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1 Samuel 30
New English Translation

David Defeats the Amalekites

30 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.[a] 2 They took captive the women and all[b] who were in it, from the youngest to the oldest, but they did not kill anyone. They simply carried them off and went on their way.

3 When David and his men came to the city, they found it burned.[c] Their wives, sons, and daughters had been taken captive. 4 Then David and the men[d] who were with him wept loudly[e] until they could weep no more.[f] 5 David’s two wives had been taken captive—Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the Carmelite, Nabal’s widow. 6 David was very upset, for the men[g] were thinking of stoning him;[h] each man grieved bitterly[i] over his sons and daughters. But David drew strength from the Lord his God.

7 Then David said to the priest Abiathar son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Should I pursue this raiding band? Will I overtake them?” He said to him, “Pursue, for you will certainly overtake them and carry out a rescue!”

9 So David went, accompanied by his 600 men. When he came to the Wadi Besor, those who were in the rear stayed there.[j] 10 David and 400 men continued the pursuit, but 200 men who were too exhausted to cross the Wadi Besor stayed there.

11 Then they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David. They gave him bread to eat and water to drink. 12 They gave him a slice of pressed figs and two bunches of raisins to eat. This greatly refreshed him,[k] for he had not eaten food or drunk water for three days and three nights. 13 David said to him, “To whom do you belong, and where are you from?” The young man said, “I am an Egyptian, the servant of an Amalekite man. My master abandoned me when I was ill for three days. 14 We conducted a raid on the Negev of the Kerethites, on the area of Judah, and on the Negev of Caleb. We burned Ziklag.”[l] 15 David said to him, “Can you take us down to this raiding party?” He said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will take you down to this raiding party.”

16 So he took David[m] down, and they found them spread out over the land. They were eating and drinking and enjoying themselves because of all the loot[n] they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. 17 But David struck them down from twilight until the following evening. None of them escaped, with the exception of 400 young men who got away on camels.[o] 18 David retrieved everything the Amalekites had taken; he[p] also rescued his two wives. 19 There was nothing missing, whether small or great. He retrieved sons and daughters, the plunder, and everything else they had taken.[q] David brought everything back. 20 David took all the flocks and herds and drove them in front of the rest of the animals. People were saying, “This is David’s plunder!”

21 Then David approached the 200 men who had been too exhausted to go with him,[r] those whom they had left at the Wadi Besor. They went out to meet David and the people who were with him. When David approached the people, he asked how they were doing. 22 But all the evil and worthless men among those who had gone with David said, “Since they didn’t go with us,[s] we won’t give them any of the loot we retrieved! They may take only their wives and children. Let them lead them away and be gone!”

23 But David said, “No! You shouldn’t do this, my brothers. Look at what the Lord has given us![t] He has protected us and has delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us. 24 Who will listen to you in this matter? The portion of the one who went down into the battle will be the same as the portion of the one who remained with the equipment! Let their portions be the same!”

25 From that time onward it was a binding ordinance[u] for Israel, right up to the present time.

26 When David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah who were his friends, saying, “Here’s a gift[v] for you from the looting of the Lord’s enemies!” 27 The gift was for those in the following locations:[w] for those in Bethel, Ramoth Negev, and Jattir; 28 for those in Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, 29 and Racal; for those in the cities of the Jerahmeelites and Kenites; 30 for those in Hormah, Bor Ashan, Athach, 31 and Hebron; and for those in whatever other places David and his men had traveled.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 30:1 tn The Hebrew text adds “with fire.”
  2. 1 Samuel 30:2 tc The MT omits “and all,” while the LXX includes it. That the next verse refers to the children as well as the women argues in favor of it.
  3. 1 Samuel 30:3 tn Heb “and David and his men came to the city, and look, it was burned with fire.”
  4. 1 Samuel 30:4 tn Heb “people.”
  5. 1 Samuel 30:4 tn Heb “lifted up their voice and wept.”
  6. 1 Samuel 30:4 tn Heb “until there was no longer in them strength to weep.”
  7. 1 Samuel 30:6 tn Heb “people.”
  8. 1 Samuel 30:6 tn Heb “said to stone him.”
  9. 1 Samuel 30:6 tn Heb “for bitter was the soul of all the people, each one.”
  10. 1 Samuel 30:9 tn Heb “stood.” So also in v. 10.
  11. 1 Samuel 30:12 tn Heb “his spirit returned to him.”
  12. 1 Samuel 30:14 tn The Hebrew text adds “with fire.”
  13. 1 Samuel 30:16 tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  14. 1 Samuel 30:16 tn Heb “because of all the large plunder.”
  15. 1 Samuel 30:17 tn Heb “who rode on camels and fled.”
  16. 1 Samuel 30:18 tn Heb “David.” The pronoun (“he”) has been substituted for the proper name in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  17. 1 Samuel 30:19 tn Heb “there was nothing missing to them, from the small even unto the great, and unto sons and daughters, and from loot even unto all which they had taken for themselves.”
  18. 1 Samuel 30:21 tn Heb “David.” The pronoun (“him”) has been substituted for the proper name in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  19. 1 Samuel 30:22 tc Heb “with me.” The singular is used rather than the plural because the group is being treated as a singular entity, in keeping with Hebrew idiom. It is not necessary to read “with us,” rather than the MT “with me,” although the plural can be found here in a few medieval Hebrew mss. See also the LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate, although these versions may simply reflect an understanding of the idiom as found in the MT rather than a different textual reading.
  20. 1 Samuel 30:23 tc This clause is difficult in the MT. The present translation accepts the text as found in the MT and understands this clause to be elliptical, with an understood verb such as “look” or “consider.” On the other hand, the LXX seems to reflect a slightly different Hebrew text, reading “after” where the MT has “my brothers.” The Greek translation yields the following translation: “You should not do this after the Lord has delivered us.” Although the Greek reading should be taken seriously, it seems better to follow the MT here.
  21. 1 Samuel 30:25 tn Heb “a statute and a judgment.” The expression is a hendiadys.
  22. 1 Samuel 30:26 tn Heb “blessing.”
  23. 1 Samuel 30:27 tn This sentence is not in the Hebrew text. It is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
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1 Samuel 30
Lexham English Bible

David Recovers His Loved Ones

30 Now[a] 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. 2 They took captive the women[b] who were in it, from the youngest to the oldest.[c] They did not kill anyone, but carried them off and went on their way. 3 When David and his men came to the city, they saw,[d] and 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 raised their voices and wept until there was not enough strength in them to weep. 5 Two of David’s wives had been taken captive. Ahinoam from Jezreel[e] and Abigail, the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. 6 And David was in a very precarious situation,[f] for the people spoke of stoning him, for the souls of all the people were bitter, each one over his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in Yahweh his God.

7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Please bring the ephod here for me.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 And David inquired of Yahweh, saying, “Should I pursue after this band of raiders? Will I overtake them?” He said to him, “Pursue them, for you will certainly overtake them, and you will certainly rescue them.” 9 So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the Wadi[g] Besor, but the rest remained. 10 David pursued, he and four hundred men; but two hundred men stayed because they were too exhausted to pass over the Wadi Besor.

11 Then they found an Egyptian man in the open country and brought him to David, and they gave him food and he ate; they also gave him water. 12 They gave him a slice of fig cake and two raisin cakes; he ate and this revived him,[h] because he had not eaten food or drunk water for three days and three nights. 13 Then David said to him, “To whom do you belong,[i] and from where are you? The young man said, “I am an Egyptian young man, a servant of an Amalekite man, but my master abandoned me because I became ill three days ago. 14 We raided the Negev of the Kerethites and that which belongs to Judah and then the Negev of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.” 15 So David asked him, “Will you take me down to this band of raiders?” He said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me and that you will not deliver me into my master’s hand! Then I will take you down to this band.” 16 So he took him down, and there they were,[j] spread out over the surface of all the land, eating and drinking and dancing because of all of the abundant plunder 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[k] four hundred young men who rode off on camels and fled. 18 So David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken; David also rescued his two wives. 19 None of theirs was missing from the smallest to the greatest,[l] even sons and daughters, from the plunder up to everything they had taken for themselves; David brought back everything. 20 And David took all of the sheep,[m] and the cattle they drove along in front of that livestock, and they said, “This is David’s plunder.”

21 Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow[n] David; they had left them behind at the Wadi[o] Besor. They went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him. David came near with the people and asked them how they were doing.[p] 22 Then all the corrupt and useless men among the men who went with David reacted and said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them anything from the plunder which we recovered, except[q] each man may take his own wife and children. They must take them along and go!” 23 But David said to them, “You should not do so, my brothers, with what Yahweh has given to us! He has preserved us and has given the raiding band that came against us into our hand. 24 And who would listen to you regarding this matter? For as the share of the one who went down into the battle, so the share of the one who remained with the baggage will be. They will share alike.” 25 So[r] from that day and beyond, he made it a rule and a regulation for Israel until this day.

26 Then David came to Ziklag, and he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, “Here is[s] a gift for you from the plunder of the enemies of Yahweh!” 27 It was for those in Bethel, for those in Ramoth of the Negev, for those in Jattir, 28 for those in Aroer, for those in Siphmoth, for those in Eshtemoa, 29 for those in Racal, for those in the towns of the Jerahmeelites, for those in the towns of the Kenites, 30 for those in Hormah, for those in Bor Ashan, for those in Athach, 31 for those in Hebron, and for all the places where David and his men had roamed.[t]

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 30:1 Literally “And it happened”
  2. 1 Samuel 30:2 LXX adds “and all”
  3. 1 Samuel 30:2 Literally “from small and up to great”
  4. 1 Samuel 30:3 Literally “and look”
  5. 1 Samuel 30:5 Literally “the Jezreelitess”
  6. 1 Samuel 30:6 Literally “it was very pressed for David”
  7. 1 Samuel 30:9 A valley that is usually dry but contains a stream during the rainy season
  8. 1 Samuel 30:12 Literally “his spirit returned to him”
  9. 1 Samuel 30:13 Literally “To whom are you”
  10. 1 Samuel 30:16 Literally “look”
  11. 1 Samuel 30:17 Literally “but if”
  12. 1 Samuel 30:19 Literally “from the small and up to the great”
  13. 1 Samuel 30:20 Hebrew “flock,” referring to either sheep or goats or both
  14. 1 Samuel 30:21 Literally “who were exhausted from going after”
  15. 1 Samuel 30:21 A valley that is usually dry but contains a stream during the rainy season
  16. 1 Samuel 30:21 Literally “asked for them as far as peace”
  17. 1 Samuel 30:22 Literally “but if”
  18. 1 Samuel 30:25 Or “And”
  19. 1 Samuel 30:26 Literally “Look”
  20. 1 Samuel 30:31 Literally “where David had gone about there, he and his men”
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