1 Samuel 30:1

THE MESSAGE

Three days later, David and his men arrived back in Ziklag. Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They tore Ziklag to pieces and then burned it down. They captured all the women, young and old. They didn't kill anyone, but drove them like a herd of cattle. By the time David and his men entered the village, it had been burned to the ground, and their wives, sons, and daughters all taken prisoner.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
David and his men arrived in Ziklag on the third day. The Amalekites had raided the Negev and attacked and burned Ziklag.

Hebrew Names Version
It happened, when David and his men were come to Tziklag on the third day, that the `Amaleki had made a raid on the South, and on Tziklag, and had struck Tziklag, and burned it with fire,

King James Version
And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;

Lexham English Bible
Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. When they attacked Ziklag, they burned it with fire.

English Standard Version
Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid against the Negeb and against Ziklag. They had overcome Ziklag and burned it with fire

New Century Version
On the third day, when David and his men arrived at Ziklag, he found that the Amalekites had raided southern Judah and Ziklag, attacking Ziklag and burning it.

New English Translation
On the third day David and his men came to Ziklag. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They attacked Ziklag and burned it.

Amplified Bible
Now it happened when David and his men came [home] to Ziklag on the third day, [they found] that the Amalekites had made a raid on the Negev (the South country) and on Ziklag, and had overthrown Ziklag and burned it with fire;

New American Standard Bible
Then it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had carried out an attack on the Negev and on Ziklag, and had overthrown Ziklag and burned it with fire;

Geneva Bible (1587)
Bvt when Dauid and his men were come to Ziklag the thirde day, the Amalekites had inuaded vpon the South, euen vnto Ziklag, and had smitten Ziklag, and burnt it with fire,

Legacy Standard Bible
Then it happened when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid on the Negev and on Ziklag and had struck Ziklag and burned it with fire;

Contemporary English Version
It took David and his men three days to reach Ziklag. But while they had been away, the Amalekites had been raiding in the desert around there. They had attacked Ziklag, burned it to the ground,

Complete Jewish Bible
Three days later, when David and his men arrived in Ziklag, they found that the ‘Amaleki had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had sacked Ziklag and burned it down;

Darby Translation
And it came to pass, when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid upon the south, and upon Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag and burned it with fire;

Easy-to-Read Version
As soon as David and his men arrived at Ziklag on the third day, they saw that the Amalekites had attacked Ziklag. The Amalekites invaded the Negev area, attacked Ziklag, and burned the city.

George Lamsa Translation
AND when David and his men were come to Zinklag on the third day, the Amalekites had raided the Negeb and Zinklag, and burned them with fire;

Good News Translation
Two days later David and his men arrived back at Ziklag. The Amalekites had raided southern Judah and attacked Ziklag. They had burned down the town

Literal Translation
And it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had raided to the Negeb, even to Ziklag, and had struck Ziklag and burned it with fire.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Now whan Dauid came to Siclag on the thirde daie with his men, the Amalechites had falle in on ye south parte and at Siclag, and had smytten Siclag, and burned it with fyre,

American Standard Version
And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid upon the South, and upon Ziklag, and had smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire,

Bible in Basic English
Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made an attack on the South and on Ziklag, and had overcome Ziklag and put it on fire;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
But when Dauid and his men were come to Ziklag the third day, the Amalekites had inuaded vppon the south, euen vnto Ziklag, and had smitten Ziklag, and burnt it with fyre.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid upon the South, and upon Ziklag, and had smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;

King James Version (1611)
And it came to passe when Dauid and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had inuaded the South and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burnt it with fire:

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And it came to pass when David and his men had entered Sekelac on the third day, that Amalec had made an incursion upon the south, and upon Sekelac, and smitten Sekelac, and burnt it with fire.

English Revised Version
And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid upon the South, and upon Ziklag, and had smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;

Berean Standard Bible
On the third day David and his men arrived in Ziklag, and the Amalekites had raided the Negev, attacked Ziklag, and burned it down.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And whanne Dauid and hise men hadden come `in to Sichelech in the thridde dai, men of Amalech hadden maad asauyt on the south part in Sichelech; and thei smytiden Sichelech, and brenten it bi fier.

Young's Literal Translation
And it cometh to pass, in the coming in of David and his men to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites have pushed unto the south, and unto Ziklag, and smite Ziklag, and burn it with fire,

Update Bible Version
And it came to pass, when David and his men had come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid on the South, and on Ziklag, and had smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire,

Webster's Bible Translation
And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;

World English Bible
It happened, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid on the South, and on Ziklag, and had struck Ziklag, and burned it with fire,

New King James Version
Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire,

New Living Translation
Three days later, when David and his men arrived home at their town of Ziklag, they found that the Amalekites had made a raid into the Negev and Ziklag; they had crushed Ziklag and burned it to the ground.

New Life Bible
When David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had come to fight in the Negev and Ziklag. They had destroyed Ziklag, and burned it with fire.

New Revised Standard
Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid on the Negeb and on Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag, burned it down,

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And it came to pass, when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that, the Amalekites, had made a raid into the South, and into Ziklag, and had smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;

Douay-Rheims Bible
Now when David and his men were come to Siceleg on the third day, the Amalecites had made an invasion on the south side upon Siceleg, and had smitten Siceleg, and burnt it with fire,

Revised Standard Version
Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amal'ekites had made a raid upon the Negeb and upon Ziklag. They had overcome Ziklag, and burned it with fire,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then it happened when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid on the Negev and on Ziklag, and had overthrown Ziklag and burned it with fire;

Contextual Overview

¹Three days later, David and his men arrived back in Ziklag. Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They tore Ziklag to pieces and then burned it down. They captured all the women, young and old. They didn't kill anyone, but drove them like a herd of cattle. By the time David and his men entered the village, it had been burned to the ground, and their wives, sons, and daughters all taken prisoner. ⁴David and his men burst out in loud wails—wept and wept until they were exhausted with weeping. David's two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail widow of Nabal of Carmel, had been taken prisoner along with the rest. And suddenly David was in even worse trouble. There was talk among the men, bitter over the loss of their families, of stoning him. David strengthened himself with trust in his God . He ordered Abiathar the priest, son of Ahimelech, "Bring me the Ephod so I can consult God." Abiathar brought it to David. Then David prayed to God , "Shall I go after these raiders? Can I catch them?" The answer came, "Go after them! Yes, you'll catch them! Yes, you'll make the rescue!" David went, he and the six hundred men with him. They arrived at the Brook Besor, where some of them dropped out. David and four hundred men kept up the pursuit, but two hundred of them were too fatigued to cross the Brook Besor, and stayed there. Some who went on came across an Egyptian in a field and took him to David. They gave him bread and he ate. And he drank some water. They gave him a piece of fig cake and a couple of raisin muffins. Life began to revive in him. He hadn't eaten or drunk a thing for three days and nights! David said to him, "Who do you belong to? Where are you from?" "I'm an Egyptian slave of an Amalekite," he said. "My master walked off and left me when I got sick—that was three days ago. We had raided the Negev of the Kerethites, of Judah, and of Caleb. Ziklag we burned." David asked him, "Can you take us to the raiders?" "Promise me by God," he said, "that you won't kill me or turn me over to my old master, and I'll take you straight to the raiders." He led David to them. They were scattered all over the place, eating and drinking, gorging themselves on all the loot they had plundered from Philistia and Judah. David pounced. He fought them from before sunrise until evening of the next day. None got away except for four hundred of the younger men who escaped by riding off on camels. David rescued everything the Amalekites had taken. And he rescued his two wives! Nothing and no one was missing—young or old, son or daughter, plunder or whatever. David recovered the whole lot. He herded the sheep and cattle before them, and they all shouted, "David's plunder!" Then David came to the two hundred who had been too tired to continue with him and had dropped out at the Brook Besor. They came out to welcome David and his band. As he came near he called out, "Success!" But all the mean-spirited men who had marched with David, the rabble element, objected: "They didn't help in the rescue, they don't get any of the plunder we recovered. Each man can have his wife and children, but that's it. Take them and go!" "Families don't do this sort of thing! Oh no, my brothers!" said David as he broke up the argument. "You can't act this way with what God gave us! God kept us safe. He handed over the raiders who attacked us. Who would ever listen to this kind of talk? The share of the one who stays with the gear is the share of the one who fights—equal shares. Share and share alike!" From that day on, David made that the rule in Israel—and it still is. On returning to Ziklag, David sent portions of the plunder to the elders of Judah, his neighbors, with a note saying, "A gift from the plunder of God 's enemies!" He sent them to the elders in Bethel, Ramoth Negev, Jattir, Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, Racal, Jerahmeelite cities, Kenite cities, Hormah, Bor Ashan, Athach, and Hebron, along with a number of other places David and his men went to from time to time.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

were come: 1 Samuel 29:11, 2 Samuel 1:2

on the third: This was the third day after he had left the Philistine army at Aphek, from which place, Calmet supposes, Ziklag was distant more than thirty leagues.

the Amalekites: 1 Samuel 15:7, 1 Samuel 27:8-10, Genesis 24:62, Joshua 11:6

Reciprocal: Genesis 14:7 - Amalekites Exodus 17:8 - General Exodus 17:14 - for I will Numbers 13:29 - Amalekites Numbers 24:20 - his latter end Numbers 31:10 - General Deuteronomy 25:19 - thou shalt Joshua 15:31 - Ziklag Joshua 19:5 - Ziklag 1 Samuel 15:8 - utterly 1 Samuel 27:1 - into the land 1 Samuel 27:6 - Ziklag 1 Samuel 29:10 - General 1 Samuel 30:14 - we burned 2 Samuel 1:8 - an Amalekite 2 Samuel 2:3 - his men 1 Chronicles 4:30 - Ziklag 1 Chronicles 12:21 - against the band Psalms 9:6 - thou hast Jeremiah 41:12 - to fight

Cross-References

Genesis 29:31
When God realized that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb. But Rachel was barren. Leah became pregnant and had a son. She named him Reuben (Look-It's-a-Boy!). "This is a sign," she said, "that God has seen my misery; and a sign that now my husband will love me."

Genesis 30:1
When Rachel realized that she wasn't having any children for Jacob, she became jealous of her sister. She told Jacob, "Give me sons or I'll die!"

Genesis 30:3
Rachel said, "Here's my maid Bilhah. Sleep with her. Let her substitute for me so I can have a child through her and build a family." So she gave him her maid Bilhah for a wife and Jacob slept with her. Bilhah became pregnant and gave Jacob a son.

Genesis 30:14
One day during the wheat harvest Reuben found some mandrakes in the field and brought them home to his mother Leah. Rachel asked Leah, "Could I please have some of your son's mandrakes?"

Genesis 30:16
When Jacob came home that evening from the fields, Leah was there to meet him: "Sleep with me tonight; I've bartered my son's mandrakes for a night with you." So he slept with her that night. God listened to Leah; she became pregnant and gave Jacob a fifth son. She said, "God rewarded me for giving my maid to my husband." She named him Issachar (Bartered). Leah became pregnant yet again and gave Jacob a sixth son, saying, "God has given me a great gift. This time my husband will honor me with gifts—I've given him six sons!" She named him Zebulun (Honor). Last of all she had a daughter and named her Dinah.

Genesis 30:22
And then God remembered Rachel. God listened to her and opened her womb. She became pregnant and had a son. She said, "God has taken away my humiliation." She named him Joseph (Add), praying, "May God add yet another son to me."

Numbers 11:29
But Moses said, "Are you jealous for me? Would that all God 's people were prophets. Would that God would put his Spirit on all of them."

Job 3:11
"Why didn't I die at birth, my first breath out of the womb my last? Why were there arms to rock me, and breasts for me to drink from? I could be resting in peace right now, asleep forever, feeling no pain, In the company of kings and statesmen in their royal ruins, Or with princes resplendent in their gold and silver tombs. Why wasn't I stillborn and buried with all the babies who never saw light, Where the wicked no longer trouble anyone and bone-weary people get a long-deserved rest? Prisoners sleep undisturbed, never again to wake up to the bark of the guards. The small and the great are equals in that place, and slaves are free from their masters.

Proverbs 14:30
A sound mind makes for a robust body, but runaway emotions corrode the bones.

Ecclesiastes 4:4
Then I observed all the work and ambition motivated by envy. What a waste! Smoke. And spitting into the wind.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag, on the third day,.... Either from their departure from thence, when they went out with Achish, or rather from the time of their leaving Achish, and the camp of the Philistines; so long they were upon their march homewards, see 2 Samuel 1:1; and no wonder, if it was the distance of eighty eight miles, 2 Samuel 1:1- :;

that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag; the southern parts of the land of the Philistines, and of Judah, as appears from

1 Samuel 30:14; taking the opportunity of the Philistines being gone into the land of Israel, and particularly of David's absence from Ziklag, to whom they bore a grudge for his invasion, destruction, and spoil of them not long ago, see 1 Samuel 27:8;

and smitten Ziklag, and burnt it with fire; not that they smote the inhabitants of it, there were no men in it, and the women and children they carried captive; but they demolished the buildings in it, pulled down the houses after they had rifled them, and burnt them with fire, that David and his men might dwell there no more.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

On the third day - This indicates that Aphek was three days’ march from Ziklag, say about 50 miles, which agrees very well with the probable situation of Aphek (1 Samuel 4:1 note). From Ziklag to Shunem would not be less than 80 or 90 miles.

The Amalekites, in retaliation of David’s raids 1 Samuel 27:8-9, invaded “the south” of Judah Joshua 15:21; but owing to the absence of all the men with David there was no resistance, and consequently the women and children were carried off as prey, and uninjured.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

CHAPTER XXX

While David is absent with the army of Achish, the Amalekites

invade Ziklag, and burn it with fire, and carry away captive

David's wives, and those of his men, 1, 2.

David and his men return; and, finding the desolate state of

their city, are greatly affected, 3-5.

The men mutiny, and threaten to stone David, who encourages

himself in the Lord, 6.

David inquires of the Lord, and is directed to pursue the

Amalekites, with the promise that he shall recover all, 7, 8.

He and his men begin the pursuit, but two hundred, through

fatigue are obliged to stay behind at the brook Besor, 9, 10.

They find a sick Egyptian, who directs them in their pursuit,

11-15.

David finds the Amalekites secure, feasting on the spoils they

had taken; he attacks and destroys the whole host, except four

hundred, who escape on camels, 16, 17.

The Israelites recover their wives, their families, and all

their goods, 18-20.

They come to the two hundred who were so faint as not to be

able to pursue the enemy, with whom they divide the spoil; and

this becomes a statute in Israel, 21-25.

David sends part of the spoil which he had taken to different

Jewish cities, which had suffered by the incursion of the

Amalekites; and where David and his anew had been accustomed

to resort, 26-31.

NOTES ON CHAP. XXX

Verse 1 Samuel 30:1. On the third day — This was the third day after he had left the Philistine army at Aphek. Calmet supposes that Aphek was distant from Ziklag more than thirty leagues.

The Amalekites had invaded — These were, doubtless, a travelling predatory horde, who, availing themselves of the war between the Philistines and the Israelites, plundered several unprotected towns, and among them Ziklag. It is likely they had not heard of what David did to some of their tribes, else they would have avenged themselves by slaying all they found in Ziklag.