David said to his men, “Every man put on his sword!” Every man put on his sword. David also put on his sword. About four hundred men followed David, and two hundred stayed by the baggage.
Parallel translations
- KJV And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the stuff.
- BSB And David said to his men, “Strap on your swords!” So David and all his men put on their swords, and about four hundred men followed David, while two hundred stayed with the supplies.
- NKJV Then David said to his men, “Every man gird on his sword.” So every man girded on his sword, and David also girded on his sword. And about four hundred men went with David, and two hundred stayed with the supplies.
- NASB Then David said to his men, “Each of you strap on his sword.” So each man strapped on his sword. And David also strapped on his sword, and about four hundred men went up behind David, while two hundred stayed with the baggage.
- NLT “Get your swords!” was David’s reply as he strapped on his own. Then 400 men started off with David, and 200 remained behind to guard their equipment.
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
David, enraged, arms four hundred men to take revenge on Nabal. The future king is on the verge of shedding blood in personal vengeance.
Overview
Stung by the insult, David musters his fighters and prepares to attack Nabal's household, a rash plan to avenge himself by the sword. This is a dangerous lapse from the restraint he showed toward Saul, revealing that even a man after God's own heart is vulnerable to anger. The episode sets up God's gracious intervention through Abigail to keep David from a grievous sin.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- 1 Sam 23:13Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went wherever they could go. Saul was told that David was escaped from Keilah; and he gave up going there.
- Jas 1:19–20So, then, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger;
- Josh 9:14The men sampled their provisions, and didn’t ask counsel from Yahweh’s mouth.
- 1 Sam 30:21–24David came to the two hundred men, who were so faint that they could not follow David, whom also they had made to stay at the brook Besor; and they went out to meet David, and to meet the people who were with him. When David came near to the people, he greeted them.
- Prov 19:2It isn’t good to have zeal without knowledge; nor being hasty with one’s feet and missing the way.
- Prov 19:11The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger. It is his glory to overlook an offense.
- Rom 12:19–21Don’t seek revenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to God’s wrath. For it is written, “Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.”
- 1 Sam 30:9–10So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those who were left behind stayed.
- Prov 14:29He who is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a quick temper displays folly.
- 1 Sam 24:5–6Afterward, David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt.
- Prov 25:8Don’t be hasty in bringing charges to court. What will you do in the end when your neighbor shames you?
- Prov 16:32One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty; one who rules his spirit, than he who takes a city.
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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 25:13 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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