1 Samuel 30
1 And when David and his men had arrived at Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made an attack on the south side against Ziklag. And they had struck Ziklag, and burned it with fire.
Three days later, when David and his men arrived at Ziklag, [they discovered that] men of the Amalek people-group had raided Ziklag and [towns in] the southern part of Judah. They had destroyed Ziklag and burned down all the buildings.
2 And they had led the women in it away as captives, from the small to the great. And they had not killed anyone, but they led them away with them. And then they traveled on their journey.
They had captured the women [and the children] and everyone else, and had taken them away. But they had not killed anyone.
3 Therefore, when David and his men had arrived at the city, and had found it burned with fire, and that their wives and their sons and daughters had been led away as captives,
When David and his men came to Ziklag, they saw that the town had been burned, and that their wives and sons and daughters had been captured and taken away.
4 David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices. And they mourned until the tears in them failed.
David and his men cried loudly, until [they were so weak that] they could not cry [any more].
5 For indeed, the two wives of David also had been led away as captives: Ahinoam, the Jezreelite, and Abigail, the wife of Nabal of Carmel.
David’s two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail, had also been taken away.
6 And David was greatly saddened. And the people were willing to stone him, because the soul of every man was bitter over his sons and daughters. But David was strengthened by the Lord his God.
David’s men were threatening to [kill him by] throwing stones at him, because they were very angry because their sons and daughters [had been taken away]. David was very distressed, but Yahweh his God gave him strength.
7 And he said to the priest Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring the ephod to me.” And Abiathar brought the ephod to David.
David [did not know what to do, so he] said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring to me the sacred vest.” So Abiathar brought it,
8 And David consulted the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue these robbers, and will I overtake them, or not?” And the Lord said to him: “Pursue. For without doubt, you will overtake them and find the prey.”
and David asked Yahweh, “Should I [and my men] pursue the men [who took our families]? Will we [be able to] catch up to them?” Yahweh answered [by means of the stones in Abiathar’s sacred pouch], “Yes, pursue them. You will catch up to them, and you will be able to rescue [your families].”
9 Therefore, David went away, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and they arrived as far as the torrent Besor. And certain ones, being weary, stayed there.
So David and the 600 men who were with him left, and they came to the Besor Ravine. Some of his men stayed there [with some of their supplies].
10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men. For two hundred stayed, who, being weary, were not able to cross the torrent Besor.
David and 400 men continued to pursue [the men who captured their families]. The other 200 men stayed there at the ravine, because they were so exhausted that they could not cross the ravine.
11 And they found an Egyptian man in the field, and they led him to David. And they gave him bread, so that he might eat, and water, so that he might drink,
[As David and the 400 men were going], they saw a man from Egypt in a field; so they took him to David. They gave the man some water to drink and some food to eat.
12 and also a section of a mass of dried figs, and two clusters of dried grapes. And when he had eaten, his spirit returned, and he was refreshed. For he had not eaten bread, nor drank water, for three days and three nights.
They also gave him a piece of fig cake and two clusters/packs of raisins. The man had not had anything to eat or drink for three days and nights, but [after he ate and drank] he felt refreshed.
13 And so David said to him: “To whom do you belong? Or where are you from? And where are you going?” And he said: “I am a young man of Egypt, the servant of an Amalekite man. But my lord abandoned me, because I began to be sick the day before yesterday.
David asked him, “Who is your master? And where do you come from?” He replied, “I am from Egypt. I am a slave of a man from the Amalek people-group. Three days ago my master left me here, because I was sick [and I was not able to go with them].
14 For indeed, we broke forth to the southern side of Cherethi, and against Judah, and to the south of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.”
We had raided the southern part of Judah where the Kereth people-group live, and some other towns in Judah, and the area south [of Hebron city] where the descendants of Caleb live. We also burned Ziklag [town].”
15 And David said to him, “Are you able to lead me to this battle line?” And he said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me, and that you will not deliver me into the hands of my lord, and I will lead you to this battle line.” And David swore to him.
David asked him, “Can you lead us to this group of raiders?” He replied, “Yes, [I will do that] if you ask God to listen while you promise that you will not kill me or give me back to my master. If you promise that, I will take you to them.”
16 And when he had led him, behold, they were stretched out on the face of the land everywhere, eating and drinking and celebrating, as if it were a feast day, because of all the prey and spoils that they had taken from the land of the Philistines, and from the land of Judah.
[David agreed to do that, ] so the man from Egypt led David [and his men] to where the men from the Amalek people-group were. Those men were lying on the ground, eating and drinking and celebrating because of having captured many things from the Philistia and Judah areas.
17 And David struck them down from evening until the evening of the next day. And no one among them escaped, except four hundred youths, who had climbed on camels and fled.
David [and his men] fought against them from sunset that day until the evening of the following day. Four hundred of them escaped and rode away on camels, but none of the others escaped.
18 Therefore, David rescued all that the Amalekites had taken, and he rescued his two wives.
David rescued his two wives, and he and his men got back everything else that the men of the Amalek people-group had taken.
19 And nothing was missing, from small even to great, among the sons and daughters, and among the spoils, and among everything whatsoever that they had seized. David returned it all.
Nothing was missing. They took all their people back [to Ziklag]—young people and old people, [their wives], their sons and their daughters. They also recovered all the other things that the men of the Amalek people-group had taken from Ziklag.
20 And he took all the flocks and the herds, and he drove them before his face. And they said, “This is the prey of David.”
They took with them the sheep and cattle that had been captured, and his men caused those animals to go in front of them, saying, “These are animals that we captured in the battle; they belong to David!”
21 Then David arrived at the two hundred men, who, being weary, had stayed, for they had not been able to follow David, and he had ordered them to remain at the torrent Besor. And they went out to meet David, and the people who were with him. Then David, drawing near to the people, greeted them peacefully.
David and his men got back to where the other 200 men were waiting, the men who did not go with David because they were very exhausted. They had stayed at Besor Ravine. [When they saw David and his men coming], they went out to greet them. And David [greeted them and] said to them, “I hope that things are going well with you!”
22 And all the wicked and iniquitous men, out of the men who had gone with David, responding, said: “Since they did not go with us, we will not give to them anything from the prey that we have rescued. But let his wife and children be enough for each of them; when they have accepted this, they may go back.”
But some of the men who had gone with David, men who were evil and troublemakers, said, “These 200 men did not go with us. So we should not give to them any of the things that we recovered/captured. Each of them should take only his wife and children and go [back to their homes].”
23 But David said: “You shall not do this, my brothers, with these things that the Lord has delivered to us, for he has preserved us, and he has given into our hands the robbers who broke out among us.
David replied, “No, my fellow Israelis, it would not be right to divide up like that the things that Yahweh has allowed us to capture. Yahweh has protected us and enabled us to defeat the enemies who attacked our town.
24 And so, let no one heed you over these words. But equal shall be the portion of him who descended to the battle, and of him who remained with the supplies, and they will divide it alike.”
(Who will pay attention to you if you say things like that?/No one will pay attention to you if you say things like that.) [RHQ] The men who stayed here with our supplies will get the same amount that the men who went into the battle will get. They will all receive the same amount.”
25 And this has been done from that day and thereafter. And it was established as a statute, and as if a law, in Israel even to this day.
David made that to be a law [DOU] for the Israeli people, and that is still a law in Israel.
26 Then David went to Ziklag, and he sent gifts from the prey to the elders of Judah, his neighbors, saying, “Receive a blessing from the prey of the enemies of the Lord,”
When David [and all the others] arrived in Ziklag, David sent to his friends who were leaders in Judah some of the things that they had captured from the Amalek people-group. He said to them, “Here is a present for you. These are things that we took from Yahweh’s enemies.”
27 to those who were in Bethel, and who were in Ramoth toward the south, and who were in Jattir,
[Here is a list of the cities and towns to whose leaders David sent gifts: ] Bethel, Ramoth in the southern part of Judah, Jattir,
28 and who were in Aroer, and who were in Siphmoth, and who were in Eshtemoa,
Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa,
29 and who were in Racal, and who were in the cities of Jerahmeel, and who were in the cities of Keni,
Racal, the cities where the descendants of Jehrameel lived and the cities where the Ken people-group lived,
30 and who were in Hormah, and who were at the lake of Ashan, and who were in Athach,
Hormah, Bor-Ashan, Athach,
31 and who were in Hebron, and to the remainder who were in those places where David had stayed, he and his men.
Hebron, and all the other places where David and his men had gone [when they were hiding from Saul].
