< 1 Samuel 30 >

1 And it comes to pass, in the coming in of David and his men to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites have pushed toward the south, and to Ziklag, and strike Ziklag, and burn it with fire,
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;
2 and they take the women who [are] in it captive; they have not put anyone to death from small to great, and they lead [them] away, and go on their way.
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.
3 And David comes in—and his men—to the city, and behold, [it is] burned with fire, and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters have been taken captive.
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.
4 And David lifts up—and the people who [are] with him—their voice and weep, until they have no power to weep.
Then David and the people who were with him gave themselves up to weeping till they were able to go on weeping no longer.
5 And the two wives of David have been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail wife of Nabal the Carmelite;
And David's two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the wife of Nabal of Carmel, had been made prisoners.
6 and David has great distress, for the people have said to stone him, for the soul of all the people has been bitter, each for his sons and for his daughters; and David strengthens himself in his God YHWH.
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.
7 And David says to Abiathar the priest, son of Ahimelech, “Please bring the ephod near to me”; and Abiathar brings the ephod near to David,
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.
8 and David inquires of YHWH, saying, “I pursue after this troop—do I overtake it?” And He says to him, “Pursue, for you certainly overtake, and certainly deliver.”
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.
9 And David goes on, he and six hundred men who [are] with him, and they come to the Brook of Besor, and those left have stood still,
So David went, and his six hundred men went with him, and they came to the stream Besor.
10 and David pursues, he and four hundred men (and two hundred men stand still who have been too faint to pass over the Brook of Besor),
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.
11 and they find a man, an Egyptian, in the field, and take him to David, and give bread to him, and he eats, and they cause him to drink water,
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;
12 and give to him a piece of a bunch of dried figs, and two bunches of raisins, and he eats, and his spirit returns to him, for he has not eaten bread nor drunk water [for] three days and three nights.
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.
13 And David says to him, “Whose [are] you? And where [are] you from?” And he says, “I [am] an Egyptian youth, servant to a man, an Amalekite, and my lord forsakes me, for I have been sick [for] three days,
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.
14 we pushed [to] the south of the Cherethite, and against that which [is] to Judah, and against the south of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.”
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.
15 And David says to him, “Do you bring me down to this troop?” And he says, “Swear to me by God [that] you do not put me to death, nor do you shut me up into the hand of my lord, and I bring you down to this troop.”
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.
16 And he brings him down, and behold, they are spread out over the face of all the earth, eating, and drinking, and celebrating, with all the great spoil which they have taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.
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.
17 And David strikes them from the twilight even to the evening of the next day, and there has not escaped of them a man, except four hundred young men who have ridden on the camels and flee.
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.
18 And David delivers all that the Amalekites have taken; David has also delivered his two wives.
And David got back everything the Amalekites had taken; and he got back his two wives.
19 And nothing of theirs has lacked, from small to great, and to sons and daughters, and from the spoil, even to all that they had taken to themselves, David has brought back the whole,
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.
20 and David takes the whole of the flock and of the herd [that] they have led on before these livestock, and they say, “This [is] David’s spoil.”
And they took all the flocks and herds, and driving them in front of him, said, These are David's.
21 And David comes to the two hundred men who were too faint to go after David, and whom they cause to abide at the Brook of Besor, and they go out to meet David, and to meet the people who [are] with him, and David approaches the people, and asks of them of welfare.
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?
22 And every bad and worthless man, of the men who have gone with David, answers, indeed, they say, “Because that they have not gone with us we do not give to them of the spoil which we have delivered, except each his wife and his children, and they lead away and go.”
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.
23 And David says, “You do not do so, my brothers, with that which YHWH has given to us, and He preserves us, and gives the troop which comes against us into our hand;
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.
24 and who listens to you in this thing? For as the portion of him who was brought down into battle, so also [is] the portion of him who is abiding by the vessels—they share alike.”
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.
25 And it comes to pass from that day and forward, that he appoints it for a statute and for an ordinance for Israel to this day.
And so he made it a rule and an order for Israel from that day till now.
26 And David comes to Ziklag, and sends of the spoil to [the] elderly of Judah, to his friends, saying, “Behold, a blessing for you of the spoil of the enemies of YHWH,”
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;
27 to those in Beth-El, and to those in South Ramoth, and to those in Jattir,
He sent to those who were in Beth-el, and in Ramah of the South, and in Jattir;
28 and to those in Aroer, and to those in Siphmoth, and to those in Eshtemoa,
And to those in Arara and Eshtemoa
29 and to those in Rachal, and to those in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to those in the cities of the Kenites,
and Carmel and in the towns of the Jerahmeelites, and in the towns of the Kenites;
30 and to those in Hormah, and to those in Chor-Ashan, and to those in Athach,
And to those who were in Hormah and in Bor-ashan and in Athach;
31 and to those in Hebron, and to all the places where David—he and his men—had gone up and down.
And in Hebron, and to all the places where David and his men had been living.

< 1 Samuel 30 >