What Does 1 Samuel 25:21 Mean in the King James?
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.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The word translated “requited” means “returned”: evil is turned back into the place where good was given.
THE MEANING
You can guard another’s good so carefully that nothing goes missing and still receive evil in return. In that moment, the care can feel wasted because what comes back contradicts what you gave. The verse names the exchange without disguising its harm.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It breaks the belief that careful goodness guarantees a good return: here, evil is returned for good.
THE ROOT
וַיָּשֶׁב
wayyashev
GROWS FROM
שוב
To turn or return.
“requited” in this verse is wayyashev. The line casts the response as a return: evil is turned toward the one who gave care, taking the place of good. The same root can describe restoration, so the wound lies in the kind of return made.
ALSO GROWS
shuv: To turn or return.
שׁוּב
It reveals the motion beneath “requited”: something given comes back toward its giver.
heshiv: To bring back or restore.
הֵשִׁיב
It shows that return can restore what was lost; here, the return carries harm instead.
שָׁמַרְתִּי
shamarti
GROWS FROM
שמר
To guard, watch over, or keep.
“kept” in this verse is shamarti. The word for keeping carries the sense of active watchfulness. The verse’s next detail, nothing was missing, shows what that guarding accomplished: none of what belonged to the other was overlooked.
ALSO GROWS
shomer: A watchman or guardian.
שֹׁמֵר
It makes visible the attentive guarding contained in “kept.”
mishmeret: A charge, watch, or duty of guarding.
מִשְׁמֶרֶת
It links keeping with sustained care over what has been entrusted.
נִפְקַד
niphqad
GROWS FROM
פקד
To attend to, number, muster, or visit.
The word rendered “missed” comes from a root that can involve attending to or counting. The picture is of everything being accounted for, with nothing overlooked in the care given.
ALSO GROWS
paqad: To attend to, number, or muster.
פָּקַד
It gives the sense of careful oversight behind the claim that nothing was missing.
pequddah: An appointment, charge, or oversight.
פְּקֻדָּה
It connects the care in the verse with responsibility for what is under one’s watch.
THE PATTERN
A return does not have to mirror what was first given: good can be met with evil, and the cycle can be answered without repeating it.
They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul.Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.THE THREAD
A Song of degrees. When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.The verb translated “requited” comes from שׁוּב (shuv), meaning “to turn or return”; the same root appears here in “turned again.” In this verse, return brings restoration, showing that the root’s motion can carry release as well as harm.
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