And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drave before those other cattle, and said, This is David’s spoil.
Parallel translations
- WEB David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drove before those other livestock, and said, “This is David’s plunder.”
- BSB And he recovered all the flocks and herds, which his men drove ahead of the other livestock, calling out, “This is David’s plunder!”
- NKJV Then David took all the flocks and herds they had driven before those other livestock, and said, “This is David’s spoil.”
- NASB 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.”
- NLT 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.
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 also gains the Amalekites' flocks and herds as plunder. Victory brings not only recovery but added blessing.
Overview
Beyond recovering what was stolen, David's men drive off the enemy's livestock as spoil, hailed as 'David's plunder.' The added increase reflects God's generosity to his anointed beyond bare restoration. The verse sets up the question of how this plunder should be distributed among those who fought and those who stayed behind.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- 1 Sam 30:26And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the LORD;
- 2 Chr 20:25And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.
- Rom 8:37Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
- Isa 53:12Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
- Num 31:9–12And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods.
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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 30:20 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.