1 Samuel 25:20

Contemporary English Version

Abigail was riding her donkey on the path that led around the hillside, when suddenly she met David and his men heading straight at her.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
As she rode the donkey down a mountain pass hidden from view, she saw David and his men coming toward her and met them.

Hebrew Names Version
It was so, as she rode on her donkey, and came down by the covert of the mountain, that behold, David and his men came down toward her; and she met them.

King James Version
And it was so, as she rode on the ass, that she came down by the covert on the hill, and, behold, David and his men came down against her; and she met them.

Lexham English Bible
And then, as she was riding on the donkey and was going down the ravine of the mountain, David and his men were coming down to meet her, and she met them.

English Standard Version
And as she rode on the donkey and came down under cover of the mountain, behold, David and his men came down toward her, and she met them.

New Century Version
Abigail rode her donkey and came down toward the mountain hideout. There she met David and his men coming down toward her.

New English Translation
Riding on her donkey, she went down under cover of the mountain. David and his men were coming down to meet her, and she encountered them.

Amplified Bible
It happened that as she was riding on her donkey and coming down by [way of] the hidden part of the mountain, that suddenly David and his men were coming down toward her, and she met them.

New American Standard Bible
And it happened as she was riding on her donkey and coming down by the hidden part of the mountain, that behold, David and his men were coming down toward her; so she met them.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And as shee rode on her asse, shee came downe by a secret place of the mountaine, and beholde, Dauid and his men came downe against her, and she met them.

Legacy Standard Bible
So it was happening, as she was riding on her donkey and coming down by the hidden part of the mountain, that behold, David and his men were coming down toward her; and she met them.

Complete Jewish Bible
She was riding her donkey down past the hiding-place in the mountain, when David and his men descended toward her, and she met them.

Darby Translation
And as she was riding on the ass, and coming down by the covert of the hill, behold, David and his men came down opposite to her; and she met them.

Easy-to-Read Version
Abigail rode her donkey down to the other side of the mountain. She met David and his men coming from the other direction.

George Lamsa Translation
And as she was riding on the ass and coming down by the covert of the mountain, behold, David and his men were coming up in her direction; and she met them.

Good News Translation
She was riding her donkey around a bend on a hillside when suddenly she met David and his men coming toward her.

Literal Translation
And it happened she was riding on the ass and coming down by the cover of the mountain. And, behold, David and his men were coming down to meet her; and she met them.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And as she rode vpo the asse, and wente downe in the shadowe of ye hill, beholde, Dauid & his me met hir downe, so that she came vpon them.

American Standard Version
And it was so, as she rode on her ass, and came down by the covert of the mountain, that, behold, David and his men came down toward her; and she met them.

Bible in Basic English
Now while she was going down under cover of the mountain on her ass, David and his men came down against her, and suddenly she came face to face with them.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And as she rode on her asse, she came priuylie downe the syde of the hill, and behold Dauid and his men came downe against her, and she met them.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And it was so, as she rode on her ass, and came down by the covert of the mountain, that, behold, David and his men came down towards her; and she met them.--

King James Version (1611)
And it was so as she rode on the asse, that she came downe by the couert of the hill, and behold, Dauid and his men came downe against her, and she met them.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And it came to pass when she had mounted her ass and was going down by the covert of the mountain, behold, David and his men came down to meet her, and she met them.

English Revised Version
And it was so, as she rode on her ass, and came down by the covert of the mountain, that, behold, David and his men came down against her; and she met them.

Berean Standard Bible
As Abigail came riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, she saw David and his men coming down toward her, and she met them.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor whanne sche hadde stied on the asse, and cam doun `at the roote of the hil, and Dauid and hise men camen doun in to the comyng `of hir; whiche also sche mette.

Young's Literal Translation
and it hath come to pass, she is riding on the ass and is coming down in the secret part of the hill-country, and lo, David and his men are coming down to meet her, and she meeteth them.

Update Bible Version
And it was so, as she rode on her donkey, and came down by the covert of the mountain, that, look, David and his men came down toward her; and she met them.

Webster's Bible Translation
And it was [so], [as] she rode on the ass, that she came down by the covert of the hill, and behold, David and his men came down over against her; and she met them.

World English Bible
It was so, as she rode on her donkey, and came down by the covert of the mountain, that behold, David and his men came down toward her; and she met them.

New King James Version
So it was, as she rode on the donkey, that she went down under cover of the hill; and there were David and his men, coming down toward her, and she met them.

New Living Translation
As she was riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, she saw David and his men coming toward her.

New Life Bible
As she went on her donkey and came down hidden by the mountain, David and his men came down toward her, and she met them.

New Revised Standard
As she rode on the donkey and came down under cover of the mountain, David and his men came down toward her; and she met them.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And so it was, as she was riding on her ass, and descending within the covert of the hill, lo! David and his men, descending over against her, - so she met them.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And when she had gotten upon an ass, and was coming down to the foot of the mountain, David and his men came down over against her, and she met them.

Revised Standard Version
And as she rode on the ass, and came down under cover of the mountain, behold, David and his men came down toward her; and she met them.

THE MESSAGE
As she was riding her donkey, descending into a ravine, David and his men were descending from the other end, so they met there on the road. David had just said, "That sure was a waste, guarding everything this man had out in the wild so that nothing he had was lost—and now he rewards me with insults. A real slap in the face! May God do his worst to me if Nabal and every cur in his misbegotten brood aren't dead meat by morning!"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
It came about as she was riding on her donkey and coming down by the hidden part of the mountain, that behold, David and his men were coming down toward her; so she met them.

Contextual Overview

¹⁸ Abigail quickly got together two hundred loaves of bread, two large clay jars of wine, the meat from five sheep, a large sack of roasted grain, a hundred handfuls of raisins, and two hundred handfuls of dried figs. She loaded all the food on donkeys ¹⁹ and told her servants, "Take this on ahead, and I'll catch up with you." She didn't tell her husband Nabal what she was doing. ²⁰ Abigail was riding her donkey on the path that led around the hillside, when suddenly she met David and his men heading straight at her. ²¹ David had just been saying, "I surely wasted my time guarding Nabal's things in the desert and keeping them from being stolen! I was good to him, and now he pays me back with insults. ²² I swear that by morning, there won't be a man or boy left from his family or his servants' families. I pray that God will punish me if I don't do it!" ²³ Abigail quickly got off her donkey and bowed down in front of David. ²⁴ Then she said: Sir, please let me explain! ²⁵ Don't pay any attention to that good-for-nothing Nabal. His name means "fool," and it really fits him! I didn't see the men you sent, ²⁶but please take this gift of food that I've brought and share it with your followers. The Lord has kept you from taking revenge and from killing innocent people. But I hope your enemies and anyone else who wants to harm you will end up like Nabal. I swear this by the living Lord and by your life. ²⁸ Please forgive me if I say a little more. The Lord will always protect you and your family, because you fight for him. I pray that you won't ever do anything evil as long as you live.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

rode: 2 Kings 4:24

she came down: David was coming down mount Paran; Abigail was coming down from Carmel.

Cross-References

Genesis 24:67
Isaac took Rebekah into the tent where his mother had lived before she died, and Rebekah became his wife. He loved her and was comforted over the loss of his mother.

Genesis 25:5
While Abraham was still alive, he gave gifts to the sons of Hagar and Keturah. He also sent their sons to live in the east far from his son Isaac, and when Abraham died, he left everything to Isaac.

Genesis 31:18
for the home of his father Isaac in Canaan. Jacob took all of the flocks, herds, and other property that he had gotten in northern Syria.

Genesis 31:20
Jacob tricked Laban the Aramean by not saying that he intended to leave.

Genesis 31:24
But God appeared to Laban in a dream that night and warned, "Don't say a word to Jacob. Don't make a threat or a promise."

Genesis 35:9
After Jacob came back to the land of Canaan, God appeared to him again. This time he gave Jacob a new name and blessed him by saying: I am God All-Powerful, and from now on your name will be Israel instead of Jacob. You will have many children. Your descendants will become nations, and some of the men in your family will even be kings.

Deuteronomy 26:5
Then, standing there in front of the place of worship, you must pray: My ancestor was homeless, an Aramean who went to live in Egypt. There were only a few in his family then, but they became great and powerful, a nation of many people.

Luke 4:27
During the time of the prophet Elisha, many men in Israel had leprosy. But no one was healed, except Naaman who lived in Syria.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And it was [so, as] she rode on the ass,.... After her servants:

that she came down, by the covert of the hill; by the side of it, which was covered with bushes, and she rode among them, in a way that led through them, and so was not seen by David and his men; or by the shadow of the hill, toward the bottom of it, where by reason of that, and the opposite hill, it was darkish, and they could not see each other:

and, behold, David and his men came down against her; came down a hill opposite to that she came down:

and she met them; in the valley between two hills.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The covert of the hill - Probably a defile or glen, literally a “secret place,” as in 1 Samuel 19:2. She was riding down into this glen from one side, while David and his men were descending the opposite hill. It is perhaps mentioned that she came by this “secret place,” because she chose this path to escape the observation of her husband or of anyone else.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Samuel 25:20. She came down - and David - came down — David was coming down Mount Paran; Abigail was coming down from Carmel. - Calmet.