Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men when I do not know where they are from?”
Parallel translations
- WEB Shall I then take my bread, my water, and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men who I don’t know where they come from?”
- KJV Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be?
- BSB Why should I take my bread and water and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give them to these men whose origin I do not know?”
- NASB Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men whose origin I do not know?”
- NLT Should I take my bread and my water and my meat that I’ve slaughtered for my shearers and give it to a band of outlaws who come from who knows where?”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Nabal refuses to share his food with men he claims not to know. Selfishness and ingratitude drive his refusal.
Overview
Clutching his bread, water, and meat as 'mine,' Nabal denies David's men any portion, pretending not to know their origin. His repeated emphasis on his own possessions exposes a heart enslaved to greed. The refusal violates the hospitality and gratitude expected in Israel, marking Nabal as a fool whose abundance has not produced generosity.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Judg 8:6The princes of Succoth said, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?”
- Gal 6:10So then, as we have opportunity, let’s do what is good toward all men, and especially toward those who are of the household of the faith.
- Ps 73:7–8Their eyes bulge with fat. Their minds pass the limits of conceit.
- Job 31:17or have eaten my morsel alone, and the fatherless has not eaten of it
- Deut 8:17and lest you say in your heart, “My power and the might of my hand has gotten me this wealth.”
- John 9:29–30We know that God has spoken to Moses. But as for this man, we don’t know where he comes from.”
- 1 Sam 25:14–15But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, “Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to Greet our master; and he insulted them.
- 1 Sam 25:3Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail. This woman was intelligent and had a beautiful face; but the man was surly and evil in his doings. He was of the house of Caleb.
- Eccl 11:1–2Cast your bread on the waters; for you shall find it after many days.
- 1 Sam 24:13As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness;’ but my hand will not be on you.
- 2 Cor 6:9as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and not killed;
- 1 Pet 4:9Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 25:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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