Came to Ziklag: the king of Gath had given the city of Ziklag to David, for him to live there (see 27.5-7). David was returning to Ziklag from Aphek (29.1-2), a distance of about 120 kilometers (or 75 miles). It will be natural in many languages to say that David and his men “arrived back” or “returned.”
On the third day: counting the day on which they left as the first day, they arrived on the third day. Good News Translation expresses this in the common way of calculating time in English as “Two days later.” This information is also shifted forward to the beginning of the verse. Its placement in other translations, however, will depend on what is most natural in the receptor language.
Amalekites: see the comments on 14.48. No reason is given in the narrative for the raid by the Amalekites, but probably it was in retaliation for David’s earlier raids against them (see 27.8-9).
The verb forms had made and had overcome … and burned indicate that these actions of the Amalekite army took place prior to David’s return to Ziklag. The description of the Amalekites’ actions continues, in fact, in verse 2. Some languages may require a restructuring of these two verses so that the Amalekite attack is described before the description of David’s arrival in Ziklag. In fact verse 3 begins with a repetition of the account of the arrival of David and his men in Ziklag.
The Negeb: see the comments on 27.10. In this context it is advisable to translate “southern Judah” (Good News Translation) or “the southern part of Judah.”
Burned it with fire: the mention of fire may be redundant in many languages. While it is possible to burn an object with something other than fire (such as acid), the most commonly understood meaning of the verb “burn” is to burn with fire. Many versions therefore say simply “burned it down” (New Revised Standard Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “set it on fire” (Revised English Bible, New American Bible).
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .