1 Samuel 30:3

3 By the time David and his men came to the town, it had been burned down, and their wives, sons, and daughters had been taken captive.

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, when David and his men came to Ziklag, the Amalekites had raided the Negev, including Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it.

2 Although they captured the young and old women who were there, they killed no one. Instead, they had taken [the women and other prisoners] and gone away.

3 By the time David and his men came to the town, it had been burned down, and their wives, sons, and daughters had been taken captive.

4 Then David and his men cried loudly until they didn't have the strength to cry anymore.

5 The Amalekites also captured David's two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail (who had been Nabal's wife) from Carmel.