1 Samuel 30:16

16 He led David down to where the men were. They were scattered all over the countryside. They were eating and drinking and dancing wildly. That's because they had taken a large amount of goods from those they had attacked. They had taken it from the land of the Philistines and from the people of Judah.

1 Samuel 30:16 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 30:16

And when he had brought him down
To the place where the company of the Amalekites were, or near it:

behold, [they were] spread abroad upon all the earth;
they were not in any regular order, and much less in any military form, but lay about in the fields, scattered here and there, were in detached parties:

some eating and drinking;
in one place:

and dancing;
others, in another place, expressing their joy, and perhaps their thankfulness to their idols

because of the great spoil they had taken out of the land of the
Philistines, and out of the land of Judah;
from Ziklag, and from the south of the Cherethites, and the south of Judah, they had invaded, ( 1 Samuel 30:14 ) ; and here they were in the greatest security; knowing: that the armies of the Philistines were gone into the land of Israel, and were about to engage in battle with the Israelites, and David they supposed was with the Philistines, so that they had nothing to fear from any quarter; and thus it is often, that when men cry peace, peace, sudden destruction comes upon them.

1 Samuel 30:16 In-Context

14 We attacked the people in the Negev Desert of the Kerethites. We attacked the territory that belongs to Judah. We attacked the people in the Negev Desert of Caleb. And we burned Ziklag."

15 David asked him, "Can you lead me down to the men who attacked Ziklag?" He answered, "Take an oath in the name of God. Promise me that you won't kill me. Promise that you won't hand me over to my master. Then I'll take you down to them."

16 He led David down to where the men were. They were scattered all over the countryside. They were eating and drinking and dancing wildly. That's because they had taken a large amount of goods from those they had attacked. They had taken it from the land of the Philistines and from the people of Judah.

17 David fought against them from sunset until the evening of the next day. None of them escaped except 400 young men. They rode off on camels and got away.

18 David got everything back that the Amalekites had taken. That included his two wives.