And should someone pursue you and seek your life, then the life of my lord will be bound securely by the LORD your God in the bundle of the living. But He shall fling away the lives of your enemies like stones from a sling.
Parallel translations
- WEB Though men may rise up to pursue you, and to seek your soul, yet the soul of my lord will be bound in the bundle of life with Yahweh your God. He will sling out the souls of your enemies, as from the hollow of a sling.
- KJV Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling.
- NKJV Yet a man has risen to pursue you and seek your life, but the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the Lord your God; and the lives of your enemies He shall sling out, as from the pocket of a sling.
- NASB Should anyone rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, then the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the Lord your God; but the lives of your enemies He will sling out as from the hollow of a sling.
- NLT “Even when you are chased by those who seek to kill you, your life is safe in the care of the Lord your God, secure in his treasure pouch! But the lives of your enemies will disappear like stones shot from a sling!
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
Abigail assures David that God will preserve his life in 'the bundle of life' while flinging away his enemies. She comforts him that the Lord, not violence, will deal with his foes.
Overview
Using vivid imagery, Abigail promises that David's soul is bound securely with the Lord while his pursuers will be hurled away like a stone from a sling. The picture assures David of God's protecting care, removing any need for self-defense by bloodshed. Her counsel strengthens David's faith that God Himself guards His anointed and judges his enemies.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- John 17:21that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
- Matt 10:29–30Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.
- Mal 3:17“They will be Mine,” says the LORD of Hosts, “on the day when I prepare My treasured possession. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.
- Ps 116:15Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints.
- 1 Pet 1:5who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
- Jer 10:18For this is what the LORD says: “Behold, at this time I will sling out the inhabitants of the land and bring distress upon them so that they may be captured.”
- Ps 66:9He preserves our lives and keeps our feet from slipping.
- 1 Sam 2:9He guards the steps of His faithful ones, but the wicked perish in darkness; for by his own strength shall no man prevail.
- John 17:23I in them and You in Me—that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them just as You have loved Me.
- Gen 15:1After these events, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”
- John 10:27–30My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.
- Col 3:3–4For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
- Deut 33:29Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD? He is the shield that protects you, the sword in which you boast. Your enemies will cower before you, and you shall trample their high places.”
- John 14:19In a little while the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you also will live.
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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 25:29 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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