1 Samuel 30:3 Meaning and Explanation
“So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →David and his men reach the city and see it burned, their wives and children gone.
What Does 1 Samuel 30:3 Mean?
The scene tightens from the wide view of verse one to the men standing at their own gates. The word behold halts the reader beside them: charred walls, empty houses, and the dreadful silence where families had been. Every man's wife, every son and daughter, is simply gone.
This is grief at its most personal — not a distant report of war but one's own children taken. The Scripture lets the weight land before it offers any rescue, honoring the truth that loss must be felt before it can be redeemed. Those who carry such wounds find here a God who does not rush past the pain but enters it, and who will prove, by the chapter's end, that nothing carried away was carried beyond His reach.
Frequently Asked Questions About 1 Samuel 30:3
What does 1 Samuel 30:3 mean?
David and his men reach the city and see it burned, their wives and children gone.