1 Samuel 25:39

1 Samuel 25:39 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Praise be to the Lord, who has upheld my cause against Nabal for treating me with contempt. He has kept his servant from doing wrong and has brought Nabal’s wrongdoing down on his own head.” Then David sent word to Abigail, asking her to become his wife.
• English Standard Version (ESV)When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, "Blessed be the Lord who has avenged the insult I received at the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from wrongdoing. The Lord has returned the evil of Nabal on his own head." Then David sent and spoke to Abigail, to take her as his wife.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept His servant from evil! For the Lord has returned the wickedness of Nabal on his own head.” And David sent and proposed to Abigail, to take her as his wife.

Context of 1 Samuel 25:39

37The next morning, Nabal was no longer drunk. So Abigail told him about everything that she had done. Nabal's heart failed. His body became like a stone. 38About ten days after that, the Lord caused Nabal to die. David heard the news that Nabal had died. He said, ‘I praise the Lord. He has shown that I was right. Nabal insulted me but the Lord has punished him for that. The Lord stopped me from doing an evil thing. Now he has punished Nabal for the evil thing that he did.’ Then David sent a message to Abigail to ask her to marry him. 40David's servants went to Carmel. They said to Abigail, ‘David has sent us to you. We must take you back with us to become his wife.’ 41Abigail bent her body down low so that her face touched the ground. She said, ‘I am happy to be David's servant. I am ready to wash the feet of his servants.’

1 Samuel 25:39 word by word

וַיִּשְׁמַ֣ע דָּוִד֮ כִּ֣י מֵ֣ת נָבָל֒ וַיֹּ֡אמֶר בָּר֣וּךְ יְהוָ֡ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר רָב֩ אֶת־רִ֨יב חֶרְפָּתִ֜י מִיַּ֣ד נָבָ֗ל וְאֶת־עַבְדּוֹ֙ חָשַׂ֣ךְ מֵֽרָעָ֔ה וְאֵת֙ רָעַ֣ת נָבָ֔ל הֵשִׁ֥יב יְהוָ֖ה בְּרֹאשׁ֑וֹ וַיִּשְׁלַ֤ח דָּוִד֙ וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר בַּאֲבִיגַ֔יִל לְקַחְתָּ֥הּ ל֖וֹ לְאִשָּֽׁה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And when Davidדָּוִדdâvid dâvîyd · DavidH1732
• heardשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
• that Nabalנָבָלnâbâl · NabalH5037
• was deadמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
• he saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Blessedבָּרַךְbârak · to blessH1288
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• that hath pleadedרִיבrîyb rûb · to contendH7378
• the causeרִיבrîyb rib · strifeH7379
• of my reproachחֶרְפָּהcherpâh · reproachH2781
• from the handיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
• and hath keptחָשַׂךְchâώak · to withholdH2820
• his servantעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
• from evilרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: evilH7451
• hath returnedשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• upon his own headרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218
• sentשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
• and communedדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• with Abigailאֲבִיגַ֫יִל, אֲבִיגַ֫ל'ăbîygayil 'ăbîygal · AbigailH26
• to takeלָקַחlâqach · to take: marryH3947
• her to him to wifeאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 25:39

• 1 Samuel 25:32David said to Abigail, ‘I praise the Lord, Israel's God. He has sent you to meet me here today.
• Judges 5:2‘The leaders of Israel led their people out. The people were happy to follow them to the battle. Praise the Lord!
• 2 Samuel 22:47The Lord is alive! He is my strong Rock! Everyone should praise him! He rules as king! He is the strong God who saves me.
• Psalms 58:10When God punishes those wicked people, righteous people will be very happy. They will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked people!
• Revelation 19:1After these things, I heard a sound like the voices of a great crowd of people in heaven. They were shouting, ‘Praise the Lord our God! He has saved us! He is very powerful! We say that he is great!
• Proverbs 22:23The Lord will speak on their behalf. He will punish anyone who cheats them.
• Lamentations 3:58Lord, you have given me help. You have paid the price to keep me alive.
• Micah 7:9I have not obeyed the Lord, so he is angry with me. He will continue to punish me, until the time when he speaks for me. Then he will make things right for me. He will bring me out into the light. He always does what is really right. And I will see that then.
• 1 Samuel 25:26I know this as surely as the Lord lives and as surely as you live: The Lord has stopped you from killing anyone today. You could have done that, but he has not let you do it. I pray that God will punish all your enemies in the same way that he will punish Nabal.
• Hosea 2:6So I will stop her living like that. I will put thorn bushes around her, like a wall. Then she will not be able to go anywhere that she likes.
• 2 Corinthians 13:7Now we pray to God that you will not do any wrong things. We do not pray this to show that God has accepted us as good. We pray like that because we want you to do what is right. We want that, even if we ourselves seem to have failed.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:23I pray that God will help you to be completely good, as his people should be. He is the one who gives us peace in our minds. I pray that he will take care of you in every way, in your spirit, in your soul and in your body. Then you will not be guilty of anything that is bad, when our Lord Jesus Christ returns.
• 2 Timothy 4:18The Lord will continue to save me from every bad thing. And he will bring me safely to heaven, where he rules. He is great and we should praise him for ever! Amen! This is true!
• 2 Samuel 3:28Later, David heard about what Joab had done. He said, ‘The Lord knows this: I and the people of my kingdom are not guilty of Abner's murder.
• 1 Kings 2:44The king also said to Shimei, ‘I know that you remember how you insulted my father David. Now the Lord will punish you because of the evil things that you did.
• Esther 7:10So they took Haman and they hanged him on the tower until he was dead. It was the same tower that Haman had wanted to kill Mordecai on. After that, the king did not feel so angry.

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 25:39

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 39To 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.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 32-39Verses 32-39 David gives God thanks for sending him this happy check in a sinful way. Whoever meet us with counsel, direction, comfort, caution, or seasonable reproof, we must see God sending them. We ought to be very thankful for those happy providences which are the means of keeping us from sinning. Most people think it enough, if they take reproof patiently; but few will take it thankfully, and commend those who give it, and accept it as a favour. The…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 39Nabal’s death was God’s punishment for his sin. David could not be accused of vengeful murder. David quickly asked Abigail to marry him. She had proven herself wise and was also beautiful (1 Samuel 25:3).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 39-4239-42. 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 (1Sa 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…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Samuel 25:39

• Polygamy
• Wife

In the dictionaries

• David
• Abigail
• Conversant
• Covert
• Die
• Miss
• Nabal
• Requite
• Sure
• Wall

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 25

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings