1 Samuel 30:1-6·~1 min

The Amalekites Raid Ziklag

David reaches Ziklag and discovers that the Amalekites have burned the city and taken its people captive without killing them. The disaster becomes real when he and his men see the ruined place for themselves.

O¹n the third day David and his men arrived in Ziklag, and the Amalekites had raided the Negev, attacked Ziklag, and burned it down. ²They 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. ³When David and his men came to the city, they found it burned down and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive.

The men weep until their strength is gone, and David shares the same loss in the capture of his wives. When the grief of the troops turns toward stoning him, David steadies himself in the LORD.

⁴So David and the troops with him lifted up their voices and wept until they had no strength left to weep. ⁵David’s two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel, had been taken captive. ⁶And David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of every man grieved for his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.

Section summaryDavid and his men return to Ziklag and find the city burned and their families carried off. Their grief turns toward rage against David, but in the middle of that collapse he gathers strength in the LORD his God.

Role in the chapterThis opening section creates the chapter's crisis in its sharpest form: public ruin, private loss, and a leader under threat from his own men. It prepares for what follows by showing David at his lowest point before he acts.