1 Samuel 30:23
in 1 Samuel 30But David said, “My brothers, you must not do this with what the LORD has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiders who came against us.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which Jehovah hath given unto us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the troop that came against us into our hand.
KJV
Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the Lord hath given us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand.
⋯
This verse in 1 Samuel 30
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThat which the Lord hath given us - He very properly attributes this victory to God; the numbers of the Amalekites being so much greater than his own. Indeed, as many fled away on camels as were in the whole host of David.
This site's exposition
Ye shall not do so, my brethren
on 1 Samuel 30:23-25
David answers by naming the victory the LORD's rather than the four hundred's own, the same instinct that will govern his mighty men's roll call in the last chapters of the second book. His ruling, that the part of the man who tarries by the stuff equals the part of the man who goes down to the battle, echoes the division Moses set over the Midianite spoil in Numbers thirty-one and the arrangement Joshua's altar-builders claimed at Joshua twenty-two. It stands afterward as statute and ordinance for Israel, one of the few laws in Scripture credited to David by name rather than to Moses.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
5 And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. 6 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the L ORD his God.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:97%@v5-6
God has been kind to us in preserving us and giving us victory, let not us be unkind to them." God's mercy to us should make us merciful to one another. It was true they tarried behind; but, [1.] It was not for want of good-will to the cause or to their brethren, but because they had not strength to keep up with them.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
Superiors often lose their authority by haughtiness, but seldom by courtesy and condescension. Secondly, Thus he settled the matter for the time to come, made it a statute of his kingdom (a statute of distributions, primo Davidis--in the first year of David's reign ), an ordinance of war (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Then said David, ye shall not do so, my brethren,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
THOSE who associate themselves with a leader must share his fortunes. Six hundred men had left their abodes in Judea. Unable to endure the tyranny of Saul, they had linked themselves with David and made him to be a captain over them. They were, some of them, the best of men, and some of them were the worst—in this, resembling our congregations. Some of them were choice spirits whom David would have sought, but others were undesirable persons from whom he might gladly have been free.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
THOSE who associate themselves with a leader must share his fortunes. Six hundred men had left their abodes in Judea. Unable to endure the tyranny of Saul, they had linked themselves with David and made him to be a captain over them. They were, some of them, the best of men, and some of them were the worst—in this, resembling our congregations. Some of them were choice spirits whom David would have sought, but others were undesirable persons from whom he might gladly have been free. However, be they who they may, they must rise or fall with their leader and commander. If he had the city Ziklag given to him, they had a house and a home in it. And if Ziklag was burned with fire, their houses did not escape. When David stood amid the smoking ruins, a penniless and a wifeless man, they stood in the same condition. This rule holds good with all of us who have joined ourselves to Christ and His cause—we must be partakers with Him. I hope we are prepared to stand to this rule today. If there is ridicule and reproach for the Gospel of Christ, let us be willing to be ridiculed and reproached for His sake. Let us gladly share with Him in His humiliation and never dream of shrinking. This involves a great privilege, since they that are with Him in His humiliation shall be with Him in His Glory. If we share His rebuke in the midst of an evil generation, we shall also sit upon His Throne and share His Glory in the day of His appearing. Brothers and Sisters, I hope the most of us can say we are in for it—to sink or swim with Jesus. In life or death, where He is, there will we, His servants, be. We joyfully accept both the Cross and the Crown which go with our Lord Jesus Christ—we are eager to bear our full share of the blame, that we may partake in His joy. It frequently happens that when a great disaster occurs to a band of men, a mutiny follows.
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| דָּוִ֔ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תַעֲשׂ֥וּ | taasu | you must do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| כֵ֖ן | khen | thus | H3651 → | 771 times |
| אֶחָ֑י | ʾechai | O brothers my | H251 → | 630 times |
| אֵ֠ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | [that] which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נָתַ֨ן | natan | he has given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לָ֙נוּ֙ | lanu | to <the> us | ||
| וַיִּשְׁמֹ֣ר | vaiyishmor | and he has kept | H8104 → | 468 times |
| אֹתָ֔נוּ | ʾotanu | <obj.> us | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וַיִּתֵּ֗ן | vaiyiten | and he has given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֶֽת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַגְּד֛וּד | hagedud | the marauding band | H1416 → | 33 times |
| הַבָּ֥א | haba' | which came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עָלֵ֖ינוּ | ʾaleinu | on us | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בְּיָדֵֽנוּ׃ | beyadenu | in hand our | H3027 → | 1618 times |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
דָּוִ֔דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תַעֲשׂ֥וּyou must do
taasuH6213 →2628 times
כֵ֖ןthus
khenH3651 →771 times
אֶחָ֑יO brothers my
ʾechaiH251 →630 times
אֵ֠ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
אֲשֶׁר־[that] which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
נָתַ֨ןhe has given
natanH5414 →2011 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לָ֙נוּ֙to <the> us
lanu
וַיִּשְׁמֹ֣רand he has kept
vaiyishmorH8104 →468 times
אֹתָ֔נוּ<obj.> us
ʾotanuH853 →10935 times
וַיִּתֵּ֗ןand he has given
vaiyitenH5414 →2011 times
אֶֽת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַגְּד֛וּדthe marauding band
hagedudH1416 →33 times
הַבָּ֥אwhich came
haba'H935 →2568 times
עָלֵ֖ינוּon us
ʾaleinuH5921 →5755 times
בְּיָדֵֽנוּ׃in hand our
beyadenuH3027 →1618 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
Deuteronomy 8:18But remember that it is the LORD your God who gives you the power to gain wealth, in order to confirm His covenant that He swore to your fathers even to this day.
it leads to
- Proverbs 10:22
The blessing of the LORD enriches, and He adds no sorrow to it.
- Hosea 2:8
For she does not acknowledge that it was I who gave her grain, new wine, and oil, who lavished on her silver and gold—which they crafted for Baal.
- Deuteronomy 7:8
But because the LORD loved you and kept the oath He swore to your fathers, He brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand…
- Psalms 127:1–2
Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain.
- Deuteronomy 7:12
If you listen to these ordinances and keep them carefully, then the LORD your God will keep His covenant and the loving devotion that He swore to your fathers.
- Proverbs 10:22
Through
1 Samuel 2:7The LORD sends poverty and wealth; He humbles and He exalts.
it leads to
- Psalms 75:7
but it is God who judges; He brings down one and exalts another.
- Deuteronomy 8:17–18
You might say in your heart, “The power and strength of my hands have made this wealth for me.”
- Job 5:11
He sets the lowly on high, so that mourners are lifted to safety.
- Psalms 75:7
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; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2208: “The Statute of David for the Sharing of the Spoil” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.