1 Samuel 30:4
in 1 Samuel 30So David and the troops with him lifted up their voices and wept until they had no strength left to weep.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.
KJV
Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 30
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThen David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice,.... In doleful shrieks, and loud lamentations: and wept, until they had no more power to weep; till nature was quite exhausted, and no moisture left; so the Vulgate Latin version, "till tears failed in them"; they could shed no more.
This site's exposition
they found it burned down
on 1 Samuel 30:3-4
David's men come home to ash and an empty town. The narrator gives their grief its own sentence: they wept until they had no more power to weep. Every wife, son and daughter in the company is gone in one stroke, David's own house among them.
This site's exposition
wept until they had no strength left to weep
Matthew Henry says the bravest men lose nothing by weeping for their families. He adds attacking Israel while its men were away was the policy of the Amalekites, as when they cut off the weary at Deuteronomy 25:18. The Vulgate says their tears failed them.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Note, It is no disparagement to the boldest and bravest spirits to lament the calamities of relations and friends. This trouble came upon them when they were absent. It was the ancient policy of Amalek to take Israel at an advantage.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Wept, until they had no more power to weep - This marks great distress; they wept, as says the Vulgate, till their tears failed them.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשָּׂ֨א | vaiyisa' | and he lifted up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| דָוִ֜ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| וְהָעָ֧ם | vehaam | and the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אִתּ֛וֹ | ʾito | [was] with him | H854 → | 929 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| קוֹלָ֖ם | kolam | voice their | H6963 → | 506 times |
| וַיִּבְכּ֑וּ | vaiyivku | and they wept | H1058 → | 114 times |
| עַ֣ד | ʾad | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֧ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אֵין־ | ʾein- | not | H369 → | 789 times |
| בָּהֶ֛ם | bahem | [was] in <the> them | ||
| כֹּ֖חַ | koach | strength | H3581 → | 126 times |
| לִבְכּֽוֹת׃ | livkot | to weep | H1058 → | 114 times |
וַיִּשָּׂ֨אand he lifted up
vaiyisa'H5375 →656 times
דָוִ֜דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
וְהָעָ֧םand the people
vehaamH5971 →1873 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
אִתּ֛וֹ[was] with him
ʾitoH854 →929 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
קוֹלָ֖םvoice their
kolamH6963 →506 times
וַיִּבְכּ֑וּand they wept
vaiyivkuH1058 →114 times
עַ֣דuntil
ʾadH5704 →1261 times
אֲשֶׁ֧רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אֵין־not
ʾein-H369 →789 times
בָּהֶ֛ם[was] in <the> them
bahem
כֹּ֖חַstrength
koachH3581 →126 times
לִבְכּֽוֹת׃to weep
livkotH1058 →114 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Samuel 11:4When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and relayed these words in the hearing of the people, they all wept aloud.
it leads to
- Judges 2:4
When the angel of the LORD had spoken these words to all the Israelites, the people lifted up their voices and wept.
- 1 Samuel 10:26
Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, and the men of valor whose hearts God had touched went with him.
- Judges 21:2
So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, lifting up their voices and weeping bitterly.
- 1 Samuel 15:34
Then Samuel went to Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul.
- Judges 2:4
Through
1 Samuel 4:13When he arrived, there was Eli, sitting on his chair beside the road and watching, because his heart trembled for the ark of God. When the man entered the city to give a report,…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 1:9
So after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the temple of the LORD.
- 1 Samuel 1:9
Through
Judges 21:2So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, lifting up their voices and weeping bitterly.
it leads to
- Judges 20:26
Then the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel, where they sat weeping before the LORD. That day they fasted until evening and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD.
- Judges 20:18
The Israelites set out, went up to Bethel, and inquired of God, “Who of us shall go up first to fight against the Benjamites?” “Judah will be first,” the LORD replied.
- Judges 20:26
Through
Judges 2:4When the angel of the LORD had spoken these words to all the Israelites, the people lifted up their voices and wept.
it leads to
- James 4:9
Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter to mourning, and your joy to gloom.
- James 4:9
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.