THE AMALEKITES ATTACK ISRAEL
Key verse: 8
NIV
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.”
Cross references
- 1 Samuel 30:1 : S 1Sa 27:6
- 1 Samuel 30:1 : S 1Sa 27:8
- 1 Samuel 30:1 : ver 14
- 1 Samuel 30:3 : S Ge 31:26
- 1 Samuel 30:4 : S Ge 27:38
- 1 Samuel 30:5 : S 1Sa 25:43
- 1 Samuel 30:6 : S Ex 17:4; Jn 8:59
- 1 Samuel 30:6 : S Ru 1:13
- 1 Samuel 30:6 : S 1Sa 23:16; Ro 4:20
- 1 Samuel 30:7 : S 1Sa 22:20
- 1 Samuel 30:7 : S 1Sa 2:28
- 1 Samuel 30:8 : S 1Sa 23:2
- 1 Samuel 30:8 : S Ge 14:16
- 1 Samuel 30:8 : S Ex 2:17
- 1 Samuel 30:9 : S 1Sa 27:2
- 1 Samuel 30:10 : ver 21
- 1 Samuel 30:12 : S Jdg 15:19
- 1 Samuel 30:13 : S 1Sa 14:48
- 1 Samuel 30:14 : 2Sa 8:18; 15:18; 20:7, 23; 1Ki 1:38, 44; 1Ch 18:17; Eze 25:16; Zep 2:5
- 1 Samuel 30:14 : S Jos 14:13; S 15:13
- 1 Samuel 30:14 : ver 1
- 1 Samuel 30:15 : Dt 23:15
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway
ESV
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.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Samuel 30:2 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks and all
- 1 Samuel 30:6 Compare 22:2
Cross references
- 1 Samuel 30:1 : ch. 29:4, 11
- 1 Samuel 30:1 : ch. 27:8; [ch. 15:3, 7]
- 1 Samuel 30:1 : ver. 14
- 1 Samuel 30:5 : See ch. 25:42, 43
- 1 Samuel 30:6 : [Ex. 17:4; Num. 14:10]
- 1 Samuel 30:7 : ch. 23:6, 9
- 1 Samuel 30:8 : See ch. 22:10
- 1 Samuel 30:8 : [1 Chr. 12:21]
- 1 Samuel 30:8 : ver. 18
- 1 Samuel 30:9 : See ch. 23:13
- 1 Samuel 30:10 : ver. 21
- 1 Samuel 30:12 : Judg. 15:19; [ch. 14:27]
- 1 Samuel 30:14 : ver. 1
- 1 Samuel 30:14 : 2 Sam. 8:18; 15:18; 20:7, 23; 1 Kgs. 1:38, 44; 1 Chr. 18:17; [Ezek. 25:16; Zeph. 2:5]
- 1 Samuel 30:15 : [ch. 25:3]
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway
When David and his men returned, they found that the Amalekites had attacked the city. They took captive all the people and burned the city. David and his men wept until they ran out of tears. David’s wives were among those captured. Worse than that, the men were so bitter they considered stoning David. In this situation there was nowhere to turn, but David found strength in the LORD his God.
At this time David sought the priest and inquired of the LORD. He had no plan, but he asked if he should pursue the raiding party, and the LORD answered, “Pursue them.” The LORD promised victory, so David left with 600 men. When 200 became exhausted David continued with the 400 that remained. Finally, he found an Egyptian who was a slave of the Amalekite army. This slave promised to lead David to the raiding party. It was God who was leading David according to his will.
Prayer: Lord, you are my strength. Help me to depend on your leading in every situation.
One Word: Trust God’s leading
