Translations
Modern
And all who were distressed or indebted or discontented rallied around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.
Traditional
And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.
Literal
And gathered to him every man in distress, and every man who himself was indebted, and everyone bitter in soul, and he was captain over them. And there were with him about four hundred men.
Latin
Et convenerunt ad eum omnes qui erant in angustia constituti, et oppressi ære alieno, et amaro animo: et factus est eorum princeps, fueruntque cum eo quasi quadringenti viri.
Original
Hebrew
English
And all who were distressed or indebted or discontented rallied around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.
Notes
distressed … indebted … discontented: The people who gathered around David were distressed, poor, and unhappy. By drawing such people to himself, David pointed ahead to Jesus, who would later welcome people who were hurting, burdened, and pushed to the edges of society (Matthew 11:25–30).
Saul’s character is clear here. He could not take revenge on David himself. Instead, Saul killed those he believed had helped David.
Theme notes and profiles
Events
Parallels
Glossary
Abiathar David Debt Doeg Samuel, Books of First and Second Warfare
Topics
Armies: March in Ranks: Composed of Insurgents Captain: Signifying Any Commander, As Caves: Often Capacious Creditors were often Defrauded Deserts: The Disaffected Fled To Insurgents: Army of, David's