1 Samuel 25:34

For in very deed, as the LORD God of Israel liveth, which hath kept me back from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
deed	וְאוּלָ֗ם ve.'u.Lam	H199	however or on the contrary · conjunction + adverb
LORD	יְהוָה֙ Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
God	אֱלֹהֵ֣י 'e.lo.Hei	H430	gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural construct
Israel	יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל Yis.ra.'El	H3478	Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
liveth	חַי chai-	H2416	alive · adjective, masculine singular absolute
back	מְנָעַ֔נִי me.na.'A.ni	H4513	to debar (negatively or positively) from benefit or inj… · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix
hurting	מֵהָרַ֖ע me.ha.Ra'	H7489	properly · preposition + verb, hiphil infinitive construct
except	לוּלֵ֣י lu.Lei	H3884	if not · particle
hasted	מִהַ֗רְתְּ mi.Hart	H4116	properly · verb, piel perfect, 2nd person feminine singular
come	וַתָּבֹאת֙ va.ta.vo.ti	H935	to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 2nd person feminine singular
meet	קִרְאָה qirʼâh	H7125	an encountering
left	נוֹתַ֧ר no.Tar	H3498	to jut over or exceed · verb, niphal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Nabal	לְנָבָ֛ל le.na.Val	H5037	Nabal · preposition + proper noun, a man's name
morning	הַבֹּ֖קֶר ha.Bo.ker	H1242	properly · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
light	א֥וֹר 'or	H216	illumination or (concrete) luminary (in every sense · verb, qal infinitive construct
pisseth	מַשְׁתִּ֥ין mash.Tin	H8366	(causatively) to make water · verb, hiphil active participle, masculine singular absolute
wall	בְּקִֽיר be.Kir	H7023	a wall (as built in a trench) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Joshua 10:6 And the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Slack not thy hand from thy servants; come up to us quickly, and save…
Joshua 10:9 Joshua therefore came unto them suddenly, and went up from Gilgal all night.
1 Samuel 11:11 And it was so on the morrow, that Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the host in the morning watch, and…
1 Samuel 25:18 Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched co…
1 Samuel 25:26 Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the LORD hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 25:32-35

As an ear-ring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear, Pro 25:12. Abigail was a wise reprover of David's passion, and he gave an obedient ear to the reproof, according to his own principle (Psa 141:5): Let the righteous smite me, it shall be a kindness. Never was such an admonition either better given or better taken. I. David gives God thanks for sending him this happy check to a sinful way (Sa1 25:32): Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who sent thee this day to meet me. Note, 1. God is to be acknowledged in all the kindnesses that our friends do us either for soul or body. Whoever meet us with counsel, direction, comfort, caution, or seasonable r…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 25:32

David said to Abigail, Blessed be the Lord--Transported by passion and blinded by revenge, he was on the eve of perpetrating a great injury. Doubtless, the timely appearance and prudent address of Abigail were greatly instrumental in changing his purpose. At all events, it was the means of opening his eyes to the moral character of the course on which he had been impetuously rushing; and in accepting her present, he speaks with lively satisfaction as well as gratitude to Abigail, for having relieved him from bloodshed.

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 25:29

Shall be bound in the bundle of life - Thy life shall be precious in the sight of the Lord: it shall be found in the bundle of life; it shall be supported by Him who is the Spring and Fountain of life, and ever be found united to those who are most favored by the Almighty. Them shall he sling out - Far from being bound and kept together in union with the Fountain of life, he will cast them off from himself as a stone is cast out from a sling. This betokens both force and violence.

John Gill on 1 Samuel 25:34

For in very deed, as the Lord God of Israel liveth,.... An oath for the confirmation of what he was about to say: which hath kept me back from hurting thee: from doing any ill to her family, as he intended, though not to her person, his resolution being only to slay the males; but that would have been an hurt, an evil, an affliction to Abigail, from which the Lord in his providence restrained him, and that through her good advice: except thou hadst hasted, and come to meet me: if she had not made quick dispatch in preparing her present, or had stayed to persuade her husband into her measures; if she had delayed a little longer, David would have been at Nabal's house, executing his vengeanc…

The Church Fathers

Further, we are taught at considerable length by other texts of Scripture, too, that we neither should nor can fulfill everything that we decide upon whether with tranquil or upset mind. In them we frequently read that holy men or angels or even almighty God himself altered the things that they had promised. For blessed David determined with the promise of an oath and said, "May God do this and add more to the enemies of David if, of all that belongs to Nabal, I leave one male until morning." But when his wife, Abigail, interceded and entreated on his behalf, David immediately ceased his threats, softened his words, and preferred to be considered a transgressor of his own intention than to be true to his oath by cruelly carrying it out. And he said, "As the Lord lives, unless you had come quickly to meet me, there would not have been left to Nabal one male until the morning light." As we do not at all consider the promptness of his rash vow, which proceeded from an upset and disturbed mind, as something to be imitated, so likewise we judge that the cessation and correction of the thing that was decided on is to be pursued.
— John Cassian, CONFERENCE 17.25.5-6

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Abigail — Father (i.e., “leader”) of the dance, or “of joy.” (1.) The sister of David, and wife of Jether an Ishmaelite (1 Chr. 2:16, 17). She was the mother of Amasa (2 Sam. 17:25). (2.) The wife of the…
Booty — Captives or cattle or objects of value taken in war. In Canaan all that breathed were to be destroyed (Deut. 20: 16). The “pictures and images” of the Canaanites were to be destroyed also (Num.…
David — Beloved, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother’s name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of 2 Sam.…
Nabal — Foolish, a descendant of Caleb who dwelt at Maon (1 Sam. 25), the modern Main, 7 miles south-east of Hebron. He was “very great, and he had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats...but the man was churlish and…
Fig · General references — General references
Intercession · .Abigail for Nabal — .Abigail for Nabal
Nabal · History of — History of
Tact · Nabal’ s wife — Nabal’ s wife
Wife · Tactful Abigail — Tactful Abigail

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

1 Samuel 25:34

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 25:32-35

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 25:32

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 25:29

John Gill on 1 Samuel 25:34

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Samuel 25:34

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 25:32-35

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 25:32

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 25:29

John Gill on 1 Samuel 25:34

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Samuel 25:2–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Samuel 25:29

Rashi on 1 Samuel 25:33