1 Samuel 25:15
in 1 Samuel 25Yet these men were very good to us. When we were in the field, we were not harassed, and nothing of ours went missing the whole time we lived among them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we anything, as long as we went with them, when we were in the fields:
KJV
But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields:
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This verse in 1 Samuel 25
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
he railed on them
on 1 Samuel 25:14-17
An unnamed servant goes around Nabal to warn Abigail, because evil is determined against the whole household and Nabal is such a son of Belial that a man cannot speak to him. Belial, worthless one, is the word the narrator used for the sons of Eli at 2:12, and Scripture uses it again for Sheba's rebellion at 2 Sam 20:1 and in David's own last words for the thorns burned rather than handled at 2 Sam 23:6. The servant's account, a wall unto us both by night and day, repeats what David's own men had already claimed, confirming to Abigail that the danger to her house is real and that David's men have kept faith with it.
This site's exposition
Yet these men were very good to us
Matthew Henry reads the servant's words as testimony for David's honor from inside Nabal's own household. The praise answers David's complaint at verse 21. He calls his care of Nabal's flocks wasted, and the herdsmen who received it think otherwise.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
But the men were very good unto us,....
"The men were very good to us, and, though they were themselves exposed, yet they protected us and were a wall unto us." Those who do that which is good shall, one way or other, have the praise of the same. Nabal's own servant will be a witness for David that he is a man of honour and conscience, whatever Nabal himself says of him.
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָ֣אֲנָשִׁ֔ים | vehaanashim | and the men | H582 → | 566 times |
| טֹבִ֥ים | tovim | [were] good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| לָ֖נוּ | lanu | to <the> us | ||
| מְאֹ֑ד | meod | very | H3966 → | 300 times |
| וְלֹ֤א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הָכְלַ֙מְנוּ֙ | hakhelamnu | we were humiliated | H3637 → | 38 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| פָקַ֣דְנוּ | fakadnu | we missed | H6485 → | 303 times |
| מְא֔וּמָה | meumah | anything | H3972 → | 32 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יְמֵי֙ | yemei | [the] days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הִתְהַלַּ֣כְנוּ | hithalakhnu | <of> [which] we went about | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| אִתָּ֔ם | ʾitam | with them | H854 → | 929 times |
| בִּֽהְיוֹתֵ֖נוּ | bihyotenu | when were we | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בַּשָּׂדֶֽה׃ | basadeh | in the field | H7704 → | 334 times |
וְהָ֣אֲנָשִׁ֔יםand the men
vehaanashimH582 →566 times
טֹבִ֥ים[were] good
tovimH2896 →538 times
לָ֖נוּto <the> us
lanu
מְאֹ֑דvery
meodH3966 →300 times
וְלֹ֤אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
הָכְלַ֙מְנוּ֙we were humiliated
hakhelamnuH3637 →38 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
פָקַ֣דְנוּwe missed
fakadnuH6485 →303 times
מְא֔וּמָהanything
meumahH3972 →32 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
יְמֵי֙[the] days
yemeiH3117 →2304 times
הִתְהַלַּ֣כְנוּ<of> [which] we went about
hithalakhnuH1980 →1546 times
אִתָּ֔םwith them
ʾitamH854 →929 times
בִּֽהְיוֹתֵ֖נוּwhen were we
bihyotenuH1961 →3559 times
בַּשָּׂדֶֽה׃in the field
basadehH7704 →334 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Philippians 2:15so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world
it leads to
- Matthew 5:14–16
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
- 1 Peter 2:12
Conduct yourselves with such honor among the Gentiles that, though they slander you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.
- Matthew 5:45
that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
- Isaiah 60:1
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
- 1 John 3:1–3
Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is…
- Matthew 5:14–16
Through
1 Samuel 25:21Now David had just finished saying, “In vain I have protected all that belonged to this man in the wilderness. Nothing that belongs to him has gone missing, yet he has paid me back…
it leads to
- Proverbs 17:13
If anyone returns evil for good, evil will never leave his house.
- Romans 12:21
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
- Proverbs 17:13
Through
1 Samuel 25:7Now I hear that it is time for shearing. When your shepherds were with us, we did not harass them, and nothing of theirs was missing the whole time they were in Carmel.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 25:21
Now David had just finished saying, “In vain I have protected all that belonged to this man in the wilderness. Nothing that belongs to him has gone missing, yet he has paid me back…
- 1 Samuel 25:21
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.