She arose, and bowed herself with her face to the earth, and said, “Behold, your servant is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.”
Parallel Translations
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She arose, and bowed herself with her face to the earth, and said, “Behold, your servant is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.”
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And she arose, and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.
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And she arose, and bowed down with her face to the earth, and said: 'Behold, thy handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.'
Cross-references (7)
Passages linked to 1 Samuel 25:41 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Timothy 5:10 being approved by good works, if she has brought up children, if she has been hospitable to strangers, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, and if she has diligently followed every good work.
- Ruth 2:10 Then she fell on her face and bowed herself to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight, that you should take knowledge of me, since I am a foreigner?”
- John 13:3-5 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he came from God, and was going to God, arose from supper, and laid aside his outer garments. He took a towel and wrapped a towel around his waist. Then he poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
- Genesis 18:4 Now let a little water be fetched, wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.
- Proverbs 15:33 The fear of Yahweh teaches wisdom. Before honor is humility.
- Proverbs 18:12 Before destruction the heart of man is proud, but before honor is humility.
- Ruth 2:13 Then she said, “Let me find favor in your sight, my lord, because you have comforted me, and because you have spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not as one of your servants.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (7 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1Sa 25:41 And she arose, and bowed herself on…
1Sa 25:41 And she arose, and bowed herself on [her] face to the earth, and said, Behold, [let] thine handmaid [be] a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.
Ver. 41. Behold, let thine handmaid be a servant.] A most lowly and lovely compliment: wherein also she expresseth her faith, in thinking so highly of David, when he was at such an under. He also showed his trust in God, by taking a wife in the midst of so many troubles.
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 She showed this reverence, and spake thus to them,…
She showed this reverence, and spake thus to them, as representing David’s person.
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 she arose, and bowed herself on her face…
And she arose, and bowed herself on her face to the earth,.... As she did before David, Sa1 25:23; and did as she would have done had he been present, considering his messengers as representing him and therefore showed the same respect and reverence and did the same honour, as if he had been there in person:
and said; expressed herself in such language as if David had been before her:
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behold, let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord; which she said through her great humility, this being one of the meanest services she could be put to; intimating, that she was so far from being worthy to be the wife of such a man that she was only fit and it would be honour enough to her to perform the meanest services to those that waited upon him; or her sense is that it would be enough for her to be the wife of one of David's servants, and not his; it being the business of a wife, as Ben Gersom observes to wash the feet of her husband.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Thy servant. She speaks to David’s representatives, as if…
Thy servant. She speaks to David’s representatives, as if he had been present. (Haydock) --- The marriage was proposed probably a month or two after the death of Nabal; and Abigail followed the messengers, in a short time. (Menochius)
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).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 41. To wash the feet — To perform the…
41. To wash the feet — To perform the most humble services.
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 41. and bowed herself, &c.] With the obsequiousness characteristic…
41. and bowed herself, &c.] With the obsequiousness characteristic of Oriental nations, she expresses her devotion both by gesture and word. “Washing the feet” like “loosing the shoe-latchet” (Mar_1:7) was the service of the meanest slaves.
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.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 She arose, bowed herself
She arose, bowed herself
Abigail responded by bowing. The reader should understand that she was probably already standing when the men were talking to her in 1 Samuel 25:40, and so the word "arose" is a metonym for deciding to bow down. (See: Metonymy)
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See, your female servant is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my master
Abigail speaks as if she were another person to show that she is humble. She shows that she desires to be David's new wife by offering to wash the feet of David's servants. AT: "See, I will serve you, the servants of my master David, by washing your feet" (See: Pronouns)
hurried and arose, and rode
You may need to make explicit what Abigail did after she arose and before she rode. AT: "quickly did what she needed to do to prepare for the journey, and then she rode" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
five servant girls of hers who followed her
Abigail was riding a donkey, but the servant girls were walking.
translationWords
raise
bow
servant
donkey
messenger
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.