But in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him so that he became like a stone.
Parallel translations
- WEB In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.
- KJV But it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.
- BSB In the morning when Nabal was sober, his wife told him about these events, and his heart failed within him and he became like a stone.
- NKJV So it was, in the morning, when the wine had gone from Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became like a stone.
- NLT In the morning when Nabal was sober, his wife told him what had happened. As a result he had a stroke, and he lay paralyzed on his bed like a stone.
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
When sober, Nabal hears the news and his heart fails, becoming like stone. The shock exposes his collapse before God's coming judgment.
Overview
The next morning, learning how near he came to ruin, Nabal suffers what appears to be a stroke, his heart dying within him. The proud fool who scorned David is suddenly paralyzed and helpless. The verse begins the visible outworking of divine judgment, showing that no one mocks God's anointed with impunity.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Job 15:21–22A sound of terrors is in his ears. In prosperity the destroyer shall come on him.
- Prov 23:29–35Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
- 1 Sam 25:22God do so to the enemies of David, and more also, if I leave of all that belongs to him by the morning light so much as one who urinates on a wall.”
- Deut 28:28Yahweh will strike you with madness, with blindness, and with astonishment of heart.
- 1 Sam 25:34For indeed, as Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, who has withheld me from harming you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely there wouldn’t have been left to Nabal by the morning light so much as one who urinates on a wall.”
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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 25:37 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.