1st Samuel Chapter 30 verse 17 Holy Bible
And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, who rode upon camels and fled.
read chapter 30 in ASV
And David went on fighting them from evening till the evening of the day after; and not one of them got away but only four hundred young men who went in flight on camels.
read chapter 30 in BBE
And David smote them from the twilight even to the evening of the next day; and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, who rode upon camels, and fled.
read chapter 30 in DARBY
And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled.
read chapter 30 in KJV
And David smote them from the twilight even to the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, who rode upon camels, and fled.
read chapter 30 in WBT
David struck them from the twilight even to the evening of the next day: and there not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men, who rode on camels and fled.
read chapter 30 in WEB
And David smiteth them from the twilight even unto the evening of the morrow, and there hath not escaped of them a man, except four hundred young men who have ridden on the camels, and are fled.
read chapter 30 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 17. - From the twilight. It has been debated whether this means the evening or the morning twilight; but the words which follow, "unto the evening of the next day," literally, "of (or for) their morrow," seem to prove that it was in the evening that David arrived. Moreover, in the morning they would not have been feasting, but sleeping. David probably attacked them at once, and slew all within reach until nightfall. The next morning the battle was renewed; but as David had but 400 men, and the Amalekites covered a large extent of country, and probably tried to defend themselves and their booty, it was not till towards the next evening that the combat and the pursuit were over. As they would need pasture and water for their cattle, they had evidently broken up into detachments, which had gone each into a different place with their herds. The pursuit must have been prolonged to a considerable distance, as no more than 400 young men escaped, and even they only by the aid of their camels.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(17) From twilight even unto the evening of the next day.--Keil thinks the fighting went on from the evening twilight till the evening of the next day. Bishop Hervey, in the Speaker's Commentary, with greater probability, supposes that "the twilight is the morning twilight, as the contrast between twilight and evening rather suggests." David thus arrived at night, and finding his enemies eating and drinking, put off his attack until the morning dawn or twilight, when they would be still sleeping after their debauch. Although thus taken by surprise, their great numbers and their natural bravery enabled them to prolong the fierce struggle all through the day, and when the shades of evening were falling four hundred (we read) of the young men, a body of fugitives equal to David's own force, managed to get clear of the rout and escape. The number of slain on this occasion must have been very great.
