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.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Samuel 30:1 tn The Hebrew text adds “with fire.”
- 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.
- 1 Samuel 30:3 tn Heb “and David and his men came to the city, and look, it was burned with fire.”
- 1 Samuel 30:4 tn Heb “people.”
- 1 Samuel 30:4 tn Heb “lifted up their voice and wept.”
- 1 Samuel 30:4 tn Heb “until there was no longer in them strength to weep.”
- 1 Samuel 30:6 tn Heb “people.”
- 1 Samuel 30:6 tn Heb “said to stone him.”
- 1 Samuel 30:6 tn Heb “for bitter was the soul of all the people, each one.”
- 1 Samuel 30:9 tn Heb “stood.” So also in v. 10.
- 1 Samuel 30:12 tn Heb “his spirit returned to him.”
- 1 Samuel 30:14 tn The Hebrew text adds “with fire.”
- 1 Samuel 30:16 tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 1 Samuel 30:16 tn Heb “because of all the large plunder.”
- 1 Samuel 30:17 tn Heb “who rode on camels and fled.”
- 1 Samuel 30:18 tn Heb “David.” The pronoun (“he”) has been substituted for the proper name in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- 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.”
- 1 Samuel 30:21 tn Heb “David.” The pronoun (“him”) has been substituted for the proper name in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- 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.
- 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.
- 1 Samuel 30:25 tn Heb “a statute and a judgment.” The expression is a hendiadys.
- 1 Samuel 30:26 tn Heb “blessing.”
- 1 Samuel 30:27 tn This sentence is not in the Hebrew text. It is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
1 Samuel 30
Christian Standard Bible
David’s Defeat of the Amalekites
30 David and his men(A) arrived in Ziklag(B) on the third day. The Amalekites(C) had raided the Negev and attacked and burned Ziklag. 2 They also had kidnapped the women and everyone[a] in it from youngest to oldest. They had killed no one but had carried them off(D) as they went on their way.
3 When David and his men arrived at the town, they found it burned. Their wives, sons, and daughters had been kidnapped. 4 David and the troops with him wept loudly until they had no strength left to weep. 5 David’s two wives,(E) Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had also been kidnapped. 6 David was in an extremely difficult position because the troops talked about stoning him,(F) for they were all very bitter over the loss of their sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.(G)
7 David said to the priest Abiathar son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.”(H) So Abiathar brought it to him, 8 and David asked the Lord,(I) “Should I pursue these raiders? Will I overtake them?” (J)
The Lord replied to him, “Pursue them, for you will certainly overtake them and rescue the people.”(K)
9 So David and the six hundred men with him(L) went. They came to the Wadi Besor, where some stayed behind.(M) 10 David and four hundred of the men continued the pursuit, while two hundred stopped because they were too exhausted to cross the Wadi Besor.
11 David’s men found an Egyptian in the open country and brought him to David. They gave him some bread to eat and water to drink. 12 Then they gave him some pressed figs and two clusters of raisins. After he ate he revived,(N) for he hadn’t eaten food or drunk water for three days and three nights.
13 Then David said to him, “Who do you belong to? Where are you from?”
“I’m an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite man,” he said. “My master abandoned me when I got sick three days ago. 14 We raided the south country of the Cherethites,(O) the territory of Judah, and the south country of Caleb,(P) and we burned Ziklag.”(Q)
15 David then asked him, “Will you lead me to these raiders?”
He said, “Swear to me by God that you won’t kill me or turn me over to my master, and I will lead you to them.”
16 So he led him, and there were the Amalekites, spread out over the entire area, eating, drinking, and celebrating because of the great amount of plunder(R) they had taken from the land of the Philistines and the land of Judah. 17 David slaughtered them from twilight until the evening of the next day.(S) None of them escaped, except four hundred young men who got on camels and fled.(T)
18 David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken; he also rescued his two wives. 19 Nothing of theirs was missing from the youngest to the oldest, including the sons and daughters, and all the plunder the Amalekites had taken. David got everything back.(U) 20 He took all the flocks and herds, which were driven ahead of the other livestock, and the people shouted, “This is David’s plunder!” (V)
21 When David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to go with him and had been left at the Wadi Besor,(W) they came out to meet him and to meet the troops with him. When David approached the men, he greeted them, 22 but all the corrupt and worthless men among those who had gone with David argued, “Because they didn’t go with us, we will not give any of the plunder we recovered to them except for each man’s wife and children. They may take them and go.”
23 But David said, “My brothers, you must not do this with what the Lord has given us. He protected us and handed over to us the raiders who came against us. 24 Who can agree to your proposal? The share of the one who goes into battle is to be the same as the share of the one who remains with the supplies. They will share equally.”(X) 25 And it has been so from that day forward. David established this policy[b] as a law and an ordinance for Israel and it still continues today.
26 When David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, “Here is a gift for you(Y) from the plunder of the Lord’s enemies.”(Z) 27 He sent gifts[c] to those in Bethel,(AA) in Ramoth of the Negev,(AB) and in Jattir;(AC) 28 to those in Aroer,(AD) in Siphmoth,(AE) and in Eshtemoa;(AF) 29 to those in Racal, in the towns of the Jerahmeelites,(AG) and in the towns of the Kenites;(AH) 30 to those in Hormah,(AI) in Bor-ashan,(AJ) and in Athach; 31 to those in Hebron,(AK) and to those in all the places where David and his men had roamed.(AL)
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