1 Samuel 30:3

3 And David and his men came to the city, and behold, it was burnt with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters were taken captives.

1 Samuel 30:3 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 30:3

So David and his men came to the city
Or however to the place where it had stood, and where it now lay in ruins:

and, behold, [it was] burnt with fire;
the whole city was laid in ashes:

and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken
captives;
as it appeared afterwards; for upon their first coming they knew not but they were all destroyed; and which they might reasonably suppose from their former treatment of them, unless there were any left upon the spot which could inform them how things were, which does not appear, and which must make their distress the greater.

1 Samuel 30:3 In-Context

1 And it came to pass, when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid upon the south, and upon Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag and burned it with fire;
2 and had taken the women captives that were in it; both great and small: they had put none to death, but had carried them off, and went on their way.
3 And David and his men came to the city, and behold, it was burnt with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters were taken captives.
4 Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.
5 And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jizreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.