1 Samuel 25:21 — Compare Translations

27 translations compared side by side

English (YLT) 1898 Young's Literal Translation by Robert Young

And David said, `Only, in vain I have kept all that this [one] hath in the wilderness, and nothing hath been looked after of all that he hath, and he turneth back to me evil for good;

English ASV

Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he hath returned me evil for good.

English Amplified

Now David had said, Surely in vain have I protected all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him; and he has repaid me evil for good.

English Amplified Classic Bible 1987

Now David had said, Surely in vain have I protected all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him; and he has repaid me evil for good.

English Berean Standard Bible (BSB) 2025

Now David had just finished saying, “In vain I have protected all that belonged to this man in the wilderness. Nothing that belongs to him has gone missing, yet he has paid me back evil for good.

English CSB 2017 - Christian Standard Bible

David had just said, “I guarded everything that belonged to this man in the wilderness for nothing. He was not missing anything, yet he paid me back evil for good.

English Darby 1890 : Public Domain

Now David had said, Surely, in vain have I kept all that this [man] had in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that was his; and he has requited me evil for good.

English EASY 2024

David had just said to his men, ‘I kept Nabal's people and all his things safe in the desert. We did not take anything from him. But that has not helped us. I was kind to him, but he has done an evil thing to me in return.

English ERV 2006 - Only For Website

David was saying, "I protected Nabal's property in the desert. I made sure not one of his sheep was missing. I did all that for nothing. I was good to him, but he was rude to me.

Now David had said, "Surely in vain have I guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him, and he has returned me evil for good.

English GNT (Good News Translation)

David had been thinking, “Why did I ever protect that fellow's property out here in the wilderness? Not a thing that belonged to him was stolen, and this is how he pays me back for the help I gave him!

English God's Word - GW 1995

David had thought, "I guarded this man's stuff in the desert for nothing! Not one of his possessions was missing. Yet, he has paid me back with evil when I was good to him.

English HCSB 2004 - Copyrighted Only For Website

David had just said, "I guarded everything that belonged to this man in the wilderness for nothing. He was not missing anything, yet he paid me back evil for good.

English KJV 1611

Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he hath requited me evil for good.

English LSB

Now David had said, “Surely for a lie I have guarded all that this man has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him; and he has returned me evil for good.

English MEV 2014 (Modern English Version)

Now David had said, “Surely in vain have I guarded all that this man has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him. And he has returned me evil for good.

English NASB (New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995)

Now David had said, "Surely in vain I have guarded all that this man has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him; and he has returned me evil for good.

English NASU 1989 - New American Standard Update - Only for Website

David had just been saying: "Indeed, it was in vain that I guarded all this man's possessions in the desert, so that he missed nothing. He has repaid good with evil.

English NET Bible - 2005 (New English Translation)

Now David had been thinking, “In vain I guarded everything that belonged to this man in the desert. I didn’t take anything from him. But he has repaid my good with evil.

English NIRV 1996 - Copyrighted only for Website

David had just said, "Everything we've done hasn't been worth a thing! I watched over that fellow's property in the desert. I made sure none of it was stolen. But he has paid me back evil for good.

English NIV

David had just said, "It's been useless-all my watching over this fellow's property in the desert so that nothing of his was missing. He has paid me back evil for good.

English NKJ 1982

Now David had said, “Surely in vain I have protected all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belongs to him. And he has repaid me evil for good.

English NLT

David had just been saying, "A lot of good it did to help this fellow. We protected his flocks in the wilderness, and nothing he owned was lost or stolen. But he has repaid me evil for good.

English NRSV 1989 - Only for website

Now David had said, "Surely it was in vain that I protected all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him; but he has returned me evil for good.

English RSV (Revised Standard Version)

Now David had said, “Surely in vain have I guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him; and he has returned me evil for good.

English TL (The Living Bible) (1971)

David had been saying to himself, “A lot of good it did us to help this fellow. We protected his flocks in the wilderness so that not one thing was lost or stolen, but he has repaid me bad for good. All that I get for my trouble is insults.

English Tyndale 1537

And David said: in vain have I kept all that this fellow had in the wilderness: so that nought was missed that pertained unto him, for he hath quite me with evil for good.