and had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way.
Parallel translations
- WEB and had taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great. They didn’t kill any, but carried them off, and went their way.
- KJV And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way.
- BSB They had taken captive the women and all who were there, both young and old. They had not killed anyone, but had carried them off as they went on their way.
- NASB and they took captive the women and all who were in it, from the small to the great, without killing anyone, and drove them off and went their way.
- NLT They had carried off the women and children and everyone else but without killing anyone.
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
The Amalekites carried off the women and others as captives without killing them. The raiders took prisoners rather than lives.
Overview
The narrator notes that the Amalekites spared their captives, taking them away alive. This detail offers a thread of hope, for the loved ones may yet be recovered. The mercy of the raiders, perhaps for ransom or slavery, becomes the occasion for David's God-directed rescue mission.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- 1 Sam 27:11David saved neither man nor woman alive, to bring them to Gath, saying, “Lest they should tell about us, saying, ‘David did this, and this has been his way all the time he has lived in the country of the Philistines.’”
- 1 Sam 30:19There was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither plunder, nor anything that they had taken to them. David brought back all.
- Isa 27:8–9In measure, when you send them away, you contend with them. He has removed them with his rough blast in the day of the east wind.
- Job 38:11and said, ‘Here you may come, but no further. Here your proud waves shall be stayed?’
- Ps 76:10Surely the wrath of man praises you. The survivors of your wrath are restrained.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 30:2 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.