21 The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them off.
21 And the Philistines left their idols there, and David and his men carried them away.
21 The retreating Philistines dumped their idols, and David and his soldiers took them away.
21 And they left their images there, and David and his men carried them away.
21 The Philistines had abandoned their idols there, so David and his men confiscated them.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 2 Samuel 5:21
Commentary on 2 Samuel 5:17-25
(Read 2 Samuel 5:17-25)
The Philistines considered not that David had the presence of God with him, which Saul had forfeited and lost. The kingdom of the Messiah, as soon as it was set up in the world, was thus attacked by the powers of darkness. The heathen raged, and the kings of the earth set themselves to oppose it; but all in vain, Acts 2:2.