1 Samuel 30

1 On the third [following two days] day David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Judah] and his men [warriors, fighting men] arrived in Ziklag [a town in southern Judah], and the Amalekites [a tribe descended from Amalek, grandson of Esau] had raided [made a raid upon, invaded] the Negev [the southern district of Judah, the south country], attacked [struck, smitten] Ziklag, and burned [set on fire, kindled flames] it down [completely, with fire]. word study 2 They had taken captive [as prisoners of war] the women and all who were there [both small and great, young and old], both young and old. They had not killed anyone [no one was slain], but had carried them off [led them away, taken them captive] as they went on their way [proceeded on their journey, continued their path]. word study 3 When David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] and his men came to the city [a town with a wall or a watchman], they found it burned down [with fire, set on fire] and their wives [female persons, women] and sons [male descendants, children] and daughters [female children, women] taken captive [as prisoners of war, transported away]. word study 4 So David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] and the troops [people, nation, or a group of soldiers] with him [in close relationship or physical proximity] lifted up [raised, exalted] their voices [sounds, expressions of emotion] and wept [cried, shed tears] until they had no [absence of] strength [power, might] left to weep [cry, mourn]. word study 5 David’s [a pair] two wives, Ahinoam [the Jezreelitess, from Jezreel] of Jezreel and Abigail [previously married to] the widow of Nabal [a foolish man, spurner of David] of Carmel [a mountainous region, the Carmelite], had been taken [captured, made prisoners] captive. word study 6 And David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] was greatly distressed [in a state of great trouble, deeply sorrowful] because the people [the nation of Israel, a crowd of individuals] spoke of stoning him [to kill him by throwing stones, as a form of capital punishment], because the soul [the essence of a person, the heart and mind] of every man grieved [was bitter, felt deep sorrow] for his sons [male children, descendants] and daughters [female children, offspring]. But David found strength [was encouraged, took courage] in the LORD [Yehovah, the one supreme God] his God [Elohim, the Creator and Ruler of all]. word study 7 Then David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] said to Abiathar [a faithful follower of David, an Israelite priest] the priest, the son of Ahimelech [a priest and a friend of King David], “Bring me [please, I pray] the ephod [a special vest worn by priests, made with gold, blue, and purple threads].” So Abiathar [the son of Ahimelech] brought it [the ephod] to him [David, the king], word study 8 and David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] inquired [asked, sought guidance] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God]: “Should I pursue [chase after, follow with hostile intent] these raiders [a band of soldiers, a group of people]? Will I overtake [catch up to, reach] them?” “Pursue [follow after, chase] them,” the LORD replied, “for you will surely [without fail, certainly] overtake them and rescue [snatch away, deliver from danger] the captives [prisoners, those taken away].” word study 9 So David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] and his six hundred men went [to walk, to move from one place to another] to the Brook [a small river or valley, a natural source of water] of Besor [meaning’cheerful’, a stream in southern Palestine], where some [those who were left behind, the remaining ones] stayed behind [to remain, to be left, to excel or have more than enough] word study 10 because two hundred men were too exhausted [faint] to cross the brook [stream, valley]. But David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Judah] and four hundred men continued in [pursuit, chase] [with hostile intent, to overtake] pursuit. word study 11 Now his men found [encountered, came across] an Egyptian [a man from the country of Egypt, a foreigner] in the field [a land used for cultivation, an open area] and brought him to David [the king of Israel, their leader]. They gave the man [the Egyptian, a male person] water [a liquid, a source of refreshment] to drink and food [bread, grain, nourishment] to eat— word study 12 a piece of a fig cake [a lump of pressed figs, a type of food] and two clusters [bunches] of raisins [dried grapes]. So he ate [devoured, consumed] and was revived [restored, refreshed], for he had not had any food [bread, grain] or water [liquid refreshment] for three [a period of, a span of] days and three nights [times of darkness, adversity]. word study 13 Then David [the king of Israel, a man after God’s heart] asked him, “To whom [which master or lord] do you belong, and where [in what location or circumstance] are you from?” “I am [by nationality and birth] an Egyptian [a young man of Egypt],” he replied, “the slave [servant or bondman] of an Amalekite [a member of a hostile tribe]. My master [lord or owner] abandoned [forsaken or left] me three [a specific number of] days ago when I fell [became or was] ill [weak or sick]. word study 14 We raided [made an invasion upon, pushed to] the Negev [south country, southern district] of the Cherethites [foreign soldiers, bodyguards], the territory [land, region] of Judah [the tribe descended from Judah], and the Negev [south country] of Caleb [a man from the tribe of Judah], and we burned [set on fire, kindled flames] down Ziklag [a town in southern Judah].” word study 15 “Will you lead [guide, direct] me to these [this band of] raiders [troop, company]?” David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] asked. And the man replied, “Swear [make an oath, promise] to me by [in the name of] God [Elohim, the one supreme God] that you will not kill [destroy, take the life of] me or deliver [hand over, surrender] me into the hand [power, control] of my master [lord, ruler], and I will lead [guide, conduct] you to them [this group, company].” word study 16 So he led David down, and there were the Amalekites [spread abroad upon all the earth, scattered over the ground] spread out over all the land, eating [and devouring, consuming], drinking [and feasting], and celebrating [with dancing, in a festive manner] the great [abundant, large] amount of plunder [spoils of war, booty] they had taken [captured, seized] from the land [territory, region] of the Philistines [enemies of Israel, a pagan people] and the land [territory, region] of Judah [the tribe of Judah, God’s chosen people]. word study 17 And David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] struck them down [smiting, attacking] from twilight [the time of dawn or dusk] until the evening [sunset, the end of the day] of the next day [tomorrow, the following day]. Not a man [male person, individual] escaped [was delivered, slipped away to safety], except four hundred [a large group of] young men [youths, from infancy to adolescence] who fled [quickly left, escaped], riding off [mounting, placing themselves] on camels [valuable animals, used for riding or carrying loads]. word study 18 So David [the king of Israel, a man after God’s heart] recovered [rescued, delivered] everything [all, the whole] the Amalekites [enemies of Israel, descendants of Esau] had taken [carried away, plundered], including [namely, that is] his two [a pair, dual] wives [women, female companions]. word study 19 Nothing [lacking, absent] was missing, young [small, insignificant] or old [great, mature], son [male child, descendant] or daughter [female child, woman], or any of the plunder [spoils, booty] the Amalekites had taken [seized, captured]. David brought [recovered, restored] everything [all, the whole] back. word study 20 And he recovered [took back, regained] all the flocks [sheep and goats] and herds [cattle, livestock], which his men drove ahead [led, guided] of the other livestock [animals, cattle], calling out, “This is David’s [belonging to David, spoils of war] plunder [spoils, booty]!” word study 21 When David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Judah] came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted [faint] to follow him from the Brook [a small river or stream] of Besor [a place of cheerfulness], they came out [went forth, emerged] to meet him and the troops [people, nation] with him. As David [the anointed king] approached [drew near, came close to] the men, he greeted [saluted, asked about their welfare] them, word study 22 but all [every single one] the wicked [evil, morally bad] and worthless [good-for-nothing, ungodly] men [individuals, people] among those who had gone with David [accompanied, followed] said, “Because [for the reason that] they did not go [walk, journey] with us, we will not share [give, distribute] with them the plunder [spoils, booty] we recovered [rescued, delivered], except for each man’s [person’s, individual’s] wife [woman, spouse] and children [sons, offspring]. They may take [lead, carry away] them and go [walk, depart].” word study 23 But David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] said, “My brothers [fellow Israelites, close relatives], you must not do this with what the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] has given us [bestowed upon us, granted to us]. He has protected us [kept us safe, preserved us] and delivered into our hands [handed over to us, given us victory over] the raiders [band of soldiers, group of attackers] who came against us [attacked us, invaded our town]. word study 24 Who [expressing a wish or inquiry] will listen [to hear and obey, give attention] to your proposal [this matter, affair, or thing]? The share [portion, inheritance, or smoothness] of the one who went [to go down, descend] to battle [war, conflict, or fight] will match [be equal to, or the same as] the share [portion, inheritance, or smoothness] of the one who stayed [to dwell, sit, or remain] with the supplies [articles, utensils, or goods]. They will share [divide, or smooth out] alike [together, in unity].” word study 25 And so it has been [from that time onward, since then] from that day [a period of twenty-four hours, a figurative space of time] forward. David [as king and leader] established [appointed, set in place] this statute [a decree, law, or ordinance] as an ordinance [a rule, command, or justice] for Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, referring to his descendants] to this very day [until now, as far as this point in time]. word study 26 When David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] arrived in Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder [spoils of war, booty] to his friends, the elders [respected leaders, old men] of Judah, saying, “Here is a gift [blessing, present] for you from the plunder [spoils, loot] of the LORD’s [Yehovah, the supreme God] enemies [adversaries, those who oppose].” word study 27 He sent gifts [tokens of appreciation] to those in [the city of] Bethel [house of God, a place of worship], Ramoth Negev [Ramoth of the South, a region of heights], and Jattir [a city in the mountains of Judah]; word study 28 to those [who were present, in the area] in Aroer [a city of ruins], Siphmoth [a fruitful place], and Eshtemoa [a city where God is heard]; word study 29 to those in Racal [also known as Carmel] and in the cities [towns, settlements] of the Jerahmeelites [descendants of Jerahmeel, a pre-monarchy figure] and Kenites [a tribe living between southern Palestine and the Sinai, known for their skills as metalworkers]; word study 30 to those [who were living, dwelling] in Hormah [a town of devotion], Bor-ashan [furnace of smoke], and Athach [a lodging place, resting spot]; word study 31 and to those in Hebron [a city in Palestine, a place of alliance] and in all [every, the whole] the places [locations, regions] where David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] and his men [warriors, companions] had roamed [walked, traveled, haunted]. word study