And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water;
Parallel translations
- WEB They found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he ate; and they gave him water to drink.
- BSB Now his men found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David. They gave the man water to drink and food to eat—
- NKJV Then they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David; and they gave him bread and he ate, and they let him drink water.
- NASB Now they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David, and gave him bread and he ate, and they provided him water to drink.
- NLT 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.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
David's men find a collapsed Egyptian in the field and give him food and water. An act of mercy to a stranger becomes the key to victory.
Overview
The abandoned Egyptian, left to die by his Amalekite master, is shown unexpected kindness by David's company. This small mercy, given without knowing its value, becomes God's providential means of locating the raiders. It illustrates how the Lord weaves ordinary compassion into his larger purposes of deliverance.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Deut 23:7Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land.
- Rom 12:20–21Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
- Deut 15:7–11If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother:
- Prov 25:21If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:
- Luke 10:36–37Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
- Matt 25:35For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 30:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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