1 Samuel 25:28
in 1 Samuel 25Please forgive your servant’s offense, for the LORD will surely make a lasting dynasty for my lord, because he fights the LORD’s battles. May no evil be found in you as long as you live.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Forgive, I pray thee, the trespass of thy handmaid: for Jehovah will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord fighteth the battles of Jehovah; and evil shall not be found in thee all thy days.
KJV
I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the Lord, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 25
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For the Lord will make ... a sure house - Compare 1Sa 2:35, and 2Sa 7:16; 1Ki 11:38. Abigail’s firm persuasion of David’s kingdom stands upon the same footing as Rahab’s conviction of God’s gift of Canaan to the Israelites Jos 2:9-13. Both testified to God’s revelation and their own faith. This is doubtless the reason why Abigail’s speech is recorded.
This site's exposition
the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house
Abigail speaks the covenant's own vocabulary a decade before David hears it from Nathan, for the exact phrase a sure house occurs in Scripture only here, at 1 Sam 2:35 of the priest who will replace Eli, and at 1 Kings 11:38, offered to Jeroboam and there forfeited. She grounds the promise on two things she says are already true of David, that he fights the Lord's battles and that evil has not been found in him, and asks forgiveness for a trespass that is her husband's rather than her own. Albert Barnes compares her confidence to Rahab's conviction that the Lord had given Canaan to Israel, both women testifying to a word from God they had not personally received but plainly believed.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Take away the iniquity of your servant, etc. Wash me more, he says, from my injustice, and cleanse me from my sin (Psalm 51). For I believe and confess without any doubt, that when the plans of the persecutors are suppressed and defeated, God the …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
9 ) as we hold those things which are bundled up or which are precious to us, Ps. cxvi. Thy soul shall be treasured up in the treasure of lives (so the Chaldee), under lock and key as our treasure is. "Thou shalt abide under the special protection of the divine providence." The bundle of life is with the Lord our God, for in his hand our breath is, and our times.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid,....
Sordid spirits care not how much others suffer for their faults, while generous spirits can be content to suffer for the faults of others. Abigail here discovered the sincerity and strength of her conjugal affection and concern for her family: whatever Nabal was, he was her husband.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
And evil hath not been found in thee - Thou hast not committed any act of this kind hitherto.
The words behind it
21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שָׂ֥א | sa' | forgive | H5375 → | 656 times |
| נָ֖א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| לְפֶ֣שַׁע | lefesha' | to [the] transgression of | H6588 → | |
| אֲמָתֶ֑ךָ | ʾamatekha | maidservant your | H519 → | 56 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| עָשֹֽׂה־ | ʾasoh- | certainly <to make> | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| יַעֲשֶׂה֩ | yaaseh | he will make | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| יְהוָ֨ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לַֽאדֹנִ֜י | ladoni | for lord my | H113 → | 333 times |
| בַּ֣יִת | bayit | a house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| נֶאֱמָ֗ן | neeman | enduring | H539 → | 106 times |
| כִּי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מִלְחֲמ֤וֹת | milchamot | [the] battles of | H4421 → | 320 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֲדֹנִ֣י | ʾadoni | lord my | H113 → | 333 times |
| נִלְחָ֔ם | nilcham | [is] fighting | H3898 → | 177 times |
| וְרָעָ֛ה | veraah | and evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִמָּצֵ֥א | timatze' | it will be found | H4672 → | 455 times |
| בְךָ֖ | vekha | in <the> you | ||
| מִיָּמֶֽיךָ׃ | miyameikha | from days your | H3117 → | 2304 times |
שָׂ֥אforgive
sa'H5375 →656 times
נָ֖אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
לְפֶ֣שַׁעto [the] transgression of
lefesha'H6588 →
אֲמָתֶ֑ךָmaidservant your
ʾamatekhaH519 →56 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
עָשֹֽׂה־certainly <to make>
ʾasoh-H6213 →2628 times
יַעֲשֶׂה֩he will make
yaasehH6213 →2628 times
יְהוָ֨הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לַֽאדֹנִ֜יfor lord my
ladoniH113 →333 times
בַּ֣יִתa house
bayitH1004 →2046 times
נֶאֱמָ֗ןenduring
neemanH539 →106 times
כִּי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
מִלְחֲמ֤וֹת[the] battles of
milchamotH4421 →320 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֲדֹנִ֣יlord my
ʾadoniH113 →333 times
נִלְחָ֔ם[is] fighting
nilchamH3898 →177 times
וְרָעָ֛הand evil
veraahH7451 →662 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תִמָּצֵ֥אit will be found
timatze'H4672 →455 times
בְךָ֖in <the> you
vekha
מִיָּמֶֽיךָ׃from days your
miyameikhaH3117 →2304 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
2 Samuel 7:11and have done since the day I appointed judges over My people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. The LORD declares to you that He Himself will establish a house…
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 7:27
For You, O LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, have revealed this to Your servant when You said, ‘I will build a house for you.’ Therefore Your servant has found the courage to…
- 2 Samuel 7:1
After the king had settled into his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him,
- 1 Samuel 12:9–11
But they forgot the LORD their God, and He sold them into the hand of Sisera the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of…
- 1 Chronicles 17:10
and have done since the day I appointed judges over My people Israel. And I will subdue all your enemies. Moreover, I declare to you that the LORD will build a house for you.
- Psalms 89:3–4
You said, “I have made a covenant with My chosen one, I have sworn to David My servant:
- 2 Samuel 7:27
Through
1 Kings 9:5then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised your father David when I said, ‘You will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’
it leads to
- 1 Kings 2:4
and so that the LORD may fulfill His promise to me: ‘If your descendants take heed to walk faithfully before Me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a…
- 1 Kings 6:12
“As for this temple you are building, if you walk in My statutes, carry out My ordinances, and keep all My commandments by walking in them, I will fulfill through you the promise I…
- 1 Kings 2:4
Through
1 Samuel 18:17Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage. Only be valiant for me and fight the LORD’s battles.” But Saul was thinking, “I…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 17:25
Now the men of Israel had been saying, “Do you see this man who keeps coming out to defy Israel? To the man who kills him the king will give great riches. And he…
- 1 Samuel 17:25
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Bede, Commentary on Samuel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.