< 1 Samuel 30 >
1 Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made an attack on the South and on Ziklag, and had overcome Ziklag and put it on fire;
Three days later David and his men arrived back in Ziklag. Some Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it down.
2 And had made the women and all who were there, small and great, prisoners: they had not put any of them to death, but had taken them all away.
They had captured the women and everyone else there, young and old. They hadn't killed anyone, but they took everyone with them as they left.
3 And when David and his men came to the town, they saw that it had been burned down, and their wives and their sons and daughters had been made prisoners.
When David and his men arrived back in town, they found it burned to the ground, and their wives and children captured.
4 Then David and the people who were with him gave themselves up to weeping till they were able to go on weeping no longer.
David and his men cried loudly until they couldn't cry any more.
5 And David's two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the wife of Nabal of Carmel, had been made prisoners.
David's two wives had also been taken as prisoners—Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, Nabal's widow, from Carmel.
6 And David was greatly troubled; for the people were talking of stoning him, because their hearts were bitter, every man sorrowing for his sons and his daughters: but David made himself strong in the Lord his God.
David was in a great deal of trouble, because the men were so upset over losing their children that they began to talk of stoning him. But trusting in the Lord his God,
7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, Come here to me with the ephod. And Abiathar took the ephod to David.
David went to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, and said, “Bring me the ephod.” Abiathar brought it to him.
8 Then David, questioning the Lord, said, Am I to go after this band? will I be able to overtake them? And in answer he said, Go after them, for you will certainly overtake them, and get back everything.
David asked the Lord, “Should I chase after these raiders? Will I catch up with them?” “Yes, chase after them,” the Lord replied, “for you will definitely catch up with them and rescue the prisoners.”
9 So David went, and his six hundred men went with him, and they came to the stream Besor.
David and six hundred of his men set off for the Besor Valley.
10 And David, with four hundred men, went on: but two hundred of them were overcome with weariness, and not able to go across the stream.
Two hundred of them remained behind there because they were too tired to cross the valley while David continued on with four hundred men.
11 And in the fields they saw an Egyptian whom they took to David, and they gave him bread, and he had a meal, and they gave him water for drink;
They came across an Egyptian in the countryside and they took him to David. They gave him some food to eat and water to drink.
12 And they gave him part of a cake of figs and some dry grapes; and after the food, his spirit came back to him, for he had had no food or drink for three days and nights.
They also gave him a piece of a fig cake and two raisins cakes. He ate them and recovered, because he hadn't had any food or water for three days and nights.
13 And David said to him, Whose man are you and where do you come from? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master went on without me because three days back I became ill.
“Whose slave are you, and where do you come from?” David asked him. “I'm an Egyptian,” he replied, “the slave of an Amalekite. My master left me behind three days ago when I got sick.
14 We made an attack on the south part of the country of the Cherethites, and on the land which is Judah's, and on the south of Caleb; and we put Ziklag on fire.
We raided the Kerethites in the Negev, as well as the part that belongs to Judah, and the Negev of Caleb. We burned Ziklag too.”
15 And David said to him, Will you take me down to this band? And he said, If you give me your oath that you will not put me to death or give me up to my master, I will take you to them.
“Can you lead me to these raiders?” David asked. “If you swear to me by God that you won't kill me or hand me over to my master, then I'll take you to them,” the man replied.
16 And when he had taken him down, they saw them all, seated about on all sides, feasting and drinking among all the mass of goods which they had taken from the land of the Philistines and the land of Judah.
He led David to the Amalekites, where they were spread out all over the place, eating, drinking, and dancing because of the large haul of plunder they had taken from the lands of the Philistines and of Judah.
17 And David went on fighting them from evening till the evening of the day after; and not one of them got away but only four hundred young men who went in flight on camels.
David attacked them from dusk until the following evening. Nobody escaped, except for four hundred men who managed to get away, riding on camels.
18 And David got back everything the Amalekites had taken; and he got back his two wives.
David got back everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives.
19 There was no loss of anything, small or great, sons or daughters or goods or anything which they had taken away: David got it all back.
Everything was accounted for—all the adults and children, as well as all the plunder the Amalekites had taken. David brought everything back.
20 And they took all the flocks and herds, and driving them in front of him, said, These are David's.
He also recovered all the flocks and herds. His men drove them ahead of the other livestock, shouting, “This is David's plunder!”
21 And David came to the two hundred men, who because of weariness had not gone with him, but were waiting at the stream Besor: and they went out, meeting David and the people who were with him; and when they came near them, they said, How are you?
When David got back to the two hundred men who had been too tired to continue with him from the Besor Valley, they came to meet him and the men with him. As David approached the men to greet them,
22 Then the bad and good-for-nothing men among those who went with David said, Because they did not go with us, we will give them nothing of the goods which we have got back, but only to every man his wife and children, so that he may take them and go.
all the unpleasant, good-for-nothing men of those who had gone with David said, “They weren't with us, so we won't share the plunder that we took, except to give them back their wives and children. They can take them and leave.”
23 Then David said, You are not to do this, my brothers, after what the Lord has given us, who has kept us safe and given up the band which came against us into our hands.
But David intervened, saying, “No, my brothers, you shouldn't do this with what the Lord has given us. He has protected us and handed over to us the raiders that had attacked us.
24 Who is going to give any attention to you in this question? for an equal part will be given to him who went to the fight and to him who was waiting by the goods: they are all to have the same.
Who's going to listen to you when you say such things? Whatever share those who went into battle receive will be the same as those who stayed to guard the supplies.”
25 And so he made it a rule and an order for Israel from that day till now.
David made this the rule and regulation for Israel from that day until now.
26 And when David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the goods to the responsible men of Judah, and to his friends, saying, Here is an offering for you from the goods of those who were fighting against the Lord;
When David got back to Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to each of his friends among the elders of Judah, saying, “Here's a gift for you from the plunder of the Lord's enemies.”
27 He sent to those who were in Beth-el, and in Ramah of the South, and in Jattir;
David sent it to those who lived in Bethuel, Ramoth Negev, Jattir,
28 And to those in Arara and Eshtemoa
Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa,
29 and Carmel and in the towns of the Jerahmeelites, and in the towns of the Kenites;
Racal, and the towns of the Jerahmeelites and Kenites,
30 And to those who were in Hormah and in Bor-ashan and in Athach;
Hormah, Bor-ashan, Athach,
31 And in Hebron, and to all the places where David and his men had been living.
Hebron—all the places David and his men had gone to.