Lectionary Calendar
Thursday, July 31st, 2025
the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
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Read the Bible
THE MESSAGE
Matthew 20:6
A Story About Workers "God's kingdom is like an estate manager who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. They agreed on a wage of a dollar a day, and went to work. "Later, about nine o'clock, the manager saw some other men hanging around the town square unemployed. He told them to go to work in his vineyard and he would pay them a fair wage. They went. "He did the same thing at noon, and again at three o'clock. At five o'clock he went back and found still others standing around. He said, ‘Why are you standing around all day doing nothing?'
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- CondensedParallel Translations
Christian Standard Bible®
Then about five
Then about five
King James Version (1611)
And about the eleuenth houre, he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith vnto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
And about the eleuenth houre, he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith vnto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
King James Version
And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
English Standard Version
And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?'
And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?'
New American Standard Bible
"And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day long?'
"And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day long?'
New Century Version
About five o'clock the man went to the marketplace again and saw others standing there. He asked them, ‘Why did you stand here all day doing nothing?'
About five o'clock the man went to the marketplace again and saw others standing there. He asked them, ‘Why did you stand here all day doing nothing?'
Amplified Bible
"And about the eleventh hour (5:00 p.m.) he went out and found others standing around, and he said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?'
"And about the eleventh hour (5:00 p.m.) he went out and found others standing around, and he said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?'
Geneva Bible (1587)
And he went about the eleuenth houre, and found other standing idle, & sayd vnto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
And he went about the eleuenth houre, and found other standing idle, & sayd vnto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day long?'
"And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day long?'
Legacy Standard Bible
And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he *said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?'
And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he *said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?'
Berean Standard Bible
About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?' he asked.
About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?' he asked.
Contemporary English Version
Finally, about five in the afternoon the man went back and found some others standing there. He asked them, "Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?"
Finally, about five in the afternoon the man went back and found some others standing there. He asked them, "Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?"
Complete Jewish Bible
About an hour before sundown, he went out, found still others standing around, and asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day, doing nothing?"
About an hour before sundown, he went out, found still others standing around, and asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day, doing nothing?"
Darby Translation
But about the eleventh [hour], having gone out, he found others standing, and says to them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
But about the eleventh [hour], having gone out, he found others standing, and says to them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
Easy-to-Read Version
About five o'clock the man went to the marketplace again. He saw some other people standing there. He asked them, ‘Why did you stand here all day doing nothing?'
About five o'clock the man went to the marketplace again. He saw some other people standing there. He asked them, ‘Why did you stand here all day doing nothing?'
George Lamsa Translation
And towards the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and he said to them, Why do you stand all day idle?
And towards the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and he said to them, Why do you stand all day idle?
Good News Translation
It was nearly five o'clock when he went to the marketplace and saw some other men still standing there. ‘Why are you wasting the whole day here doing nothing?' he asked them.
It was nearly five o'clock when he went to the marketplace and saw some other men still standing there. ‘Why are you wasting the whole day here doing nothing?' he asked them.
Lexham English Bible
And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing there and said to them, ‘Why are you standing here the whole day unemployed?'
And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing there and said to them, ‘Why are you standing here the whole day unemployed?'
Literal Translation
And going out about the eleventh hour, he found others standing idle, and said to them, Why do you stand here idle all day?
And going out about the eleventh hour, he found others standing idle, and said to them, Why do you stand here idle all day?
American Standard Version
And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing; and he saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing; and he saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
Bible in Basic English
And about the eleventh hour he went out and saw others doing nothing; and he says to them, Why are you here all the day doing nothing?
And about the eleventh hour he went out and saw others doing nothing; and he says to them, Why are you here all the day doing nothing?
Hebrew Names Version
About the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle. He said to them, 'Why do you stand here all day idle?'
About the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle. He said to them, 'Why do you stand here all day idle?'
International Standard Version
About five o'clockthe eleventh hour">[fn] he went out and found some others standing around. He said to them, 'Why are you standing here all day long without work?'
About five o'clockthe eleventh hour">[fn] he went out and found some others standing around. He said to them, 'Why are you standing here all day long without work?'
Etheridge Translation
And about eleven hours he went out, and found others who were standing and unemployed; and he said to them, Why are you standing all the day unemployed ?
And about eleven hours he went out, and found others who were standing and unemployed; and he said to them, Why are you standing all the day unemployed ?
Murdock Translation
And about the eleventh hour, he went out and found others who were standing and idle; and he said to them: Why stand ye all the day, and are idle?
And about the eleventh hour, he went out and found others who were standing and idle; and he said to them: Why stand ye all the day, and are idle?
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And about the eleuenth houre, he wet out, and founde other standyng idle, and saide vnto them: why stande ye here all the day idle?
And about the eleuenth houre, he wet out, and founde other standyng idle, and saide vnto them: why stande ye here all the day idle?
English Revised Version
And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing; and he saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing; and he saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
World English Bible
About the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle. He said to them, 'Why do you stand here all day idle?'
About the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle. He said to them, 'Why do you stand here all day idle?'
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And going out about the eleventh hour, he found others standing idle and saith to them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
And going out about the eleventh hour, he found others standing idle and saith to them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
Weymouth's New Testament
And going out about five o'clock he found others loitering, and he asked them, "`Why have you been standing here all day long, doing nothing?'
And going out about five o'clock he found others loitering, and he asked them, "`Why have you been standing here all day long, doing nothing?'
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
But aboute the elleuenthe our he wente out, and foond other stondynge; and he seide to hem, What stonden ye idel here al dai?
But aboute the elleuenthe our he wente out, and foond other stondynge; and he seide to hem, What stonden ye idel here al dai?
Update Bible Version
And about the eleventh [hour] he went out, and found others standing; and he says to them, Why do you stand here all the day idle?
And about the eleventh [hour] he went out, and found others standing; and he says to them, Why do you stand here all the day idle?
Webster's Bible Translation
And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith to them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith to them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
New English Translation
And about five o'clock that afternoon he went out and found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why are you standing here all day without work?'
And about five o'clock that afternoon he went out and found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why are you standing here all day without work?'
New King James Version
And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, [fn] and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?'
And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, [fn] and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?'
New Living Translation
"At five o'clock that afternoon he was in town again and saw some more people standing around. He asked them, ‘Why haven't you been working today?'
"At five o'clock that afternoon he was in town again and saw some more people standing around. He asked them, ‘Why haven't you been working today?'
New Life Bible
About five o'clock he went out and still found others doing nothing. He asked them, ‘Why do you stand here all day and do nothing?'
About five o'clock he went out and still found others doing nothing. He asked them, ‘Why do you stand here all day and do nothing?'
New Revised Standard
And about five o'clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?'
And about five o'clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?'
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, about the eleventh, going forth, he found others, standing, and saith unto them - Why, here, stand ye, all the day, unemployed?
And, about the eleventh, going forth, he found others, standing, and saith unto them - Why, here, stand ye, all the day, unemployed?
Douay-Rheims Bible
But about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing, and he saith to them: Why stand you here all the day idle?
But about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing, and he saith to them: Why stand you here all the day idle?
Revised Standard Version
And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing; and he said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle all day?'
And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing; and he said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle all day?'
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And he went out aboute the eleventhe houre and founde other stondynge ydell and sayde vnto them: Why stonde ye here all the daye ydell?
And he went out aboute the eleventhe houre and founde other stondynge ydell and sayde vnto them: Why stonde ye here all the daye ydell?
Young's Literal Translation
And about the eleventh hour, having gone forth, he found others standing idle, and saith to them, Why here have ye stood all the day idle?
And about the eleventh hour, having gone forth, he found others standing idle, and saith to them, Why here have ye stood all the day idle?
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And aboute the eleuenth houre he wete out, and founde other stodynge ydle, and sayde vnto them: Why stonde ye here all the daye ydle?
And aboute the eleuenth houre he wete out, and founde other stodynge ydle, and sayde vnto them: Why stonde ye here all the daye ydle?
Mace New Testament (1729)
at last, about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and said to them, why do you stand idling thus all day long?
at last, about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and said to them, why do you stand idling thus all day long?
Simplified Cowboy Version
"At about five he rode by the saloon and found some cowboys just sittin' there playin' cards and drinkin' whiskey. The rancher asked them, 'Why have y'all just been sittin' around here not doin' anything all day long?'
"At about five he rode by the saloon and found some cowboys just sittin' there playin' cards and drinkin' whiskey. The rancher asked them, 'Why have y'all just been sittin' around here not doin' anything all day long?'
Contextual Overview
1"God's kingdom is like an estate manager who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. They agreed on a wage of a dollar a day, and went to work. 3"Later, about nine o'clock, the manager saw some other men hanging around the town square unemployed. He told them to go to work in his vineyard and he would pay them a fair wage. They went. "He did the same thing at noon, and again at three o'clock. At five o'clock he went back and found still others standing around. He said, ‘Why are you standing around all day doing nothing?' "They said, ‘Because no one hired us.' "He told them to go to work in his vineyard. "When the day's work was over, the owner of the vineyard instructed his foreman, ‘Call the workers in and pay them their wages. Start with the last hired and go on to the first.' "Those hired at five o'clock came up and were each given a dollar. When those who were hired first saw that, they assumed they would get far more. But they got the same, each of them one dollar. Taking the dollar, they groused angrily to the manager, ‘These last workers put in only one easy hour, and you just made them equal to us, who slaved all day under a scorching sun.' "He replied to the one speaking for the rest, ‘Friend, I haven't been unfair. We agreed on the wage of a dollar, didn't we? So take it and go. I decided to give to the one who came last the same as you. Can't I do what I want with my own money? Are you going to get stingy because I am generous?' "Here it is again, the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first." Jesus, now well on the way up to Jerusalem, took the Twelve off to the side of the road and said, "Listen to me carefully. We are on our way up to Jerusalem. When we get there, the Son of Man will be betrayed to the religious leaders and scholars. They will sentence him to death. They will then hand him over to the Romans for mockery and torture and crucifixion. On the third day he will be raised up alive." It was about that time that the mother of the Zebedee brothers came with her two sons and knelt before Jesus with a request. "What do you want?" Jesus asked. She said, "Give your word that these two sons of mine will be awarded the highest places of honor in your kingdom, one at your right hand, one at your left hand." Jesus responded, "You have no idea what you're asking." And he said to James and John, "Are you capable of drinking the cup that I'm about to drink?" They said, "Sure, why not?" Jesus said, "Come to think of it, you are going to drink my cup. But as to awarding places of honor, that's not my business. My Father is taking care of that." When the ten others heard about this, they lost their tempers, thoroughly disgusted with the two brothers. So Jesus got them together to settle things down. He said, "You've observed how godless rulers throw their weight around, how quickly a little power goes to their heads. It's not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage." As they were leaving Jericho, a huge crowd followed. Suddenly they came upon two blind men sitting alongside the road. When they heard it was Jesus passing, they cried out, "Master, have mercy on us! Mercy, Son of David!" The crowd tried to hush them up, but they got all the louder, crying, "Master, have mercy on us! Mercy, Son of David!" Jesus stopped and called over, "What do you want from me?" They said, "Master, we want our eyes opened. We want to see!" Deeply moved, Jesus touched their eyes. They had their sight back that very instant, and joined the procession. 6A Story About Workers "God's kingdom is like an estate manager who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. They agreed on a wage of a dollar a day, and went to work. "Later, about nine o'clock, the manager saw some other men hanging around the town square unemployed. He told them to go to work in his vineyard and he would pay them a fair wage. They went. "He did the same thing at noon, and again at three o'clock. At five o'clock he went back and found still others standing around. He said, ‘Why are you standing around all day doing nothing?' 7 "They said, ‘Because no one hired us.' "He told them to go to work in his vineyard. 8 "When the day's work was over, the owner of the vineyard instructed his foreman, ‘Call the workers in and pay them their wages. Start with the last hired and go on to the first.' 9"Those hired at five o'clock came up and were each given a dollar. When those who were hired first saw that, they assumed they would get far more. But they got the same, each of them one dollar. Taking the dollar, they groused angrily to the manager, ‘These last workers put in only one easy hour, and you just made them equal to us, who slaved all day under a scorching sun.' 13"He replied to the one speaking for the rest, ‘Friend, I haven't been unfair. We agreed on the wage of a dollar, didn't we? So take it and go. I decided to give to the one who came last the same as you. Can't I do what I want with my own money? Are you going to get stingy because I am generous?' 16 "Here it is again, the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first."
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
the eleventh: Ecclesiastes 9:10, Luke 23:40-43, John 9:4
Why: Proverbs 19:15, Ezekiel 16:49, Acts 17:21, Hebrews 6:12
Reciprocal: Joshua 18:3 - How long are Matthew 20:3 - standing Matthew 20:9 - they received 2 Peter 1:8 - barren
Cross-References
Genesis 20:6
God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know your intentions were pure, that's why I kept you from sinning against me; I was the one who kept you from going to bed with her. So now give the man's wife back to him. He's a prophet and will pray for you—pray for your life. If you don't give her back, know that it's certain death both for you and everyone in your family."
God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know your intentions were pure, that's why I kept you from sinning against me; I was the one who kept you from going to bed with her. So now give the man's wife back to him. He's a prophet and will pray for you—pray for your life. If you don't give her back, know that it's certain death both for you and everyone in your family."
Genesis 26:11
Then Abimelech gave orders to his people: "Anyone who so much as lays a hand on this man or his wife dies."
Then Abimelech gave orders to his people: "Anyone who so much as lays a hand on this man or his wife dies."
1 Samuel 25:26
To Fight God's Battles Samuel died. The whole country came to his funeral. Everyone grieved over his death, and he was buried in his hometown of Ramah. Meanwhile, David moved again, this time to the wilderness of Maon. There was a certain man in Maon who carried on his business in the region of Carmel. He was very prosperous—three thousand sheep and a thousand goats, and it was sheep-shearing time in Carmel. The man's name was Nabal (Fool), a Calebite, and his wife's name was Abigail. The woman was intelligent and good-looking, the man brutish and mean. David, out in the backcountry, heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep and sent ten of his young men off with these instructions: "Go to Carmel and approach Nabal. Greet him in my name, ‘Peace! Life and peace to you. Peace to your household, peace to everyone here! I heard that it's sheep-shearing time. Here's the point: When your shepherds were camped near us we didn't take advantage of them. They didn't lose a thing all the time they were with us in Carmel. Ask your young men—they'll tell you. What I'm asking is that you be generous with my men—share the feast! Give whatever your heart tells you to your servants and to me, David your son.'" David's young men went and delivered his message word for word to Nabal. Nabal tore into them, "Who is this David? Who is this son of Jesse? The country is full of runaway servants these days. Do you think I'm going to take good bread and wine and meat freshly butchered for my sheepshearers and give it to men I've never laid eyes on? Who knows where they've come from?" David's men got out of there and went back and told David what he had said. David said, "Strap on your swords!" They all strapped on their swords, David and his men, and set out, four hundred of them. Two hundred stayed behind to guard the camp. Meanwhile, one of the young shepherds told Abigail, Nabal's wife, what had happened: "David sent messengers from the backcountry to salute our master, but he tore into them with insults. Yet these men treated us very well. They took nothing from us and didn't take advantage of us all the time we were in the fields. They formed a wall around us, protecting us day and night all the time we were out tending the sheep. Do something quickly because big trouble is ahead for our master and all of us. Nobody can talk to him. He's impossible—a real brute!" Abigail flew into action. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep dressed out and ready for cooking, a bushel of roasted grain, a hundred raisin cakes, and two hundred fig cakes, and she had it all loaded on some donkeys. Then she said to her young servants, "Go ahead and pave the way for me. I'm right behind you." But she said nothing to her husband Nabal. 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!" As soon as Abigail saw David, she got off her donkey and fell on her knees at his feet, her face to the ground in homage, saying, "My master, let me take the blame! Let me speak to you. Listen to what I have to say. Don't dwell on what that brute Nabal did. He acts out the meaning of his name: Nabal, Fool. Foolishness oozes from him. "I wasn't there when the young men my master sent arrived. I didn't see them. And now, my master, as God lives and as you live, God has kept you from this avenging murder—and may your enemies, all who seek my master's harm, end up like Nabal! Now take this gift that I, your servant girl, have brought to my master, and give it to the young men who follow in the steps of my master. "Forgive my presumption! But God is at work in my master, developing a rule solid and dependable. My master fights God 's battles! As long as you live no evil will stick to you. If anyone stands in your way, if anyone tries to get you out of the way, Know this: Your God-honored life is tightly bound in the bundle of God-protected life; But the lives of your enemies will be hurled aside as a stone is thrown from a sling. "When God completes all the goodness he has promised my master and sets you up as prince over Israel, my master will not have this dead weight in his heart, the guilt of an avenging murder. And when God has worked things for good for my master, remember me." And David said, "Blessed be God , the God of Israel. He sent you to meet me! And blessed be your good sense! Bless you for keeping me from murder and taking charge of looking out for me. A close call! As God lives, the God of Israel who kept me from hurting you, if you had not come as quickly as you did, stopping me in my tracks, by morning there would have been nothing left of Nabal but dead meat." Then David accepted the gift she brought him and said, "Return home in peace. I've heard what you've said and I'll do what you've asked." When Abigail got home she found Nabal presiding over a huge banquet. He was in high spirits—and very, very drunk. So she didn't tell him anything of what she'd done until morning. But in the morning, after Nabal had sobered up, she told him the whole story. Right then and there he had a heart attack and fell into a coma. About ten days later God finished him off and he died. When David heard that Nabal was dead he said, "Blessed be God who has stood up for me against Nabal's insults, kept me from an evil act, and let Nabal's evil boomerang back on him." Then David sent for Abigail to tell her that he wanted her for his wife. David's servants went to Abigail at Carmel with the message, "David sent us to bring you to marry him." She got up, and then bowed down, face to the ground, saying, "I'm your servant, ready to do anything you want. I'll even wash the feet of my master's servants!" Abigail didn't linger. She got on her donkey and, with her five maids in attendance, went with the messengers to David and became his wife. David also married Ahinoam of Jezreel. Both women were his wives. Saul had married off David's wife Michal to Palti (Paltiel) son of Laish, who was from Gallim.
To Fight God's Battles Samuel died. The whole country came to his funeral. Everyone grieved over his death, and he was buried in his hometown of Ramah. Meanwhile, David moved again, this time to the wilderness of Maon. There was a certain man in Maon who carried on his business in the region of Carmel. He was very prosperous—three thousand sheep and a thousand goats, and it was sheep-shearing time in Carmel. The man's name was Nabal (Fool), a Calebite, and his wife's name was Abigail. The woman was intelligent and good-looking, the man brutish and mean. David, out in the backcountry, heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep and sent ten of his young men off with these instructions: "Go to Carmel and approach Nabal. Greet him in my name, ‘Peace! Life and peace to you. Peace to your household, peace to everyone here! I heard that it's sheep-shearing time. Here's the point: When your shepherds were camped near us we didn't take advantage of them. They didn't lose a thing all the time they were with us in Carmel. Ask your young men—they'll tell you. What I'm asking is that you be generous with my men—share the feast! Give whatever your heart tells you to your servants and to me, David your son.'" David's young men went and delivered his message word for word to Nabal. Nabal tore into them, "Who is this David? Who is this son of Jesse? The country is full of runaway servants these days. Do you think I'm going to take good bread and wine and meat freshly butchered for my sheepshearers and give it to men I've never laid eyes on? Who knows where they've come from?" David's men got out of there and went back and told David what he had said. David said, "Strap on your swords!" They all strapped on their swords, David and his men, and set out, four hundred of them. Two hundred stayed behind to guard the camp. Meanwhile, one of the young shepherds told Abigail, Nabal's wife, what had happened: "David sent messengers from the backcountry to salute our master, but he tore into them with insults. Yet these men treated us very well. They took nothing from us and didn't take advantage of us all the time we were in the fields. They formed a wall around us, protecting us day and night all the time we were out tending the sheep. Do something quickly because big trouble is ahead for our master and all of us. Nobody can talk to him. He's impossible—a real brute!" Abigail flew into action. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep dressed out and ready for cooking, a bushel of roasted grain, a hundred raisin cakes, and two hundred fig cakes, and she had it all loaded on some donkeys. Then she said to her young servants, "Go ahead and pave the way for me. I'm right behind you." But she said nothing to her husband Nabal. 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!" As soon as Abigail saw David, she got off her donkey and fell on her knees at his feet, her face to the ground in homage, saying, "My master, let me take the blame! Let me speak to you. Listen to what I have to say. Don't dwell on what that brute Nabal did. He acts out the meaning of his name: Nabal, Fool. Foolishness oozes from him. "I wasn't there when the young men my master sent arrived. I didn't see them. And now, my master, as God lives and as you live, God has kept you from this avenging murder—and may your enemies, all who seek my master's harm, end up like Nabal! Now take this gift that I, your servant girl, have brought to my master, and give it to the young men who follow in the steps of my master. "Forgive my presumption! But God is at work in my master, developing a rule solid and dependable. My master fights God 's battles! As long as you live no evil will stick to you. If anyone stands in your way, if anyone tries to get you out of the way, Know this: Your God-honored life is tightly bound in the bundle of God-protected life; But the lives of your enemies will be hurled aside as a stone is thrown from a sling. "When God completes all the goodness he has promised my master and sets you up as prince over Israel, my master will not have this dead weight in his heart, the guilt of an avenging murder. And when God has worked things for good for my master, remember me." And David said, "Blessed be God , the God of Israel. He sent you to meet me! And blessed be your good sense! Bless you for keeping me from murder and taking charge of looking out for me. A close call! As God lives, the God of Israel who kept me from hurting you, if you had not come as quickly as you did, stopping me in my tracks, by morning there would have been nothing left of Nabal but dead meat." Then David accepted the gift she brought him and said, "Return home in peace. I've heard what you've said and I'll do what you've asked." When Abigail got home she found Nabal presiding over a huge banquet. He was in high spirits—and very, very drunk. So she didn't tell him anything of what she'd done until morning. But in the morning, after Nabal had sobered up, she told him the whole story. Right then and there he had a heart attack and fell into a coma. About ten days later God finished him off and he died. When David heard that Nabal was dead he said, "Blessed be God who has stood up for me against Nabal's insults, kept me from an evil act, and let Nabal's evil boomerang back on him." Then David sent for Abigail to tell her that he wanted her for his wife. David's servants went to Abigail at Carmel with the message, "David sent us to bring you to marry him." She got up, and then bowed down, face to the ground, saying, "I'm your servant, ready to do anything you want. I'll even wash the feet of my master's servants!" Abigail didn't linger. She got on her donkey and, with her five maids in attendance, went with the messengers to David and became his wife. David also married Ahinoam of Jezreel. Both women were his wives. Saul had married off David's wife Michal to Palti (Paltiel) son of Laish, who was from Gallim.
Psalms 51:4
You're the One I've violated, and you've seen it all, seen the full extent of my evil. You have all the facts before you; whatever you decide about me is fair. I've been out of step with you for a long time, in the wrong since before I was born. What you're after is truth from the inside out. Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.
You're the One I've violated, and you've seen it all, seen the full extent of my evil. You have all the facts before you; whatever you decide about me is fair. I've been out of step with you for a long time, in the wrong since before I was born. What you're after is truth from the inside out. Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.
Proverbs 21:1
Good leadership is a channel of water controlled by God ; he directs it to whatever ends he chooses.
Good leadership is a channel of water controlled by God ; he directs it to whatever ends he chooses.
1 Corinthians 7:1
Now, getting down to the questions you asked in your letter to me. First, Is it a good thing to have sexual relations?
Now, getting down to the questions you asked in your letter to me. First, Is it a good thing to have sexual relations?
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And about the eleventh hour he went out,.... About five o'clock in the afternoon. The Persic version reads it, "the twelfth hour", which was six o'clock in the afternoon, the last hour of the day. The Jews divided their day into twelve hours,
John 11:9 and these twelve hours into four parts; Nehemiah 9:3 each part containing three hours, to which division there is a manifest respect in this parable. These different seasons of the husbandman's going out to hire labourers, may have regard either to the several periods of time, and ages of the world, as before the law, under the law, the times of the Messiah, and the last days; or the various dispensations of the Gospel, first by Christ, and John the Baptist to the Jews, then by the apostles to the same in their first mission, afterwards when their commission was renewed, first to the Jews in Judea, and then to the same among the nations of the world, and last of all to the Gentiles; or to the several stages of human life, and may regard Christ's call of persons in childhood, youth, manhood, and old age; which last may be signified by the eleventh hour, as also the Gentiles, and the remainder of God's elect in the last day:
and found others standing idle; in the same place and position as before: for the state and condition of God's elect, by nature, as it is the same with others, it is the same with them all. The word "idle" is omitted here by the Vulgate Latin, the Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, and in Munster's Hebrew Gospel; but is retained in the Syriac and Persic versions; and stands in the Greek copies:
and saith unto them, why stand ye here all the day idle? for being about the eleventh hour, the day was far spent, it was almost gone, a small portion of it remained, but one hour, as appears from
Matthew 20:12.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
The eleventh hour - About five o’clock in the afternoon, or when there was but one working hour of the day left.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Matthew 20:6. Eleventh — Five o'clock in the evening, when there was only one hour before the end of the Jewish day, which, in matters of labour, closed at six.
