1 Samuel 30:3

3 When David and his men arrived, they found that the town had been burned down and that their wives, sons, and daughters had been carried away.

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 Two days later David and his men arrived back at Ziklag. The Amalekites had raided southern Judah and attacked Ziklag. They had burned down the town
2 and captured all the women; they had not killed anyone, but had taken everyone with them when they left.
3 When David and his men arrived, they found that the town had been burned down and that their wives, sons, and daughters had been carried away.
4 David and his men started crying and did not stop until they were completely exhausted.
5 Even David's two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail, had been taken away.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.