1 Samuel 30:17 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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.

NIV: David fought 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.

NASB: And David slaughtered them from the twilight until the evening of the next day; and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled.

CSB: David slaughtered them from twilight until the evening of the next day. None of them escaped, except four hundred young men who got on camels and fled.

NLT: David and his men rushed in among them and slaughtered them throughout that night and the entire next day until evening. None of the Amalekites escaped except 400 young men who fled on camels.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: Then David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled.

First Samuel 30:16–31 records yet another battles between David and Amalekites. He and his men had raided Amalekite cities, leaving no survivors (1 Samuel 27:8–11). David's men returned from a trip and learned different Amalekites had taken their families and destroyed their city. The men quickly catch up and rescue their wives and children. David will give some of the Amalekites' loot to elders in Judah, his home tribe. Far north, Saul and his sons die in battle against the Philistines (1 Samuel 31). The elders of Judah will declare David their king (2 Samuel 2:1–4).

David and his men return home to find their city burned and their families gone. Amalekite raiders have taken them captive. The mood is dark, but David insists on trusting the Lord's promise that their people will be rescued. After being revived from near-starvation, an Egyptian slave abandoned by the Amalekites leads David and his men to the raiders. David’s wives and all the families are rescued, and David sends of the massive plunder the Amalekites had acquired to the people of the cities of Judah.

David and his men return from the ranks of the Philistine troops gathering for war (1 Samuel 29). They find their city is burnt and all their people are gone. David and his men attack the raiders, rescue their families alive, and kill every enemy except for 400 who escape on camelback. David sends some of the plunder to the cities of Judah. Meanwhile, King Saul dies in battle (1 Samuel 31). Before long, the leaders of Judah will anoint David king (2 Samuel 2:1–4).

First Samuel introduces the key figures who led Israel after the era of the judges. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel were originally part of a single text, split in certain translations shortly before the birth of Christ. Some of the Bible’s most famous characters are depicted in this book. These including the prophet Samuel, Israel’s first king, Saul, her greatest king, David, and other famous names such as Goliath and Jonathan. By the end of this book, Saul has fallen; the book of 2 Samuel begins with David’s ascension to the throne.