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About ten days later, the Lord struck him, and he died.
1 Samuel 25:38 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB About ten days later, Yahweh struck Nabal, so that he died.
  • KJV And it came to pass about ten days after, that the LORD smote Nabal, that he died.
  • BSB About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal dead.
  • NKJV Then it happened, after about ten days, that the Lord struck Nabal, and he died.
  • NASB About ten days later, the Lord struck Nabal and he died.

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

About ten days later the Lord strikes Nabal and he dies. God Himself executes the judgment David had been restrained from carrying out.

Overview

After roughly ten days, Yahweh directly strikes Nabal so that he dies. The text plainly attributes his death to the Lord, vindicating David's restraint and proving that vengeance belongs to God. Nabal's end demonstrates that God will surely judge the wicked in His own time, sparing His servants the guilt of taking justice into their own hands.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • 1 Sam 25:33Blessed is your discretion, and blessed are you, who have kept me today from blood guiltiness, and from avenging myself with my own hand.
  • Exod 12:29At midnight, Yahweh struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of livestock.
  • 2 Chr 10:15So the king didn’t listen to the people; for it was brought about by God, that Yahweh might establish his word, which he spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
  • 1 Sam 6:9Behold; if it goes up by the way of its own border to Beth Shemesh, then he has done us this great evil; but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us. It was a chance that happened to us.”
  • 1 Sam 26:10David said, “As Yahweh lives, Yahweh will strike him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall go down into battle and perish.
  • 2 Sam 6:7Yahweh’s anger burned against Uzzah; and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by God’s ark.
  • 2 Kgs 15:5Yahweh struck the king, so that he was a leper to the day of his death, and lived in a separate house. Jotham, the king’s son was over the household, judging the people of the land.
  • Acts 12:23Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he didn’t give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.
  • 2 Kgs 19:35That night, Yahweh’s angel went out, and struck one hundred eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. When men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 1 Samuel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 1 Samuel 25:38YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 1 SamuelMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 25:38 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.