1 Samuel 30
English Standard Version
David's Wives Are Captured
30 Now when David and his men came to (A)Ziklag on the third day, (B)the Amalekites had (C)made a raid against the Negeb and against Ziklag. They had overcome Ziklag and burned it with fire 2 and taken captive the women and all[a] who were in it, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off and went their way. 3 And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep. 5 David's (D)two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6 And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke (E)of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul,[b] each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
7 (F)And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 (G)And David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue after this (H)band? Shall I overtake them?” He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake (I)and shall surely rescue.” 9 So David set out, and (J)the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, where those who were left behind stayed. 10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men. (K)Two hundred stayed behind, who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor.
11 They found an Egyptian in the open country and brought him to David. And they gave him bread and he ate. They gave him water to drink, 12 and they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. And when he had eaten, (L)his spirit revived, for he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights. 13 And David said to him, “To whom do you belong? And where are you from?” He said, “I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite, and my master left me behind because I fell sick three days ago. 14 (M)We had made a raid against the Negeb of (N)the Cherethites and against that which belongs to Judah and against the Negeb of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.” 15 And David said to him, “Will you take me down to this band?” And he said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will take you down to this (O)band.”
David Defeats the Amalekites
16 And when he had taken him down, behold, they were spread abroad over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. 17 And David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day, and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men, who mounted camels and fled. 18 (P)David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and David rescued his two wives. 19 Nothing was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken. (Q)David brought back all. 20 David also captured all the flocks and herds, and the people drove the livestock before him,[c] and said, “This is David's spoil.”
21 Then David came to (R)the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow David, and who had been left (S)at the brook Besor. And they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him. And when David came near to the people he greeted them. 22 Then all the wicked and worthless fellows among the men who had gone with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except that each man may lead away his wife and children, and depart.” 23 But David said, “You shall not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord has given us. He has preserved us and given into our hand the band that came against us. 24 Who would listen to you in this matter? (T)For as his share is who goes down into the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage. They shall share alike.” 25 And he made it a statute and a rule for Israel from that day forward to this day.
26 When David came to Ziklag, he sent part of the spoil to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, “Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of the Lord.” 27 It was for those in (U)Bethel, in Ramoth of the Negeb, in (V)Jattir, 28 in (W)Aroer, in Siphmoth, in (X)Eshtemoa, 29 in Racal, in the cities of (Y)the Jerahmeelites, in the cities of (Z)the Kenites, 30 in (AA)Hormah, in Bor-ashan, in Athach, 31 in (AB)Hebron, for all the places where David and his men had roamed.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 30:2 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks and all
- 1 Samuel 30:6 Compare 22:2
- 1 Samuel 30:20 The meaning of the Hebrew clause is uncertain
1 Samuel 30
Legacy Standard Bible
David Strikes Down the Amalekites
30 Then it happened when David and his men came to (A)Ziklag on the third day, that (B)the Amalekites had made a raid on the [a]Negev and on (C)Ziklag and had struck Ziklag and burned it with fire; 2 and they took captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great—(D)they did not put anyone to death—and carried them off and went their way. 3 Then David and his men came to the city, and behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken captive. 4 So David and the people who were with him (E)lifted their voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep. 5 Now (F)David’s two wives had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the [b]widow of Nabal the Carmelite. 6 Moreover David was greatly distressed because (G)the people said to stone him, for all the people were [c]embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But (H)David strengthened himself in Yahweh his God.
7 Then (I)David said to (J)Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Please bring the ephod near to me.” So Abiathar brought the ephod near to David. 8 (K)And David asked of Yahweh, saying, “(L)Shall I pursue this band? Shall I overtake them?” And He said to him, “Pursue, for you will surely overtake them, (M)and you will surely deliver all.” 9 So David went, (N)he and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, where those left behind remained. 10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men, for (O)two hundred who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor remained behind.
11 Then they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David and gave him bread, and he ate, and they provided him water to drink. 12 And they gave him a piece of fig cake and two clusters of raisins, and he ate; (P)then his spirit [d]revived. For he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights. 13 And David said to him, “To whom do you belong? And where are you from?” And he said, “I am a young man of Egypt, a slave of an Amalekite; and my master forsook me when I fell sick three days ago. 14 We made a raid on (Q)the [e]Negev of the Cherethites and on that which belongs to Judah and on (R)the [f]Negev of Caleb, and (S)we burned Ziklag with fire.” 15 Then David said to him, “Will you bring me down to this band?” And he said, “Swear to me by God that you will not put me to death or surrender me into the hands of my master, and I will bring you down to this band.”
16 So he brought him down, and behold, they were [g]spread over all the land, (T)eating and drinking and [h]celebrating because of (U)all the great spoil that they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. 17 Then David struck them (V)down from the twilight [i]until the evening of [j]the next day; and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on (W)camels and fled. 18 So David (X)delivered all that the Amalekites had taken and [k]delivered his two wives. 19 Indeed nothing of theirs was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that they had taken for themselves; (Y)David brought it all back. 20 And David took all the sheep and the cattle which the people drove ahead of [l]the other livestock, and they said, “(Z)This is David’s spoil.”
David Apportions the Spoils
21 Then (AA)David came to the two hundred men who were too exhausted to follow David, who had also remained at the brook Besor, and they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him, and David approached the people and greeted them. 22 Then all the evil and vile men among those who went with David said, “Because they did not go with [m]us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have delivered, except to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away and depart.” 23 Then David said, “You must not do so, my brothers, with what Yahweh has given us, who has kept us and given into our hand the band that came against us. 24 And who will listen to you in this matter? For (AB)as is the portion of the one who goes down to the battle, so shall the portion be of the one who remains by the baggage; they shall be apportioned together.” 25 So it has been from that day forward, that he made it a statute and a judgment for Israel to this day.
26 Then David came to Ziklag and sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, “Behold, (AC)a [n]gift for you from the spoil of (AD)the enemies of Yahweh: 27 to those who were in (AE)Bethel, and to those who were in (AF)Ramoth of the [o]Negev, and to those who were in (AG)Jattir, 28 and to those who were in (AH)Aroer, and to those who were in Siphmoth, and to those who were in (AI)Eshtemoa, 29 and to those who were in Racal, and to those who were in the cities of (AJ)the Jerahmeelites, and to those who were in the cities of (AK)the Kenites, 30 and to those who were in (AL)Hormah, and to those who were in (AM)Bor-ashan, and to those who were in Athach, 31 and to those who were in (AN)Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men (AO)went about.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 30:1 South country
- 1 Samuel 30:5 Lit wife
- 1 Samuel 30:6 Lit bitter in soul
- 1 Samuel 30:12 Lit returned to him
- 1 Samuel 30:14 South country
- 1 Samuel 30:14 South country
- 1 Samuel 30:16 Lit left
- 1 Samuel 30:16 Lit keeping a pilgrim-feast
- 1 Samuel 30:17 Lit even until
- 1 Samuel 30:17 Lit their
- 1 Samuel 30:18 Or David rescued
- 1 Samuel 30:20 Lit those livestock
- 1 Samuel 30:22 Lit me
- 1 Samuel 30:26 Lit blessing
- 1 Samuel 30:27 South country
1 Samuel 30
King James Version
30 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;
2 And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way.
3 So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives.
4 Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.
5 And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
6 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.
7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David.
8 And David enquired at the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.
9 So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind stayed.
10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred abode behind, which were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor.
11 And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water;
12 And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights.
13 And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick.
14 We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.
15 And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company.
16 And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.
17 And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled.
18 And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives.
19 And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered all.
20 And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drave before those other cattle, and said, This is David's spoil.
21 And David came to the two hundred men, which were so faint that they could not follow David, whom they had made also to abide at the brook Besor: and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him: and when David came near to the people, he saluted them.
22 Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial, of those that went with David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them ought of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away, and depart.
23 Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the Lord hath given us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand.
24 For who will hearken unto you in this matter? but as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike.
25 And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day.
26 And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the Lord;
27 To them which were in Bethel, and to them which were in south Ramoth, and to them which were in Jattir,
28 And to them which were in Aroer, and to them which were in Siphmoth, and to them which were in Eshtemoa,
29 And to them which were in Rachal, and to them which were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to them which were in the cities of the Kenites,
30 And to them which were in Hormah, and to them which were in Chorashan, and to them which were in Athach,
31 And to them which were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt.
1 Samuel 30
New King James Version
David’s Conflict with the Amalekites
30 Now it happened, when David and his men came to (A)Ziklag, on the third day, that the (B)Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, 2 and had taken captive the (C)women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way. 3 So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. 5 And David’s two (D)wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. 6 Now David was greatly distressed, for (E)the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was [a]grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. (F)But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
7 (G)Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, “Please bring the ephod here to me.” And (H)Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 (I)So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?”
And He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.”
9 So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the Brook Besor, where those stayed who were left behind. 10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men; (J)for two hundred stayed behind, who were so weary that they could not cross the Brook Besor.
11 Then they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David; and they gave him bread and he ate, and they let him drink water. 12 And they gave him a piece of (K)a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. So (L)when he had eaten, his strength came back to him; for he had eaten no bread nor drunk water for three days and three nights. 13 Then David said to him, “To whom do you belong, and where are you from?”
And he said, “I am a young man from Egypt, servant of an Amalekite; and my master left me behind, because three days ago I fell sick. 14 We made an invasion of the southern area of (M)the Cherethites, in the territory which belongs to Judah, and of the southern area (N)of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.”
15 And David said to him, “Can you take me down to this troop?”
So he said, “Swear to me by God that you will neither kill me nor deliver me into the hands of my (O)master, and I will take you down to this troop.”
16 And when he had brought him down, there they were, spread out over all the land, (P)eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil which they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. 17 Then David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled. 18 So David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away, and David rescued his two wives. 19 And nothing of theirs was lacking, either small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything which they had taken from them; (Q)David recovered all. 20 Then David took all the flocks and herds they had driven before those other livestock, and said, “This is David’s spoil.”
21 Now David came to the (R)two hundred men who had been so weary that they could not follow David, whom they also had made to stay at the Brook Besor. So they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him. And when David came near the people, he [b]greeted them. 22 Then all the wicked and (S)worthless[c] men of those who went with David answered and said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except for every man’s wife and children, that they may lead them away and depart.”
23 But David said, “My brethren, you shall not do so with what the Lord has given us, who has preserved us and delivered into our hand the troop that came against us. 24 For who will heed you in this matter? But (T)as his part is who goes down to the battle, so shall his part be who stays by the supplies; they shall share alike.” 25 So it was, from that day forward; he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.
26 Now when David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the [d]spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, “Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of the Lord”— 27 to those who were in Bethel, those who were in (U)Ramoth of the South, those who were in (V)Jattir, 28 those who were in (W)Aroer, those who were in (X)Siphmoth, those who were in (Y)Eshtemoa, 29 those who were in Rachal, those who were in the cities of (Z)the Jerahmeelites, those who were in the cities of the (AA)Kenites, 30 those who were in (AB)Hormah, those who were in [e]Chorashan, those who were in Athach, 31 those who were in (AC)Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were accustomed to (AD)rove.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 30:6 Lit. bitter
- 1 Samuel 30:21 asked them concerning their welfare
- 1 Samuel 30:22 Lit. men of Belial
- 1 Samuel 30:26 booty
- 1 Samuel 30:30 Or Borashan
1 Samuel 30
Dios Habla Hoy
David derrota a los amalecitas
30 Al tercer día, David y sus hombres llegaron a Siclag, y se encontraron con que los amalecitas habían invadido el Négueb y atacado a Siclag, destruyéndola e incendiándola. 2 También se habían llevado prisioneras a las mujeres y a todos los niños y adultos que estaban allí, aunque no habían matado a nadie.
3 Cuando David y sus hombres llegaron a la ciudad y vieron que estaba quemada y que se habían llevado prisioneros a sus mujeres, hijos e hijas, 4 se pusieron a llorar a voz en cuello hasta quedarse sin fuerzas. 5 También habían hecho prisioneras a las dos mujeres de David: a Ahinóam, la de Jezreel, y a Abigail, la viuda de Nabal, el de Carmel. 6 David estaba muy preocupado porque la tropa quería apedrearlo, pues todos estaban muy disgustados por lo que había sucedido a sus hijos. Sin embargo, puso su confianza en el Señor su Dios, 7 y le dijo al sacerdote Abiatar, hijo de Ahimélec:
—Por favor, tráeme el efod.
En cuanto Abiatar llevó el efod a David, 8 éste consultó al Señor. Le preguntó:
—¿Debo perseguir a esa banda de ladrones? ¿Podré alcanzarla?
Y el Señor contestó:
—Persíguela, pues la alcanzarás y rescatarás a los prisioneros.
9 Inmediatamente David se puso en camino con los seiscientos hombres que le acompañaban, y llegaron al arroyo de Besor. Allí se quedaron 10 doscientos hombres que estaban muy cansados para cruzar el arroyo, y con los otros cuatrocientos continuó David la persecución. 11 Más tarde encontraron en el llano a un egipcio, y lo llevaron ante David, aunque antes tuvieron que darle de comer y de beber: 12 le dieron una rebanada de torta de higo y dos tortas de uvas pasas. Después de comer, el egipcio se sintió más reanimado, pues hacía tres días y tres noches que no había comido ni bebido nada. 13 Entonces le preguntó David:
—¿Quién es tu amo? ¿De dónde vienes?
El egipcio le respondió:
—Soy egipcio, criado de un amalecita, pero hace tres días mi amo me abandonó porque caí enfermo, 14 pues fuimos a saquear la parte sur del territorio de los quereteos, y de los de Judá y de Caleb. También le prendimos fuego a Siclag.
15 —¿Me quieres conducir hasta esa banda de ladrones? —le preguntó David.
Y el egipcio contestó:
—Si me juras por Dios que no me matarás ni me entregarás a mi amo, te llevaré hasta ellos.
16 Y lo llevó hasta donde estaban los ladrones, los cuales se habían desparramado por todo el campo y estaban comiendo, bebiendo y haciendo fiesta por todo lo que habían robado en territorio filisteo y en territorio de Judá. 17 Entonces David los atacó desde la mañana hasta la tarde, y los destruyó por completo, menos a cuatrocientos muchachos que montaron en sus camellos y lograron escapar.
18 David rescató todo lo que los amalecitas habían robado, y rescató también a sus dos mujeres. 19 No les faltó ni la más pequeña cosa de todo lo que les habían quitado, ni tampoco faltó un solo niño ni adulto, pues David lo recuperó todo. 20 También se apoderó David de todas sus ovejas y vacas, y los que arreaban el ganado decían que aquello era lo que había ganado David.
21 Cuando David llegó adonde estaban los doscientos hombres que por estar demasiado cansados no lo habían acompañado, sino que se habían quedado en el arroyo de Besor, salieron ellos a recibirlo a él y a sus acompañantes. David se acercó a ellos y los saludó. 22 Pero algunos de sus hombres, que eran gente malvada y perversa, protestaron y dijeron que a quienes no habían ido con ellos no se les debía dar nada de lo que ellos habían obtenido, excepto sus mujeres e hijos, y que deberían irse después de recuperarlos. 23 Sin embargo, David dijo:
—No hagan eso, amigos míos, después de todo lo que el Señor nos ha dado, y de que nos ha conservado la vida y ha puesto en nuestras manos a esa banda de ladrones que nos había atacado. 24 En este caso nadie va a darles la razón, porque en el reparto lo mismo les toca a los que se quedan cuidando el equipo que a los que van a la batalla.
25 (Desde entonces, y hasta el presente, ésta fue la práctica general en Israel.)
26 Cuando David llegó a Siclag, envió a sus amigos, los ancianos de Judá, una parte de lo que le había quitado al enemigo, junto con este mensaje: «Aquí tienen ustedes este regalo, que es parte de lo que les quité a los enemigos del Señor.» 27 Y envió regalos a los que estaban en Betel, en Ramot del Négueb, en Jatir, 28 en Aroer, en Sifmot, en Estemoa 29 y en Racal, y también a los que estaban en las ciudades de Jerahmeel, en las ciudades de los quenitas, 30 y en Hormá, en Corasán, en Atac, 31 en Hebrón y en todos los sitios por donde él y sus hombres habían andado.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Dios habla hoy ®, © Sociedades Bíblicas Unidas, 1966, 1970, 1979, 1983, 1996.

