Font Size
1 Samuel 30
English Standard Version
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
New American Standard Bible
1 Samuel 30
New American Standard Bible
David’s Victory over the Amalekites
30 Then it happened, when David and his men came to (A)Ziklag on the third day, that (B)the Amalekites had carried out an attack on the [a]Negev and on (C)Ziklag, and had [b]overthrown Ziklag and burned it with fire; 2 and they took captive the women and all who were in it, from the small to the great, [c](D)without killing anyone, and drove them off and went their way. 3 When David and his men came to the city, behold, 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 (E)raised 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 [d]widow of Nabal the Carmelite. 6 Also, David was in great distress because (G)the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were [e]embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But (H)David felt strengthened in the Lord his God.
7 Then (I)David said to (J)Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Please bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 And (K)David inquired of the Lord, saying, “(L)Shall I pursue this band of raiders? Will I overtake them?” And He said to him, “Pursue, for you will certainly overtake them, (M)and you will certainly rescue everyone.” 9 So David left, (N)he and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, where some who were left behind stayed. 10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men, for (O)two hundred who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor stayed behind.
11 Now 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 They also gave him a slice of fig cake and two cakes of raisins, and he ate; (P)then his spirit [f]revived. For he had not eaten bread or 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 of Egypt, a servant of an Amalekite; and my master abandoned me when I became sick three days ago. 14 We carried out an attack on (Q)the [g]Negev of the Cherethites, and on that which belongs to Judah, and on (R)the [h]Negev of Caleb, and (S)we burned Ziklag with fire.” 15 Then David said to him, “Will you bring me down to this band of raiders?” And he said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will bring you down to this band.”
16 Now when he had brought him down, behold, they were dispersed over all the land, (T)eating and drinking and celebrating because of (U)all the great plunder that they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. 17 And David [i]slaughtered them (V)from the twilight [j]until the evening of [k]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)recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and [l]rescued his two wives. 19 And nothing of theirs was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, plunder, or anything that they had taken for themselves; (Y)David brought it all back. 20 So David had [m]captured all the sheep and the cattle which the people drove ahead of [n]the other livestock, and they said, “(Z)This is David’s plunder.”
The Plunder Is Divided
21 When (AA)David came to the two hundred men who were too exhausted to follow David and [o]had been left behind at the brook Besor, and they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him, then David approached the people and greeted them. 22 Then all the wicked and [p]worthless men among those who went with David said, “Since they did not go with [q]us, we will not give them any of the spoils that we have recovered, except to every man his wife and his children, so that they may lead them away and leave.” 23 But David said, “You must not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord has given us, for He has protected us and handed over to us the band of raiders that came against us. 24 And who will listen to you in this matter? For (AB)as is the share of the one who goes down into the battle, so shall be the share of the one who stays by the baggage; they shall share alike.” 25 So it has been from that day forward, that 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 spoils to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, “Behold, (AC)a [r]gift for you from the spoils of (AD)the enemies of the Lord: 27 to those who were in (AE)Bethel, to those who were in (AF)Ramoth of the [s]Negev, to those who were in (AG)Jattir, 28 to those who were in (AH)Aroer, to those who were in Siphmoth, to those who were in (AI)Eshtemoa, 29 to those who were in Racal, to those who were in the cities of (AJ)the Jerahmeelites, to those who were in the cities of (AK)the Kenites, 30 to those who were in (AL)Hormah, to those who were in (AM)Bor-ashan, to those who were in Athach, 31 to those who were in (AN)Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men (AO)walked.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 30:1 I.e., South country
- 1 Samuel 30:1 Lit struck
- 1 Samuel 30:2 Lit they did not kill
- 1 Samuel 30:5 Lit wife
- 1 Samuel 30:6 Lit bitter of soul
- 1 Samuel 30:12 Lit returned to him
- 1 Samuel 30:14 I.e., South country
- 1 Samuel 30:14 I.e., South country
- 1 Samuel 30:17 Lit struck
- 1 Samuel 30:17 Lit even until
- 1 Samuel 30:17 Lit their
- 1 Samuel 30:18 Lit David rescued
- 1 Samuel 30:20 Lit taken
- 1 Samuel 30:20 Lit those livestock
- 1 Samuel 30:21 Lit they left them
- 1 Samuel 30:22 Lit sons of Belial
- 1 Samuel 30:22 Lit me
- 1 Samuel 30:26 Lit blessing
- 1 Samuel 30:27 I.e., South country
1 Samuel 30
New International Version
1 Samuel 30
New International Version
David Destroys the Amalekites
30 David and his men reached Ziklag(A) on the third day. Now the Amalekites(B) had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned(C) it, 2 and had taken captive the women and everyone else in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way.
3 When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive.(D) 4 So David and his men wept(E) aloud until they had no strength left to weep. 5 David’s two wives(F) had been captured—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6 David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning(G) him; each one was bitter(H) in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength(I) in the Lord his God.
7 Then David said to Abiathar(J) the priest, the son of Ahimelek, “Bring me the ephod.(K)” Abiathar brought it to him, 8 and David inquired(L) of the Lord, “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?”
“Pursue them,” he answered. “You will certainly overtake them and succeed(M) in the rescue.(N)”
9 David and the six hundred men(O) with him came to the Besor Valley, where some stayed behind. 10 Two hundred of them were too exhausted(P) to cross the valley, but David and the other four hundred continued the pursuit.
11 They found an Egyptian in a field and brought him to David. They gave him water to drink and food to eat— 12 part of a cake of pressed figs and two cakes of raisins. He ate and was revived,(Q) for he had not eaten any food or drunk any water for three days and three nights.
13 David asked him, “Who do you belong to? Where do you come from?”
He said, “I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite.(R) My master abandoned me when I became ill three days ago. 14 We raided the Negev of the Kerethites,(S) some territory belonging to Judah and the Negev of Caleb.(T) And we burned(U) Ziklag.”
15 David asked him, “Can you lead me down to this raiding party?”
He answered, “Swear to me before God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master,(V) and I will take you down to them.”
16 He led David down, and there they were, scattered over the countryside, eating, drinking and reveling(W) because of the great amount of plunder(X) they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from Judah. 17 David fought(Y) them from dusk until the evening of the next day, and none of them got away, except four hundred young men who rode off on camels and fled.(Z) 18 David recovered(AA) everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. 19 Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back. 20 He took all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock, saying, “This is David’s plunder.”
21 Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted(AB) to follow him and who were left behind at the Besor Valley. They came out to meet David and the men with him. As David and his men approached, he asked them how they were. 22 But all the evil men and troublemakers among David’s followers said, “Because they did not go out with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered. However, each man may take his wife and children and go.”
23 David replied, “No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the Lord has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us. 24 Who will listen to what you say? The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.(AC)” 25 David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to this.
26 When David reached Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah, who were his friends, saying, “Here is a gift(AD) for you from the plunder of the Lord’s enemies.”
27 David sent it to those who were in Bethel,(AE) Ramoth(AF) Negev and Jattir;(AG) 28 to those in Aroer,(AH) Siphmoth,(AI) Eshtemoa(AJ) 29 and Rakal; to those in the towns of the Jerahmeelites(AK) and the Kenites;(AL) 30 to those in Hormah,(AM) Bor Ashan,(AN) Athak 31 and Hebron;(AO) and to those in all the other places where he and his men had roamed.
1 Samuele 30
La Nuova Diodati
1 Samuele 30
La Nuova Diodati
30 Quando Davide e i suoi uomini giunsero a Tsiklag il terzo giorno, gli Amalekiti avevano fatto una razzia nel Negheve a Tsiklag; avevano preso Tsiklag e l'avevano incendiata;
2 essi avevano fatto prigionieri le donne e tutti quelli che vi erano, piccoli e grandi; non avevano ucciso nessuno, ma li avevano condotti via e se n'erano andati.
3 Quando Davide e i suoi uomini giunsero alla città, ecco la città era distrutta dal fuoco, e le loro mogli, i loro figli e le loro figlie erano stati condotti via prigionieri.
4 Allora Davide e tutti quelli che erano con lui alzarono la voce e piansero finché non ebbero più forza di piangere.
5 Le due mogli di Davide, Ahinoam, la Jezreelita e Abigail la Karmelita, già moglie di Nabal, erano anch'esse prigioniere.
6 Davide fu grandemente angosciato perché la gente parlava di lapidarlo, avendo tutti l'animo amareggiato, ciascuno a motivo dei suoi figli e delle sue figlie; ma Davide si fortificò nell'Eterno, il suo DIO.
7 Poi Davide disse al sacerdote Abiathar, figlio di Ahimelek: «Ti prego, portami l'efod». Abiathar portò l'efod a Davide.
8 Così Davide consultò l'Eterno e chiese: «Devo inseguire questa banda? La raggiungerò?». L'Eterno rispose: «Inseguila, perché la raggiungerai certamente e ricupererai senz'altro ogni cosa».
9 Davide dunque partì con i seicento uomini che aveva con sé e giunse al torrente Besor, dove quelli rimasti indietro si fermarono;
10 ma Davide continuò l'inseguimento con quattrocento uomini, mentre duecento rimasero indietro, perché erano troppo stanchi per attraversare il torrente Besor.
11 Trovarono nella campagna un Egiziano e lo condussero a Davide. Gli diedero pane da mangiare e acqua da bere,
12 gli diedero pure un pezzo di schiacciata di fichi secchi e due grappoli d'uva. Dopo aver mangiato, il suo spirito ritornò, perché non aveva mangiato pane né bevuto acqua per tre giorni e tre notti.
13 Davide gli chiese: «A chi appartieni e da dove vieni?». Egli rispose: «Sono un giovane egiziano, servo di un Amalekita il mio padrone mi ha abbandonato, perché tre giorni fa caddi ammalato.
14 Abbiamo fatto una razzia nel sud dei Kerethei, nel territorio di Giuda e nel sud di Caleb e abbiamo incendiato Tsiklag col fuoco».
15 Davide gli disse: «Puoi tu condurmi giù dov'è quella banda?». Egli rispose: «Giurami nel nome di DIO che non mi ucciderai e non mi consegnerai nelle mani del mio padrone, e io ti condurrò giù dov'è quella banda».
16 E lo condusse giù; ed ecco gli Amalekiti erano sparsi su tutto il paese mangiando, bevendo e facendo festa, per tutto il grande bottino che avevano portato via dal paese dei Filistei e dal paese di Giuda.
17 Davide li attaccò dal crepuscolo fino alla sera del giorno dopo; nessuno di loro scampò, ad eccezione di quattrocento giovani, che montarono sui cammelli e fuggirono.
18 Così Davide ricuperò tutto ciò che gli Amalekiti avevano portato via; Davide ricuperò anche le sue mogli.
19 Niente andò loro perduto, né piccolo né grande, né figli né figlie, né bottino né alcun altra cosa che avevano loro preso. Davide ricuperò tutto.
20 Così Davide prese tutte le greggi e tutti gli armenti; e quelli che camminavano davanti al bestiame, dicevano: «Questo è il bottino di Davide!».
21 Poi Davide giunse dai duecento uomini che erano troppo stanchi per seguire Davide, e che egli aveva fatto rimanere al torrente Besor. Questi andarono incontro a Davide e alla gente che era con lui. Così Davide si avvicinò loro e li salutò.
22 Allora tutti i malvagi e gli spregevoli fra gli uomini che erano andati con Davide presero a dire: «Poiché costoro non sono venuti con noi, non daremo loro nulla del bottino che abbiamo ricuperato, eccetto la moglie e i figli di ciascuno; li conducano via e se ne vadano!».
23 Ma Davide disse: «Non fate così, fratelli miei con quello che l'Eterno ci ha dato proteggendoci e mettendo nelle nostre mani la banda che era venuta contro di noi.
24 Chi vi darà retta in questa proposta? Ma quale la parte di chi scende a combattere, tale sarà la parte di chi rimane presso i bagagli; faranno le parti insieme».
25 Da quel giorno in poi si fece così; Davide ne fece uno statuto e una norma per Israele fino al giorno d'oggi.
26 Quando Davide ritornò a Tsiklag, mandò parte del bottino agli anziani di Giuda, suoi amici, dicendo: «Eccovi un dono proveniente dal bottino preso dai nemici dell'Eterno».
27 Ne mandò a quelli di Bethel, a quelli di Ramoth del Neghev, a quelli di Jattir,
28 a quelli di Aroer, a quelli di Sifmoth, a quelli di Eshtemoa
29 a quelli di Rakal, a quelli delle città degli Jerahmeeliti, a quelli delle città dei Kenei,
30 a quelli di Hormah, a quelli di Kor-Ashan, a quelli di Athak
31 a quelli di Hebron, e a quelli di tutti i luoghi per i quali era passato Davide con i suoi uomini.
1 Samuel 30
King James Version
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.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
La Nuova Diodati (LND)
Copyright © 1991 by La Buona Novella s.c.r.l.