1 Samuel 30

1 And it came to pass when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the 'Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burnt it with fire;

2 And had taken captive the women that were therein, both great and small: they had not slain any one, but had led them off, and gone on their way.

3 When therefore David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burnt with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, had been taken captive.

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

5 And the two wives of David were also taken captive, Achino'am the Yizre'elitess, and Abigayil the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.

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

7 And David said to Ebyathar the priest, the son of Achimelech, Bring hither, I pray thee, unto me the ephod. And Ebyathar brought the ephod near unto David.

8 And David asked counsel of the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop! shall I overtake them? And he said to him, Pursue; for thou wilt surely overtake them, and certainly recover [all].

9 So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and came up to the brook Bessor, where those that were left behind stayed.

10 But David pursued on, he and four hundred men; and there stayed behind two hundred men, who were too fatigued to go over the brook Bessor.

11 And they found an Egyptian man in the field, and took 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 he ate, and then his spirit returned to him; for he had not eaten any 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 Egyptian man, the servant to an 'Amalekite; and my master left me behind, because I fell sick, today three days ago.

14 We made an invasion upon the south of the Kerethites, and upon that which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and Ziklag did we burn with fire.

15 And David said to him, Wilt thou bring me down to this troop? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt not kill me, and that thou wilt not surrender me into the hand of my master, and then will I bring thee down to this troop.

16 And he brought him down; and behold, they were scattered over the face of all the country, eating and drinking, and dancing for joy, because of 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 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 And David recovered all that the 'Amalekites had taken away; and his two wives also did David rescue.

19 And there was nothing missing to them, from small to great, as also sons and daughters, and spoil, down to every thing that they had taken from them: the whole did David bring back.

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

21 And David came to the two hundred men, who had been too fatigued to follow after David, and whom they had left to remain at the brook Bessor: and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him; and David came near to the people, and asked them after their well-being.

22 Then exclaimed every wicked and worthless man, of those that had gone 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, and these they may lead away, and go.

23 Then said David, Ye must not do so, my brethren; since the Lord hath given us this, and guarded us, and delivered the troop that came against us into our hand.

24 And who will hearken unto you in this matter? but as is the part of him that went down to the battle, so shall be the part of him that remained with the baggage: together must they share.

25 And it happened from that day and forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel until this day.

26 And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, Behold, here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of the Lord:

27 To those who were in Beth-el, and to those who were in south Ramoth, and to those who were in Yattir,

28 And to those who were in 'Aro'er, and to those who were in Siphmoth, and to those who were in Eshtemoa',

29 And to those who were in Rachal, and to those who were in the cities of Yerach-meelites, and to those who were in the cities of the Kenites,

30 And to those who were in Chormah, and to those who were in Kor-'ashan, and to those who were in 'Athach,

31 And to those who were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men had wandered about.