1 Samuel 30

1 On the third day David and his men arrived in Ziklag, and the Amalekites had raided the Negev, attacked Ziklag, and burned it down.

And it came to pass, when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that, the Amalekites, had made a raid into the South, and into Ziklag, and had smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;

2 They had taken captive the women and all who were there, both young and old. They had not killed anyone, but had carried them off as they went on their way.

and had taken captive the women and all who were therein, from small even unto great, they had not put one to death, —but had driven them forth, and gone their way.

3 When David and his men came to the city, they found it burned down and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive.

So, when David and his men came to the city, lo! it was burnt with fire, —and, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, had been taken captive.

4 So David and the troops with him lifted up their voices and wept until they had no strength left to weep.

Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice, and wept, —until they had no more strength to weep.

5 David’s two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel, had been taken captive.

And, the two wives of David, had been taken captive, —Ahinoam, the Jezreelitess, and Abigail, wife of Nabal the Carmelite.

6 And David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of every man grieved for his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.

And David was in sore distress, for the people had spoken of stoning him, because the souls of all the people were embittered, every man for his own sons and for his own daughters, —but David emboldened himself in Yahweh his God.

7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought it to him,

Then said David to Abiathar the priest, son of Ahimelech, Do bring near me, I pray thee, the ephod. So Abiathar brought near the ephod, unto David.

8 and David inquired of the LORD: “Should I pursue these raiders? Will I overtake them?” “Pursue them,” the LORD replied, “for you will surely overtake them and rescue the captives.”

And David enquired of Yahweh, saying, Shall I pursue this troop? shall I overtake it? And he said unto him: Pursue, for thou shalt, overtake, and thou shalt, rescue.

9 So David and his six hundred men went to the Brook of Besor, where some stayed behind

So David went, he, and the six hundred men, who were with him, and they came in as far as the ravine of Besor, —where, they who had to be left behind, stayed.

10 because two hundred men were too exhausted to cross the brook. But David and four hundred men continued in pursuit.

But David pursued, he. and four hundred men, —but the two hundred men stayed, because they were too wearied to cross over the ravine of Besor.

11 Now his men found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David. They gave the man water to drink and food to eat—

And they found an Egyptian in the field, and took him unto David, —and gave him food, and he did eat, and they gave him water to drink;

12 a piece of a fig cake and two clusters of raisins. So he ate and was revived, for he had not had any food or water for three days and three nights.

and they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two cakes of raisins, and, when he had eaten, his spirit came back unto him, —for he had neither eaten food, nor drunk water, three days and three nights.

13 Then David asked him, “To whom do you belong, and where are you from?” “I am an Egyptian,” he replied, “the slave of an Amalekite. My master abandoned me three days ago when I fell ill.

Then David said to him—Whose art thou? and whence art thou? And he said, A young man of Egypt, am I, servant to an Amalekite, and my lord left me behind, because I fell sick, three days ago.

14 We raided the Negev of the Cherethites, the territory of Judah, and the Negev of Caleb, and we burned down Ziklag.”

As for us, we invaded the South of the Cherithites, and against that which pertaineth unto Judah, and against the South of Caleb, —and, Ziklag, burned we with fire.

15 “Will you lead me to these raiders?” David asked. And the man replied, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hand of my master, and I will lead you to them.”

And David said unto him, Wilt thou bring me down unto this troop? And he said—Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt not put me to death, neither wilt thou surrender me into the hand of my lord, and I will bring thee down unto this troop.

16 So he led David down, and there were the Amalekites spread out over all the land, eating, drinking, and celebrating the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and the land of Judah.

So he brought him down, and lo! they were left to themselves over the face of all the land, —eating, and drinking, and dancing around, for all the great spoil which they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.

17 And David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man escaped, except four hundred young men who fled, riding off on camels.

And David smote them, from the closing twilight even unto the evening of the next day, —and there escaped not of them a man, save four hundred young men who rode upon camels, and fled.

18 So David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives.

And David rescued all whom the Amalekites had taken, —his two wives also, did David rescue;

19 Nothing was missing, young or old, son or daughter, or any of the plunder the Amalekites had taken. David brought everything back.

and there was nothing missing to them—whether small or great, whether spoil, or sons or daughters, or, any thing which they had taken unto themselves, —the whole, did David recover.

20 And he recovered all the flocks and herds, which his men drove ahead of the other livestock, calling out, “This is David’s plunder!”

And David took all the flocks and the herds, —they drave them before those other cattle, and they said, This, is David’s spoil.

21 When David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him from the Brook of Besor, they came out to meet him and the troops with him. As David approached the men, he greeted them,

And David came unto the two hundred men, who had been too wearied to follow David, and whom they had suffered to remain at the ravine of Besor, —and they came forth to meet David, and to meet the people who were with him, and when David came near unto the people, they enquired of his success.

22 but all the wicked and worthless men among those who had gone with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered, except for each man’s wife and children. They may take them and go.”

Then responded every man who was bad and abandoned, from among the men who had been with David, and said—Because they went not with me there shall not be given them of the spoil that we have rescued, —save, to every man, his wife and his children, let them put them forth, then, and go.

23 But David said, “My brothers, you must not do this with what the LORD has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiders who came against us.

Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, —with that which Yahweh hath given to us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the troop that came against us into our hand.

24 Who will listen to your proposal? The share of the one who went to battle will match the share of the one who stayed with the supplies. They will share alike.”

Who indeed, could hearken unto you, in this mutter? Surely, like the share of him that went down into the battle, even, so, shall be the share of him that remained by the stores—alike, shall they share.

25 And so it has been from that day forward. David established this statute as an ordinance for Israel to this very day.

And so it came to pass, from that day forward, that he appointed it, for a statute and for a custom unto Israel, until this day.

26 When David arrived in Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, “Here is a gift for you from the plunder of the LORD’s enemies.”

And, when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil, unto the elders of Judah, unto his friends, saying, —Lo! for you, a blessing, out of the spoil of the enemies of Yahweh:

27 He sent gifts to those in Bethel, Ramoth Negev, and Jattir;

to them who were in Bethel, and to them who were in Ramoth of the South, and to them who were in Jattir,

28 to those in Aroer, Siphmoth, and Eshtemoa;

and to them who were in Aroer, and to them who were in Siphmoth, and to them who were in Eshtemoa,

29 to those in Racal and in the cities of the Jerahmeelites and Kenites;

and to them who were in Racal, and to them who were in the cities of the Jerameelites, and to them who were in the cities of the Kenites,

30 to those in Hormah, Bor-ashan, and Athach;

and to them who were in Hormah, and to them who were in Cor-ashan, and to them who were in Athach,

31 and to those in Hebron and in all the places where David and his men had roamed.

and to them who were in Hebron, —and to all the places where David had been to and fro, he and his men.