30 David and his men arrived at Ziklag three days after they left King Achish. They found that the Amalekites had attacked Ziklag and towns in the south of Judah. The Amalekites had destroyed Ziklag with fire. 2 They had caught the women and the other people who were in the town, both young people and old people. They did not kill any of them, but they took them away as prisoners. [ a ]
3 So when David and his men arrived at Ziklag, they saw that the Amalekites had destroyed the city. The Amalekites had taken away their wives, their sons and their daughters as prisoners. 4 David and his men wept loudly. They continued to weep until they had no strength to weep any more. 5 The Amalekites had taken both of David's wives: Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail from Carmel, who was Nabal's widow. 6 David was very upset because his men were complaining. They wanted to kill him with stones. His men were very upset because they had lost their sons and their daughters. But David trusted the Lord his God to make him strong.
7 Then David spoke to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son. David said to him, ‘Bring the priests' ephod to me.’ So Abiathar took the ephod to David. 8 David asked the Lord , ‘Should I chase after the men who attacked our town? Will I catch them?’
The Lord answered, ‘Yes, chase after them and you will certainly catch them. You will rescue your families.’ [ b ]
9-10 So David and his 600 men left Ziklag. They arrived at Besor stream. Some of the men were too tired to go across the valley. So 200 men remained there. [ c ] David and the other 400 men continued to chase after the Amalekites.
11 David's men found an Egyptian man in a field. They took him to David. They gave the man some water to drink and food to eat. 12 They gave him some dried figs and some raisins. Then he became stronger, because he had not eaten any food or drunk any water for three days.
13 David asked the man, ‘Who is your master? Where do you come from?’
The young man answered, ‘I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite man. My master left me here three days ago because I was ill. 14 We had attacked the south part of Judah, where the Kerethites live. [ d ] We also attacked the land where the people of Caleb's clan live. We destroyed Ziklag with fire too.’
15 David said to him, ‘Can you take me to find these men?’
The man said, ‘Please promise me in God's name that you will not kill me. Promise me that you will not take me back to my master. If you do that, I will lead you to find them.’
16 So the Egyptian man took David to find the Amalekites. The men were sitting everywhere, all over the ground. They were having a party, eating and drinking. They were happy because they had taken so many things from the towns of the Philistines and from the people in Judah.
17 That evening, David attacked the Amalekites. The fight continued until the next evening. David and his men killed all the Amalekites except for 400 young men. Those 400 men rode away on their camels. 18 David got back everything that the Amalekites had taken. And he rescued his two wives. 19 The people had lost nothing. David brought everyone back, the young people and the old people, the sons and the daughters. He brought back all the valuable things and everything that the Amalekites had taken. 20 David took all the sheep, goats and cows from the Amalekites. His men led these animals in front of the other animals. They said, ‘These animals will belong to David!’
21 David returned to the 200 men who had stayed beside the Besor stream. These men had been too tired to go with David. They came to meet David and the men who were with him. When David met them, he happily said ‘hello’ to them. 22 But some of the men who had gone with David were wicked and stupid. They said, ‘These men did not come with us to attack the Amalekites. So we will not give them any of the things that we have brought back. Each man can have only his wife and his children. Then they must take them back home.’
23 David said, ‘No, my brothers. You cannot do that. The Lord has given all these things to us. He has kept us safe. He has helped us to win against the enemies who attacked us. 24 Nobody will agree with what you say. Each person will receive an equal part. The men who stayed here with our things and the men who went to fight will all receive the same amount.’
25 David made this a rule for the Israelites, and they still obey it.
26 David arrived back at Ziklag with all the things that they had taken from the Amalekites. He sent some of the things to the leaders of Judah who were his friends. David sent this message, ‘Here is a gift for you. We took these things from the Lord 's enemies.’
27 David sent gifts to the leaders in these towns:
Bethel, Ramoth in the desert in the south, Jattir,
28 Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, 29 Racal,
the towns where the clan of Jerahmeel live,
the towns where the Kenites live,
30 Hormah, Bor Ashan, Athach 31 and Hebron.
David also sent gifts to the people in the towns that he and his men had visited.
30 As soon as David and his men arrived at Ziklag on the third day, they saw that the Amalekites had attacked Ziklag. The Amalekites invaded the Negev area, attacked Ziklag, and burned the city. 2 They took all the women in Ziklag, both young and old, as prisoners. They didn’t kill anyone; they only took them as prisoners.
3 When David and his men came to Ziklag, they found the city burning. Their wives, sons, and daughters were all gone. The Amalekites had taken them. 4 David and the other men in his army cried loudly until they were too weak to cry anymore. 5 The Amalekites had taken David’s two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, who had been the wife of Nabal from Carmel.
6 All the men in the army were sad and angry because their sons and daughters were taken as prisoners. The men were talking about killing David with stones. This upset David very much, but he found strength in the Lord his God. 7 David said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod.” So Abiathar brought it.
8 Then David prayed to the Lord . “Should I chase the people who took our families? Will I catch them?”
The Lord answered, “Chase them. You will catch them, and you will save your families.”
9-10 David took the 600 men with him and went to Besor Ravine. About 200 of his men stayed there because they were too weak and tired to continue. But David and the other 400 men continued to chase the Amalekites.
11 David’s men found an Egyptian in a field and took him to David. They gave the Egyptian some water to drink and some food to eat. 12 The Egyptian had not had any food or water for three days and nights, so they gave him a piece of fig cake and two clusters of raisins. He felt better after eating.
13 David asked the Egyptian, “Who is your master? Where do you come from?”
The Egyptian answered, “I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite. Three days ago I got sick, and my master left me behind. 14 We had attacked the Negev area where the Kerethites [ a ] live. We also attacked Judah and the Negev area where Caleb’s people live. We burned Ziklag.”
15 David asked the Egyptian, “Will you lead me to the people who took our families?”
The Egyptian answered, “If you make a special promise before God, I will help you find them. But you must promise that you will not kill me or give me back to my master.”
16 The Egyptian led David to the Amalekites. They were lying around on the ground, eating and drinking. They were celebrating with the many things they had taken from the Philistines and from Judah. 17 David attacked them and killed them. They fought from sunrise until the evening of the next day. None of the Amalekites escaped, except for 400 young men who jumped onto their camels and rode away.
18 David got back everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. 19 Nothing was missing. They found all the children and old people, all their sons and daughters, and all their valuables. They got back everything the Amalekites had taken. David brought everything back. 20 He took all the sheep and cattle. His men led these animals to the front of the group and said, “This is David’s prize.”
21 David came to the 200 men who had stayed at Besor Ravine. These were the men who were too weak and tired to follow David. They came out to meet him and the soldiers who went with him. They greeted David and his army as they approached. 22 There were some troublemakers in the group who went with David who started complaining, “These 200 men didn’t go with us, so why should we give them any of the things we took. These men get nothing but their own wives and children.”
23 David answered, “No, my brothers. Don’t do that! Think about what the Lord gave us. He let us defeat the enemy that attacked us. 24 No one will listen to what you say. The share will be the same for the man who stayed with the supplies and for the man who went into battle. Everyone will share alike.” 25 David made this an order and rule for Israel. This rule continues even today.
26 When David got to Ziklag, he sent some of the things he took from the Amalekites to his friends, the leaders of Judah. David said, “Here is a present for you that we took from the Lord ’s enemies.”
27 David sent some of the gifts to the leaders in Bethel, Ramoth in the Negev, Jattir, 28 Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, 29 Racal, the cities of the Jerahmeelites and the cities of the Kenites, 30 Hormah, Bor Ashan, Athach, 31 and Hebron, and to all the other places where David and his men had stayed.
30 And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;
2 And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way.
3 So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives.
4 Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.
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 Lord his God.
7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David.
8 And David enquired at the Lord , saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.
9 So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind stayed.
10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred abode behind, which were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor.
11 And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water;
12 And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights.
13 And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick.
14 We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.
15 And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company.
16 And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.
17 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.
18 And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives.
19 And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered all.
20 And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drave before those other cattle, and said, This is David's spoil.
21 And David came to the two hundred men, which were so faint that they could not follow David, whom they had made also to abide at the brook Besor: and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him: and when David came near to the people, he saluted them.
22 Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial, of those that went with David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them ought of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away, and depart.
23 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.
24 For who will hearken unto you in this matter? but as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike.
25 And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day.
26 And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the Lord ;
27 To them which were in Bethel, and to them which were in south Ramoth, and to them which were in Jattir,
28 And to them which were in Aroer, and to them which were in Siphmoth, and to them which were in Eshtemoa,
29 And to them which were in Rachal, and to them which were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to them which were in the cities of the Kenites,
30 And to them which were in Hormah, and to them which were in Chorashan, and to them which were in Athach,
31 And to them which were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt.
30 Then it happened, when David and his men came to ( A ) Ziklag on the third day, that ( B ) the Amalekites had carried out an attack on the [ a ] Negev and on ( C ) Ziklag, and had [ b ] overthrown Ziklag and burned it with fire; 2 and they took captive the women and all who were in it, from the small to the great, [ c ] ( D ) without killing anyone, and drove them off and went their way. 3 When David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him ( E ) raised their voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep. 5 Now ( F ) David’s two wives had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the [ d ] widow of Nabal the Carmelite. 6 Also, David was in great distress because ( G ) the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were [ e ] embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But ( H ) David felt strengthened in the Lord his God.
7 Then ( I ) David said to ( J ) Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Please bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 And ( K ) David inquired of the Lord , saying, “ ( L ) Shall I pursue this band of raiders? Will I overtake them?” And He said to him, “Pursue, for you will certainly overtake them, ( M ) and you will certainly rescue everyone .” 9 So David left, ( N ) he and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, where some who were left behind stayed. 10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men, for ( O ) two hundred who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor stayed behind .
11 Now they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David, and gave him bread and he ate, and they provided him water to drink. 12 They also gave him a slice of fig cake and two cakes of raisins, and he ate; ( P ) then his spirit [ f ] revived. For he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights. 13 Then David said to him, “To whom do you belong? And where are you from?” And he said, “I am a young man of Egypt, a servant of an Amalekite; and my master abandoned me when I became sick three days ago. 14 We carried out an attack on ( Q ) the [ g ] Negev of the Cherethites, and on that which belongs to Judah, and on ( R ) the [ h ] Negev of Caleb, and ( S ) we burned Ziklag with fire.” 15 Then David said to him, “Will you bring me down to this band of raiders?” And he said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will bring you down to this band.”
16 Now when he had brought him down, behold, they were dispersed over all the land, ( T ) eating and drinking and celebrating because of ( U ) all the great plunder that they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. 17 And David [ i ] slaughtered them ( V ) from the twilight [ j ] until the evening of [ k ] the next day; and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on ( W ) camels and fled. 18 So David ( X ) recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and [ l ] rescued his two wives. 19 And nothing of theirs was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, plunder, or anything that they had taken for themselves; ( Y ) David brought it all back. 20 So David had [ m ] captured all the sheep and the cattle which the people drove ahead of [ n ] the other livestock, and they said, “ ( Z ) This is David’s plunder.”
21 When ( AA ) David came to the two hundred men who were too exhausted to follow David and [ o ] had been left behind at the brook Besor, and they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him, then David approached the people and greeted them. 22 Then all the wicked and [ p ] worthless men among those who went with David said, “Since they did not go with [ q ] us, we will not give them any of the spoils that we have recovered, except to every man his wife and his children, so that they may lead them away and leave.” 23 But David said, “You must not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord has given us, for He has protected us and handed over to us the band of raiders that came against us. 24 And who will listen to you in this matter? For ( AB ) as is the share of the one who goes down into the battle, so shall be the share of the one who stays by the baggage; they shall share alike.” 25 So it has been from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.
26 Now when David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the spoils to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, “Behold, ( AC ) a [ r ] gift for you from the spoils of ( AD ) the enemies of the Lord : 27 to those who were in ( AE ) Bethel, to those who were in ( AF ) Ramoth of the [ s ] Negev, to those who were in ( AG ) Jattir, 28 to those who were in ( AH ) Aroer, to those who were in Siphmoth, to those who were in ( AI ) Eshtemoa, 29 to those who were in Racal, to those who were in the cities of ( AJ ) the Jerahmeelites, to those who were in the cities of ( AK ) the Kenites, 30 to those who were in ( AL ) Hormah, to those who were in ( AM ) Bor-ashan, to those who were in Athach, 31 to those who were in ( AN ) Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men ( AO ) walked.”
30 David and his men reached Ziklag ( A ) on the third day. Now the Amalekites ( B ) had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned ( C ) it, 2 and had taken captive the women and everyone else in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way.
3 When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. ( D ) 4 So David and his men wept ( E ) aloud until they had no strength left to weep. 5 David’s two wives ( F ) had been captured—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6 David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning ( G ) him; each one was bitter ( H ) in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength ( I ) in the Lord his God.
7 Then David said to Abiathar ( J ) the priest, the son of Ahimelek, “Bring me the ephod. ( K ) ” Abiathar brought it to him, 8 and David inquired ( L ) of the Lord , “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?”
“Pursue them,” he answered. “You will certainly overtake them and succeed ( M ) in the rescue. ( N ) ”
9 David and the six hundred men ( O ) with him came to the Besor Valley, where some stayed behind. 10 Two hundred of them were too exhausted ( P ) to cross the valley, but David and the other four hundred continued the pursuit.
11 They found an Egyptian in a field and brought him to David. They gave him water to drink and food to eat— 12 part of a cake of pressed figs and two cakes of raisins. He ate and was revived, ( Q ) for he had not eaten any food or drunk any water for three days and three nights.
13 David asked him, “Who do you belong to? Where do you come from?”
He said, “I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite. ( R ) My master abandoned me when I became ill three days ago. 14 We raided the Negev of the Kerethites, ( S ) some territory belonging to Judah and the Negev of Caleb. ( T ) And we burned ( U ) Ziklag.”
15 David asked him, “Can you lead me down to this raiding party?”
He answered, “Swear to me before God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, ( V ) and I will take you down to them.”
16 He led David down, and there they were, scattered over the countryside, eating, drinking and reveling ( W ) because of the great amount of plunder ( X ) they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from Judah. 17 David fought ( Y ) them from dusk until the evening of the next day, and none of them got away, except four hundred young men who rode off on camels and fled. ( Z ) 18 David recovered ( AA ) everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. 19 Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back. 20 He took all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock, saying, “This is David’s plunder.”
21 Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted ( AB ) to follow him and who were left behind at the Besor Valley. They came out to meet David and the men with him. As David and his men approached, he asked them how they were. 22 But all the evil men and troublemakers among David’s followers said, “Because they did not go out with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered. However, each man may take his wife and children and go.”
23 David replied, “No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the Lord has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us. 24 Who will listen to what you say? The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike. ( AC ) ” 25 David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to this.
26 When David reached Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah, who were his friends, saying, “Here is a gift ( AD ) for you from the plunder of the Lord ’s enemies.”
27 David sent it to those who were in Bethel, ( AE ) Ramoth ( AF ) Negev and Jattir; ( AG ) 28 to those in Aroer, ( AH ) Siphmoth, ( AI ) Eshtemoa ( AJ ) 29 and Rakal; to those in the towns of the Jerahmeelites ( AK ) and the Kenites; ( AL ) 30 to those in Hormah, ( AM ) Bor Ashan, ( AN ) Athak 31 and Hebron; ( AO ) and to those in all the other places where he and his men had roamed.
