Tell him, ‘Long life to you! Peace be to you! Peace be to your house! Peace be to all that you have!
Parallel Translations
-
Tell him, ‘Long life to you! Peace be to you! Peace be to your house! Peace be to all that you have!
-
And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast.
-
and thus ye shall say: All hail! and peace be both unto thee, and peace be to thy house, and peace be unto all that thou hast.
Cross-references (9)
Passages linked to 1 Samuel 25:6 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Chronicles 12:18 Then the Spirit came on Amasai, who was chief of the thirty, and he said, “We are yours, David, and on your side, you son of Jesse. Peace, peace be to you, and peace be to your helpers; for your God helps you.” Then David received them, and made them captains of the band.
- Psalms 122:7 Peace be within your walls, and prosperity within your palaces.
- Luke 10:5 Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’
- 1 Timothy 5:6 But she who gives herself to pleasure is dead while she lives.
- Matthew 10:12-13 As you enter into the household, greet it. If the household is worthy, let your peace come on it, but if it isn’t worthy, let your peace return to you.
- John 14:27 Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, I give to you. Don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful.
- 2 Thessalonians 3:16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with you all.
- 2 Samuel 18:28 Ahimaaz called, and said to the king, “All is well.” He bowed himself before the king with his face to the earth, and said, “Blessed is Yahweh your God, who has delivered up the men who lifted up their hand against my lord the king!”
- 1 Thessalonians 3:8 For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Hebrew, for life.
Hebrew, for life.
Some read, so mayest thou live in prosperity the next year, both thou, etc.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1Sa 25:6 And thus shall ye say to him…
1Sa 25:6 And thus shall ye say to him that liveth [in prosperity], Peace [be] both to thee, and peace [be] to thine house, and peace [be] unto all that thou hast.
Ver. 6. And thus shall ye say to him that liveth.] Rich men only seem to live, - the Irish ask such what they meant to die; - poor people are reckoned among the dead, as it were; there is little account made of them, they stand for ciphers and shadows.
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 To him that liveth in prosperity, Heb. to him…
To him that liveth in prosperity, Heb. to him that liveth. Life is oft put for a prosperous and happy life, as in that prayer, Let the king live, 1Sa 10:24; 1Ki 1:25, and in other passages of Scripture, and other authors; for an afflicted and calamitous life is unworthy of the name of life, and is esteemed a kind of death, and oft so called, as 2Co 1:10; 11:23. By this expression David both congratulates Nabal’s felicity, and tacitly minds him of the penury and distress in which David and his men now were.
To thine house, i.e. to all thy family.
Read full note →
Unto all that thou hast; to all thy goods. So David’s prayer is very comprehensive, reaching to his soul, and body, and wife, and children, and servants, and all his estate.
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 thus shall ye say to him that liveth…
And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity,.... That lives, while others, as David and his men, might be rather said to starve than live; they lived in great meanness, but he in great abundance, and therefore in a capacity to give to others, and particularly to relieve them: or the sense is, they should say to him, "thus" shall it be, or may it be "for life": for the time of life, for the year to come; at this time next year, at next sheep shearing, mayest thou be in as great prosperity then as now, and even all the days of thy life:
peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast; that is, all prosperity to thy person in soul and body, to thy family, wife, children and servants, and let the same attend thy estate, cattle, farms, fields, vineyards, and all that belong to thee; and wish for a blessing on him, and his, and all that were his, or he had; a more extensive one could not well be made.
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 Prosperity - By this expression David both congratulates Nabal's…
Prosperity - By this expression David both congratulates Nabal's felicity, and tacitly minds him of the distress in which he and his men were.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 6. Peace be both to thee] This is…
Verse 6. Peace be both to thee] This is the ancient form of sending greetings to a friend: Peace to THEE, peace to thy HOUSEHOLD, and peace to all that THOU HAST. That is, May both thyself, thy family, and all that pertain unto thee, be in continual prosperity!
Perhaps David, by this salutation, wished Nabal to understand that he had acted so towards him and his property that nothing had been destroyed, and that all had been protected; see 1Sa 25:15-17.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain That liveth in prosperity - The Hebrew is obscure,…
That liveth in prosperity - The Hebrew is obscure, and is variously interpreted. The simplest rendering is, “And ye shall say thus about (his) life,” i. e., with reference to his life, health, circumstances, etc.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 6. That liveth in prosperity — It is better…
6. That liveth in prosperity — It is better to regard the word לחיas a salutation, For life! that is, Health! Prosperity! Then render: Thus shall ye say, Health! Peace be both to thee, etc.
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 6. to him that liveth in prosperity] The meaning…
6. to him that liveth in prosperity] The meaning of the single Heb. word thus rendered is exceedingly obscure. It seems best to explain it as an exclamation, “Hail!” literally, “For life!”
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.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (6) And thus shall ye say.—On such a festive…
(6) And thus shall ye say.—On such a festive occasion near a town or village, an Arab sheik of the neighbouring desert would hardly fail to put in a word, either in person or by message; and his message, both in form and substance, would be only the transcript of that of David.—Robinson, Palestine, p. 201.
To him that liveth in prosperity.—Considerable diversity of opinion exists as to the meaning of the Hebrew original here, lechai. The Vulg. alters the text slightly, and renders “to my brother.” The LXX. have an impossible translation—“eis horas,” for times, or for seasons. It is better, however, to take it as a popular expression of congratulation, not found, as Lange well puts it, in the literary language. So Luther, “glück auf,” “may it turn out well,” “may you be prosperous.” The famous Hebrew commentator Raschi, and also the Babylonian Talmud, apparently understand it in this sense.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 6-8. Say to him that liveth in prosperity.…
Vers. 6-8. Say to him that liveth in prosperity. The Hebrew is obscure, but the rendering of the A.V is untenable, and also very tame. Literally it is, "Ye shall say to him, For life!" Probably it was a colloquial form of greeting, and equivalent to "good luck, "success," life in Hebrew being sometimes used for prosperity. So Luther translates it, and Rashi and the Babylonian Talmud are also in its favour. The reading of the Vulgate, "To thy brothers" (be peace), is to be altogether rejected. We hurt them not. Literally, "we caused them no shame", (see Jud_1:18:7) we did nothing to vex and injure them. Really the words mean that David had protected them, and enabled them to feed their flocks in safety. The fact that David waited till the sheep shearing, when hospitality was the rule, proves that he did not levy blackmail upon his countrymen, though necessarily he must have depended upon them for the food indispensabIe for the support of his men. A good day. Ie. a festive day, which should bring us a share in thy prosperity. Thy son David. A title expressive of the reverence due from the youthful David to his senior, and an acknowledgment of Nabal"s superiority over his fugitive neighbour.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.