1 Samuel 25:2

Revised Standard Version

And there was a man in Ma'on, whose business was in Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
A man in Maon had a business in Carmel; he was a very rich man with three thousand sheep and one thousand goats and was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

Hebrew Names Version
There was a man in Ma`on, whose possessions were in Karmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Karmel.

King James Version
And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

Lexham English Bible
Now there was a man in Maon, whose business was in Carmel. The man was very rich and owned three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. Now the shearing of his sheep was taking place in Carmel.

English Standard Version
And there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

New Century Version
A man in Maon who had land at Carmel was very rich. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was cutting the wool off his sheep at Carmel.

New English Translation
There was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. This man was very wealthy; he owned three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. At that time he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

Amplified Bible
Now there was a man in Maon whose business and possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very rich. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats, and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel

New American Standard Bible
Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel; and the man was very rich, and he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And it came about while he was shearing his sheep in Carmel

Geneva Bible (1587)
Now in Maon was a man, who had his possessio in Carmel, & the man was exceeding mightie & had three thousand sheepe, and a thousand goates: and he was shering his sheepe in Carmel.

Legacy Standard Bible
Now there was a man in Maon whose work was in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep and one thousand goats. And it happened, while he was shearing his sheep in Carmel

Contemporary English Version
Nabal was a very rich man who lived in Maon. He owned three thousand sheep and a thousand goats, which he kept at Carmel. His wife Abigail was sensible and beautiful, but he was from the Caleb clan and was rough and mean.

Complete Jewish Bible
Now there was a man in Ma‘on who had property in Karmel. He was very rich, having three thousand sheep and a thousand goats; and he was shearing his sheep in Karmel.

Darby Translation
And there was a man at Maon, whose business was at Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats; and he was shearing his sheep at Carmel.

Easy-to-Read Version
There was a very rich man living in Maon. He had 3000 sheep and 1000 goats. That man was in Carmel taking care of some business. He went there to cut the wool from his sheep.

George Lamsa Translation
And there was a man in Maon whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very wealthy; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats; and it came to pass, that he sheared his sheep in Carmel.

Good News Translation
There was a man of the clan of Caleb named Nabal, who was from the town of Maon, and who owned land near the town of Carmel. He was a very rich man, the owner of three thousand sheep and one thousand goats. His wife Abigail was beautiful and intelligent, but he was a mean, bad-tempered man. Nabal was shearing his sheep in Carmel,

Literal Translation
And a certain man was in Maon, and his work was in Carmel. And the man was very great, and there were three thousand sheep and a thousand goats to him. And he was shearing his flock in Carmel.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And there was a man at Maon, and his possession at Carmel, and the man was of greate power, and had thre thousande shepe, and a thousande goates. And it fortuned that he clypped his shepe at Carmel,

American Standard Version
And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

Bible in Basic English
Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel; he was a great man and had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats: and he was cutting the wool of his sheep in Carmel.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And ther was a man in Maon, whose possession was in Carmel, and the man was exceeding mightie, and had three thousande sheepe & a thousand goates: And he was shearing his sheepe in Carmel.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats; and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

King James Version (1611)
And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel, and the man was very great, and hee had three thousand sheepe, and a thousand goates: and he was shearing his sheepe in Carmel.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And there was a man in Maon, and his flocks were in Carmel, and he was a very great man; and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand she-goats: and he happened to be shearing his flock in Carmel.

English Revised Version
And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

Berean Standard Bible
Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel; he was a very wealthy man with a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe a `man was in Maon, and his possessioun was in Carmele, and thilke man was ful greet, and thre thousynde scheep and a thousynde geet `weren to hym; and it bifelde that his flocke was clippid in Carmele.

Young's Literal Translation
And [there is] a man in Maon, and his work [is] in Carmel; and the man [is] very great, and he hath three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats; and he is shearing his flock in Carmel.

Update Bible Version
And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

Webster's Bible Translation
And [there] was a man in Maon, whose possessions [were] in Carmel; and the man [was] very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

World English Bible
There was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

New King James Version
Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel, and the man was very rich. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

New Living Translation
There was a wealthy man from Maon who owned property near the town of Carmel. He had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats, and it was sheep-shearing time.

New Life Bible
There was a man in Maon who worked in Carmel. The man was very rich. He had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats. He was cutting the wool from his sheep in Carmel.

New Revised Standard
There was a man in Maon, whose property was in Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Now there was, a man, in Maon, whose cattle were in Carmel, and, the man, was exceeding great, and, he, had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats, - and so it was, that he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Now there was a certain man in the wilderness of Maon, and his possessions were in Carmel, and the man was very great: and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and it happened that he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

THE MESSAGE
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.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel; and the man was very rich, and he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And it came about while he was shearing his sheep in Carmel

Contextual Overview

² And there was a man in Ma'on, whose business was in Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel. ³ Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Ab'igail. The woman was of good understanding and beautiful, but the man was churlish and ill-behaved; he was a Calebite. ⁴ David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. ⁵ So David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, "Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name. ⁶ And thus you shall salute him: 'Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. ⁷ I hear that you have shearers; now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, and they missed nothing, all the time they were in Carmel. ⁸ Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes; for we come on a feast day. Pray, give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.'" ⁹ When David's young men came, they said all this to Nabal in the name of David; and then they waited. ¹⁰ And Nabal answered David's servants, "Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants nowadays who are breaking away from their masters. ¹¹ Shall I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men who come from I do not know where?"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Maon: 1 Samuel 23:24

possessions were: or, business was

Carmel: Not the famous mount Carmel, in the north of Canaan, and in the tribe of Asher; but a city, on a mountain of the same name, in the south of Judah, which seems to have given name to the surrounding territory. Eusebius and Jerome inform us, that there was in their time a town called Carmelia, ten miles east from Hebron, where the Romans kept a garrison, whose position well agrees with this Carmel.

man: Genesis 26:13, 2 Samuel 19:32, Psalms 17:14, Psalms 73:3-7, Luke 16:19-25

three thousand: Genesis 13:2, Job 1:3, Job 42:12

shearing: This was a very ancient custom, and appears to have been always attended with festivity. The ancient Romans, however, used to pluck off the wool from the sheep's backs; and hence a fleece was called vellus, a vellendo, from plucking it off. Pliny says, that in his time sheep were not shorn every where, but in some places the wool was still plucked off. Genesis 38:13, 2 Samuel 13:23, 2 Samuel 13:24

Carmel: 1 Samuel 30:5, Joshua 15:55

Reciprocal: Genesis 32:14 - General Joshua 12:22 - Carmel Judges 10:12 - the Maonites 1 Samuel 9:1 - power 1 Samuel 15:12 - Carmel Psalms 73:7 - have Daniel 2:48 - a great Amos 1:2 - Carmel

Cross-References

Genesis 25:1
Abraham took another wife, whose name was Ketu'rah.

Genesis 25:4
The sons of Mid'ian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abi'da, and Elda'ah. All these were the children of Ketu'rah.

Genesis 25:8
Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people.

Genesis 25:15
Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Ked'emah.

Genesis 25:16
These are the sons of Ish'mael and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes according to their tribes.

Genesis 25:17
(These are the years of the life of Ish'mael, a hundred and thirty-seven years; he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his kindred.)

Genesis 25:18
They dwelt from Hav'ilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria; he settled over against all his people.

Genesis 25:32
Esau said, "I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?"

Genesis 25:33
Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.

Genesis 36:35
Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated Mid'ian in the country of Moab, reigned in his stead, the name of his city being Avith.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And [there was] a man in Maon,.... A city of the tribe of Judah, from whence the wilderness had its name before mentioned; of which place, see Joshua 15:55; though Ben Gersom takes it to signify a dwelling place; and that this is observed to show, that he did not dwell in a city, but had his habitation where his business lay, which was in Carmel, where his fields, gardens, and vineyards were: wherefore it follows,

whose possessions [were] in Carmel; not Carmel in the tribe of Issachar, but in the tribe of Judah, not far from Maon, and are mentioned together, Joshua 15:55- :; his cattle were there, his sheep particularly, for they are afterwards said to be shorn there; or "his work" r; his agriculture, his farming, where he was employed, or employed others in sowing seed, and planting trees:

and the man [was] very great; in worldly substance, though not in natural wisdom and knowledge, and especially in true religion and piety:

and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats; so the substance of men in those times was generally described by the cattle they had, whether of the herd or flock, in which it chiefly lay:

and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel; which was the custom in Judea and Syria, and was a very ancient one, as early as the times of Judah, yea, of Laban, see Genesis 31:19; though the old Romans used to pluck off the wool from the sheep's backs; hence a fleece of wool was called "vellus [a] vellendo", from the plucking it off; and Pliny says s, in his time, that sheep were not shorn everywhere, but in some places the custom of plucking off the wool continued; and who elsewhere observes t, that the time of shearing was in June or July, or thereabouts; at which times a feast was made, and it is for the sake of that this is observed.

r מעשהו "opus ejus", Montanus, Vatablus; "eujus opus", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. s Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 48. t Ibid. l. 18. c. 27.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Carmel - Not Mount Carmel on the west of the plain of Esdraelon, but the Carmel close to Maon (marginal references).

Shearing his sheep - Which was always a time of open-handed hospitality among flock-masters Genesis 38:12-13; 2 Samuel 13:23-24.