1 Samuel 30

1 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.

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

2 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.

and had taken captive the women and all that were therein, both small and great; they slew not any, but carried them off, and went their way.

3 When David and his men arrived back in town, they found it burned to the ground, and their wives and children captured.

And when David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives.

4 David and his men cried loudly until they couldn't cry any more.

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

5 David's two wives had also been taken as prisoners—Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, Nabal's widow, from Carmel.

And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.

6 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,

And David was greatly distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters; but David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.

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

And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech: 'I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod.' And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David.

8 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.”

And David inquired of 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 shalt without fail recover all.'

9 David and six hundred of his men set off for the Besor Valley.

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 Two hundred of them remained behind there because they were too tired to cross the valley while David continued on with four hundred men.

But David pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred stayed behind, who were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor.

11 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.

And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they gave him water to drink;

12 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.

and they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins; and when he had eaten, his spirit came back to him; for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights.

13 “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.

And David said unto him: 'To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou?' And he said: 'I am a young Egyptian, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days ago I fell sick.

14 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.”

We made a raid upon the South of the Cherethites, and upon that which belongeth to Judah, and upon the South of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.'

15 “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.

And David said to him: 'Wilt thou bring me down to this troop?' And he said: 'Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me up into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this troop.'

16 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.

And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad over all the ground, eating and drinking, and feasting, 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 David attacked them from dusk until the following evening. Nobody escaped, except for four hundred men who managed to get away, riding on camels.

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, who rode upon camels and fled.

18 David got back everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives.

And David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken; and David rescued his two wives.

19 Everything was accounted for—all the adults and children, as well as all the plunder the Amalekites had taken. David brought everything back.

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 brought back all.

20 He also recovered all the flocks and herds. His men drove them ahead of the other livestock, shouting, “This is David's plunder!”

And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drove before those other cattle, and said: 'This is David's spoil.'

21 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,

And David came to the two hundred men, who were so faint that they could not follow David, whom also they had made 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 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.”

Then answered all the wicked men and base fellows, of those that went with David, and said: 'Because they went not with us, we will not give them aught 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 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.

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

24 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.”

And who will hearken unto you in this matter? for as is the share of him that goeth down to the battle, so shall be the share of him that tarrieth by the baggage; they shall share alike.'

25 David made this the rule and regulation for Israel from that day until now.

And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day.

26 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.”

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 David sent it to those who lived in Bethuel, Ramoth Negev, Jattir,

to them that were in Beth-el, and to them that were in Ramoth of the South, and to them that were in Jattir;

28 Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa,

and to them that were in Aroer, and to them that were in Siphmoth, and to them that were in Eshtemoa;

29 Racal, and the towns of the Jerahmeelites and Kenites,

and to them that were in Racal, and to them that were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to them that were in the cities of the Kenites;

30 Hormah, Bor-ashan, Athach,

and to them that were in Hormah, and to them that were in Bor-ashan, and to them that were in Athach;

31 Hebron—all the places David and his men had gone to.

and to them that were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt.