that you did to David my father. Therefore Yahweh will return your wickedness on your own head.
- Psalms 7:16 The trouble he causes shall return to his own head. His violence shall come down on the crown of his own head.
- Judges 5:2 “Because the leaders took the lead in Israel, because the people offered themselves willingly, be blessed, Yahweh!
- 2 Samuel 3:28-29 Afterward, when David heard it, he said, “I and my kingdom are guiltless before Yahweh forever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner. Let it fall on the head of Joab, and on all his father’s house. Let there not fail from the house of Joab one who has a discharge, or who is a leper, or who leans on a staff, or who falls by the sword, or who lacks bread.”
- 2 Samuel 22:47-49 Yahweh lives! Blessed be my rock! Exalted be God, the rock of my salvation, even the God who executes vengeance for me, who brings down peoples under me, who brings me away from my enemies. Yes, you lift me up above those who rise up against me. You deliver me from the violent man.
- Esther 7:10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s wrath was pacified.
- Psalms 58:10-11 The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked, so that men shall say, “Most certainly there is a reward for the righteous. Most certainly there is a God who judges the earth.”
- Proverbs 18:22 Whoever finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor of Yahweh.
- Proverbs 19:14 House and riches are an inheritance from fathers, but a prudent wife is from Yahweh.
- Proverbs 31:10 Who can find a worthy woman? For her price is far above rubies.
- Proverbs 31:30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain; but a woman who fears Yahweh, she shall be praised.
- Song of Solomon 8:8 We have a little sister. She has no breasts. What shall we do for our sister in the day when she is to be spoken for?
- Lamentations 3:58-60 Lord, you have pleaded the causes of my soul. You have redeemed my life. Yahweh, you have seen my wrong. Judge my cause. You have seen all their vengeance and all their plans against me.
- Hosea 2:6-7 Therefore behold, I will hedge up your way with thorns, and I will build a wall against her, that she can’t find her way. She will follow after her lovers, but she won’t overtake them; and she will seek them, but won’t find them. Then she will say, ‘I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.’
- Micah 7:9 I will bear the indignation of Yahweh, because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my case, and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light. I will see his righteousness.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:23 May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- 2 Timothy 4:18 And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me for his heavenly Kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
- Revelation 19:1-4 After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation, power, and glory belong to our God; for his judgments are true and righteous. For he has judged the great prostitute, who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality, and he has avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.” A second said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke goes up forever and ever.” The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne, saying, “Amen! Hallelujah!”
- 2 Corinthians 13:7 Now I pray to God that you do no evil; not that we may appear approved, but that you may do that which is honorable, though we are as reprobate.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain For he had experience of her great godliness, wisdom…
For he had experience of her great godliness, wisdom and humility.
Or, revenged.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1Sa 25:39 And when David heard that Nabal was…
1Sa 25:39 And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed [be] the LORD, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil: for the LORD hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to him to wife.
Ver. 39. And hath kept his servant from evil.] It is a very great mercy when God either leadeth us not into temptation, or delivereth us from the evil of it, or, lastly, raiseth us again by repentance; since it is not the falling into the water that drowneth, but the too long lying under it.
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For the Lord hath returned the wickedness of Nabal.] So, little is there lost by making God our umpire. He that saith, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay it," repayeth ofttimes when we have forgiven, when we have forgotten; and calleth to reckoning after our discharges.
To take her to him to wife.] Finding her every way so fit for him, and that it would be an honest, pleasant, profitable, and comfortable marriage.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain How could David rejoice at the death of his…
How could David rejoice at the death of his enemy?
Answ. Although it may be said that he rejoiced not in Nabal’s death as such, but only in the declaration of God’s justice in punishing so great a wickedness; which was an honour to God, and a document, and therefore a benefit to mankind, and so a public good, and cause of joy; yet the matter is not weighty, if we confess that this was another instance of human infirmity in David, and that it is not proposed for our imitation, but for our caution. Yet it may be further said, that this was not purely an act of private revenge, because David was a public person, and anointed king; and therefore Nabal’s reproach cast upon David above, 1Sa 25:10,11, was a contempt of God, and of his ordinance and appointment; which was vindicated by this remarkable judgment.
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Hath kept his servant from evil, i.e. from the sin of bloodshed and self-revenge, 1Sa 25:33.
David sent, to wit, messengers; which he thought fitter than to go himself; partly because if he had met with a repulse, it had been less ignominious; and partly because he would leave her to her freedom and choice, and would not so much as seem to take her by violence. But this doubtless was not done immediately after Nabal’s death, but in some convenient space of time after it; though such circumstances be commonly omitted in the sacred history, which gives only the threads and most important passages of things.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And when David heard that Nabal was dead,.... As…
And when David heard that Nabal was dead,.... As he soon might, Maon and Carmel not being far from the wilderness where David was:
he said, blessed be the Lord, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal; not that he rejoiced at the death of Nabal, simply considered, or from a private spirit of revenge; but because of the glory of divine justice, which he had shown to him in vindicating him from the reproach Nabal had cast upon him, and particularly was thankful for what follows:
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and hath kept his servant from evil; from slaying Nabal with his own hand, and doing hurt to his family:
for the Lord hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head; and upon no other, none of his family suffered but himself, and which was another cause of thankfulness to David; had he been suffered to have done as he in his wrath determined, not only Nabal, but all the males in his house, had been cut off; but now, through the righteous judgment of God, only Nabal suffered, and not any of his family:
and David sent and communed with Abigail; by his messengers to her; or "concerning" her (h), about marrying her:
to take her to him to wife; for being both a beautiful and wise woman, he thought her a proper person to be his wife; which she might lawfully become, Nabal being dead, and Michal, David's wife, being taken from him, and given to another man, with whom she lived in adultery; or as divorced by David, as the Jews say, David by the law of God was free from her. These messengers were sent by David at a convenient time, at a proper distance from the death of Nabal; and he chose rather to send messengers than to go himself, lest being denied he should be put to shame, she being a rich widow, and he a poor persecuted man, and that her answer might be entirely free and unawed by him, and that it might appear that she was not taken to him by force; and besides, such a method has been always reckoned most honourable with great personages.
(h) , Sept. "de Abigail", Vatabulus.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Blessed, &c. - This was another instance of human…
Blessed, &c. - This was another instance of human infirmity in David. David sent - But this doubtless was not done immediately after Nabal's death, but some time after it; though such circumstances be commonly omitted in the sacred history; which gives only the heads, and most important passages of things.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 39. To take her to him to wife.]…
Verse 39. To take her to him to wife.] It is likely that he had heard before this that Saul, to cut off all his pretensions to the throne, had married Michal to Phalti; and this justified David in taking Abigail or any other woman; and, according to the then custom, it was not unlawful for David to take several wives. By his marriage with Abigail, it is probable he became possessed of all Nabal's property in Carmel and Maon.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 1Sa 25:39. Blessed, &c. — This was another instance…
1Sa 25:39. Blessed, &c. — This was another instance of human infirmity in David. David sent — But this doubtless was not done immediately after Nabal’s death, but some time after it; though such circumstances be commonly omitted in the sacred history, which gives only the heads and most important passages of things.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Blessed be, &c. David praises God on this occasion,…
Blessed be, &c. David praises God on this occasion, not out of joy for the death of Nabal, (which would have argued a rancour of heart) but because he saw that God had so visibly taken his cause in hand, in punishing the injury done to him; whilst, by a merciful providence, he kept him from revenging himself. (Challoner) (Psalm lvii. 10.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain the Lord hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon…
the Lord hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head--If this was an expression of pleasure, and David's vindictive feelings were gratified by the intelligence of Nabal's death, it was an instance of human infirmity which we may lament; but perhaps he referred to the unmerited reproach (Sa1 25:10-11), and the contempt of God implied in it.
David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to wife--This unceremonious proceeding was quite in the style of Eastern monarchs, who no sooner take a fancy for a lady than they despatch a messenger to intimate their royal wishes that she should henceforth reside in the palace; and her duty is implicitly to obey. David's conduct shows that the manners of the Eastern nations were already imitated by the great men in Israel; and that the morality of the times which God permitted, gave its sanction to the practice of polygamy. His marriage with Abigail brought him a rich estate.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 39. My reproach — The disgrace and contempt David…
39. My reproach — The disgrace and contempt David received from Nabal.
David sent… to take her to… wife — How soon after Nabal’s death is not said, but probably not long. She doubtless mourned, according to custom, a set time for her husband, (comp. 2Sa_11:26,) but the haste with which, seemingly, David consummated his marriage with her as ill agrees with our notions of propriety as does his polygamy with our Christian law of marriage.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 39–44. David’s marriage with Abigail
39–44. David’s marriage with Abigail
39. pleaded the cause, &c.] Exacted from Nabal a due penalty for the injury he did me. Cp. 1Sa_24:15. In those days godly men looked for visible judgments upon the wicked in this world, and rejoiced in them as a vindication of God’s righteous government.
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hath kept his servant from evil, &c.] The E. V. misses the striking contrast between David and Nabal. Render, hath restrained his servant from wickedness, but the wickedness of Nabal hath Jehovah returned upon his own head.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 39-42. Hath pleaded the cause of my reproach.…
Vers. 39-42. Hath pleaded the cause of my reproach. In the causes tried at the gate of an Israelite city the friends of the accused both pleaded his cause, defended him from wrong, and punished any who had wronged him. So God had avenged David, while preventing him by Abigail s interference from avenging himself. (see 1Sa_24:13) As a widow"s legal mourning seems to have lasted only seven days, David, on hearing of Nabal"s death, sent messengers to Abigail at Carmel to ask her in marriage. He was probably moved to this not merely by her sensible conduct, but also by the news that Michal had been given to another. She expresses her willingness in true Oriental fashion by saying she was ready to perform the most abject menial duties, even for his servants, and at once with five maidens proceeds to join him. It is a proof that David considered himself practically secure against Saul"s attempts that he thus married and allowed women to accompany his small force, as their presence would not only impede the rapidity of his movements, but also implies a certain amount of case and comfort for their maintenance.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
David offers to protect Abigail by marrying her.
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May Yahweh be blessed
This can be translated in active form. See how you translated this in 1 Samuel 25:32. Possible meanings are 1) AT: "I praise Yahweh" or 2) AT: "May all people praise Yahweh" (See: Active or Passive)
has taken up the cause of my insult from the hand of Nabal
This is an idiom. AT: "has defended me after Nabal insulted me" (See: Idiom)
has taken up the cause of my insult
The abstract nouns "cause" and "insult" can be translated as verbs. Possible meanings are 1) AT: "has shown that what I was doing was right by punishing Nabal for insulting me" or 2) AT: "has acted, when Nabal insulted me, as if Nabal had insulted him" (See: Active or Passive)
has kept back his servant from evil
David speaks as if he were another person to show his respect for Yahweh. AT: "has kept me back from doing evil deeds" (See: Pronouns)
has turned Nabal's evil action back on his own head
The abstract noun "action" can be translated as a verb. AT: "has done to Nabal what Nabal planned to do to me" (See: Abstract Nouns)
on his own head
The head is a synecdoche for the person. AT: "on him" (See: Synecdoche)
sent and spoke to Abigail, to take her to himself as wife
You may make clear the understood information. AT: "sent men to speak to Abigail and tell her that David wanted to take her to be his wife" (See: Ellipsis)
translationWords
David
die
Yahweh
bless
evil
head
servant
Carmel
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 25:39 Nabal’s death was God’s punishment for his sin.…
25:39 Nabal’s death was God’s punishment for his sin. David could not be accused of vengeful murder. • David lost no time in asking Abigail to become his wife. She had already shown herself to be a woman of good sense, and she was also beautiful (25:3).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.