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Thursday, July 17th, 2025
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
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Read the Bible

New Living Translation

1 Samuel 30:20

He also recovered all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock. "This plunder belongs to David!" they said.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Amalekites;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Amalekites, the;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Besor;   Ziklag;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Amalekites;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Amalekite;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Amalekites;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Ahinoam;   Samuel, Books of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Esdraelon;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Amalek, Amalekites ;   Ziklag ;   Smith Bible Dictionary - It'ta-I;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Hebrew Monarchy, the;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Besor, the Brook;   Faint;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Ziklag;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
He took all the flocks and herds, which were driven ahead of the other livestock, and the people shouted, “This is David’s plunder!”
Hebrew Names Version
David took all the flocks and the herds, [which] they drove before those [other] cattle, and said, This is David's spoil.
King James Version
And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drave before those other cattle, and said, This is David's spoil.
Lexham English Bible
And David took all of the sheep, and the cattle they drove along in front of that livestock, and they said, "This is David's plunder."
English Standard Version
David also captured all the flocks and herds, and the people drove the livestock before him, and said, "This is David's spoil."
New Century Version
David took all the sheep and cattle, and his men made these animals go in front, saying, "They are David's prize."
New English Translation
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!"
Amplified Bible
So David captured all the flocks and herds [which the enemy had], and [the people] drove those animals before him and said, "This is David's spoil."
New American Standard Bible
So David had captured all the sheep and the cattle which the people drove ahead of the other livestock, and they said, "This is David's plunder."
Geneva Bible (1587)
Dauid also tooke all the sheepe, and the oxen, and they draue them before his cattell, and said, This is Dauids pray.
Legacy Standard Bible
And David took all the sheep and the cattle which the people drove ahead of the other livestock, and they said, "This is David's spoil."
Contemporary English Version
including their livestock. David also took the sheep and cattle that the Amalekites had with them, but he kept these separate from the others. Everyone agreed that these would be David's reward.
Complete Jewish Bible
David took all the flocks and herds and drove them ahead of their own livestock, announcing, "This is David's spoil."
Darby Translation
And David took all the flocks and the herds, [which] they drove before the other cattle, and said, This is David's spoil.
Easy-to-Read Version
He took all the sheep and cattle. His men led these animals to the front of the group and said, "This is David's prize."
George Lamsa Translation
And David took all the flocks and the herds, and an abundance of other things in addition; and they said, This is Davids spoil.
Good News Translation
He also recovered all the flocks and herds; his men drove all the livestock in front of them and said, "This belongs to David!"
Literal Translation
And David took all the flock, and the herd. They drove on before those other cattle. And they said, This is David's prize.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And Dauid toke the shepe and oxe, and droue ye catell before him. And they sayde: This is Dauids spoyle.
American Standard Version
And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drove before those other cattle, and said, This is David's spoil.
Bible in Basic English
And they took all the flocks and herds, and driving them in front of him, said, These are David's.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Dauid tooke all the sheepe, and the oxen, and they draue them before his cattaile, and saide: This is Dauids pray.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drove before those other cattle, and said: 'This is David's spoil.'
King James Version (1611)
And Dauid tooke all the flockes, and the herds, which they draue before those other cattell, and said, This is Dauids spoile.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And he took all the flocks, and the herds, and led them away before the spoils: and it was said of these spoils, These are the spoils of David.
English Revised Version
And David took all the flocks and the herds, [which] they drave before those [other] cattle, and said, This is David’s spoil.
Berean Standard Bible
And he recovered all the flocks and herds, which his men drove ahead of the other livestock, calling out, "This is David's plunder!"
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and he took alle flockis and grete beestis, and droof bifor his face. And thei seiden, This is the prey of Dauid.
Young's Literal Translation
and David taketh the whole of the flock, and of the herd, they have led on before these cattle, and they say, `This [is] David's spoil.'
Update Bible Version
And David took all the flocks and the herds, [which] they drove before those [other] cattle, and said, This is David's spoil.
Webster's Bible Translation
And David took all the flocks and the herds, [which] they drove before those [other] cattle, and said, This [is] David's spoil.
World English Bible
David took all the flocks and the herds, [which] they drove before those [other] cattle, and said, This is David's spoil.
New King James Version
Then David took all the flocks and herds they had driven before those other livestock, and said, "This is David's spoil."
New Life Bible
And he took all the sheep and cattle. The people drove those animals in front of him, and said, "This is what belongs to David."
New Revised Standard
David also captured all the flocks and herds, which were driven ahead of the other cattle; people said, "This is David's spoil."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And David took all the flocks and the herds, - they drave them before those other cattle, and they said, This, is David's spoil.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And he took all the flocks and the herds, and made them go before him: and they said: This is the prey of David.
Revised Standard Version
David also captured all the flocks and herds; and the people drove those cattle before him, and said, "This is David's spoil."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
So David had captured all the sheep and the cattle which the people drove ahead of the other livestock, and they said, "This is David's spoil."

Contextual Overview

7 Then he said to Abiathar the priest, "Bring me the ephod!" So Abiathar brought it. 8 Then David asked the Lord , "Should I chase after this band of raiders? Will I catch them?" And the Lord told him, "Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!" 9 So David and his 600 men set out, and they came to the brook Besor. 10 But 200 of the men were too exhausted to cross the brook, so David continued the pursuit with 400 men. 11 Along the way they found an Egyptian man in a field and brought him to David. They gave him some bread to eat and water to drink. 12 They also gave him part of a fig cake and two clusters of raisins, for he hadn't had anything to eat or drink for three days and nights. Before long his strength returned. 13 "To whom do you belong, and where do you come from?" David asked him. "I am an Egyptian—the slave of an Amalekite," he replied. "My master abandoned me three days ago because I was sick. 14 We were on our way back from raiding the Kerethites in the Negev, the territory of Judah, and the land of Caleb, and we had just burned Ziklag." 15 "Will you lead me to this band of raiders?" David asked. The young man replied, "If you take an oath in God's name that you will not kill me or give me back to my master, then I will guide you to them." 16 So he led David to them, and they found the Amalekites spread out across the fields, eating and drinking and dancing with joy because of the vast amount of plunder they had taken from the Philistines and the land of Judah.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

This is David's spoil: 1 Samuel 30:26, Numbers 31:9-12, 2 Chronicles 20:25, Isaiah 53:12, Romans 8:37

Reciprocal: 1 Chronicles 18:11 - Amalek 2 Chronicles 14:15 - carried away

Cross-References

Genesis 29:34
Then she became pregnant a third time and gave birth to another son. He was named Levi, for she said, "Surely this time my husband will feel affection for me, since I have given him three sons!"
Genesis 30:15
But Leah angrily replied, "Wasn't it enough that you stole my husband? Now will you steal my son's mandrakes, too?" Rachel answered, "I will let Jacob sleep with you tonight if you give me some of the mandrakes."
Genesis 35:23
The sons of Leah were Reuben (Jacob's oldest son), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
Genesis 46:14
The sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.
Genesis 49:13
"Zebulun will settle by the seashore and will be a harbor for ships; his borders will extend to Sidon.
Judges 4:10
At Kedesh, Barak called together the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali, and 10,000 warriors went up with him. Deborah also went with him.
Judges 5:14
They came down from Ephraim— a land that once belonged to the Amalekites; they followed you, Benjamin, with your troops. From Makir the commanders marched down; from Zebulun came those who carry a commander's staff.
Psalms 68:27
Look, the little tribe of Benjamin leads the way. Then comes a great throng of rulers from Judah and all the rulers of Zebulun and Naphtali.
Matthew 4:13
He went first to Nazareth, then left there and moved to Capernaum, beside the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And David took all the flocks, and the herds,.... Which they had taken from the land of the Philistines, or which belonged to the Amalekites properly:

[which] they drave before those [other] cattle; which had been carried from Ziklag; first went the spoil taken from other places, and then those taken from David and his men, or what was found at Ziklag. Abarbinel supposes the meaning to be this, that the herds were driven before the flocks, that the oxen were led out first, and then the sheep followed, as being the weaker sort, and more easily to be driven, and carried off; but the former sense seems best:

and said, this [is] David's spoil; either the whole of it, it being owing to him that it was got or brought back; or this may respect some peculiar part of it made a present of to him; or it may design what the Amalekites had taken from others, which was at the disposal of David, as distinguished from what was taken from Ziklag, and was restored, or to be restored to the proper owners: it may be taken in the first and more general sense, as being the song, or the burden of the song, sung by David's men as they returned with the spoil, giving him all the honour of it, of whom, but a little before, they talked of stoning.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The meaning is, “and David took all the sheep and oxen which the Amalekites drove” (i. e. had in their possession) “before that acquisition of cattle” (namely, before what they took in their raid to the south), “and they” (the people) “said, This is David’s spoil.” This was his share as captain of the band (compare Judges 8:24-26). All the other plunder of the camp - arms, ornaments, jewels, money, clothes, camels, accoutrements, and so on - was divided among the little army. David’s motive in choosing the sheep and oxen for himself was to make presents to his friends in Judah 1 Samuel 30:26-31.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Samuel 30:20. And David took all the flocks — He and his men not only recovered all their own property, but they recovered all the spoil which these Amalekites had taken from the south of Judah, the Cherethites, and the south of Caleb. When this was separated from the rest, it was given to David, and called David's spoil.


 
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