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 made a raid into the South, and into Ziklag, and had smitten Ziklag, and burned it with 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 taken captive the women and all who were therein, from small even unto great, they had not put one to death, —but had driven them forth, and gone their way.
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 So, when David and his men came to the city, lo! it was burnt with fire, —and, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, had been taken captive.
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 that were with him lifted up their voice, and wept, —until they had no more strength to weep.
David and his men cried loudly until they couldn't cry any more.
5 And, the two wives of David, had been taken captive, —Ahinoam, the Jezreelitess, and Abigail, wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
David's two wives had also been taken as prisoners—Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, Nabal's widow, from Carmel.
6 And David was in sore distress, for the people had spoken of stoning him, because the souls of all the people were embittered, every man for his own sons and for his own daughters, —but David emboldened himself in Yahweh 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 Then said David to Abiathar the priest, son of Ahimelech, Do bring near me, I pray thee, the ephod. So Abiathar brought near the ephod, unto David.
David went to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, and said, “Bring me the ephod.” Abiathar brought it to him.
8 And David enquired of Yahweh, saying, Shall I pursue this troop? shall I overtake it? And he said unto him: Pursue, for thou shalt, overtake, and thou shalt, rescue.
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, he, and the six hundred men, who were with him, and they came in as far as the ravine of Besor, —where, they who had to be left behind, stayed.
David and six hundred of his men set off for the Besor Valley.
10 But David pursued, he. and four hundred men, —but the two hundred men stayed, because they were too wearied to cross over the ravine of Besor.
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 they found an Egyptian in the field, and took him unto David, —and gave him food, and he did eat, and they gave him water to 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 a piece of a cake of figs, and two cakes of raisins, and, when he had eaten, his spirit came back unto him, —for he had neither eaten food, nor drunk water, three days and three 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 Then David said to him—Whose art thou? and whence art thou? And he said, A young man of Egypt, am I, servant to an Amalekite, and my lord left me behind, because I fell sick, three days ago.
“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 As for us, we invaded the South of the Cherithites, and against that which pertaineth unto Judah, and against the South of Caleb, —and, Ziklag, burned we with 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 unto him, Wilt thou bring me down unto this troop? And he said—Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt not put me to death, neither wilt thou surrender me into the hand of my lord, and I will bring thee down unto this troop.
“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 So he brought him down, and lo! they were left to themselves over the face of all the land, —eating, and drinking, and dancing around, for all the great spoil which they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of 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 smote them, from the closing twilight even unto the evening of the next day, —and there escaped not of them a man, save four hundred young men who rode upon camels, and fled.
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 rescued all whom the Amalekites had taken, —his two wives also, did David rescue;
David got back everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives.
19 and there was nothing missing to them—whether small or great, whether spoil, or sons or daughters, or, any thing which they had taken unto themselves, —the whole, did David recover.
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 David took all the flocks and the herds, —they drave them before those other cattle, and they said, This, is David’s spoil.
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 unto the two hundred men, who had been too wearied to follow David, and whom they had suffered to remain at the ravine of Besor, —and they came forth to meet David, and to meet the people who were with him, and when David came near unto the people, they enquired of his success.
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 responded every man who was bad and abandoned, from among the men who had been with David, and said—Because they went not with me there shall not be given them of the spoil that we have rescued, —save, to every man, his wife and his children, let them put them forth, then, 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 said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, —with that which Yahweh hath given to us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the troop that came against us into our hand.
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 indeed, could hearken unto you, in this mutter? Surely, like the share of him that went down into the battle, even, so, shall be the share of him that remained by the stores—alike, shall they share.
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 it came to pass, from that day forward, that he appointed it, for a statute and for a custom unto Israel, until this day.
David made this the rule and regulation for Israel from that day until now.
26 And, when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil, unto the elders of Judah, unto his friends, saying, —Lo! for you, a blessing, out of the spoil of the enemies of Yahweh:
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 to them who were in Bethel, and to them who were in Ramoth of the South, and to them who were in Jattir,
David sent it to those who lived in Bethuel, Ramoth Negev, Jattir,
28 and to them who were in Aroer, and to them who were in Siphmoth, and to them who were in Eshtemoa,
Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa,
29 and to them who were in Racal, and to them who were in the cities of the Jerameelites, and to them who were in the cities of the Kenites,
Racal, and the towns of the Jerahmeelites and Kenites,
30 and to them who were in Hormah, and to them who were in Cor-ashan, and to them who were in Athach,
Hormah, Bor-ashan, Athach,
31 and to them who were in Hebron, —and to all the places where David had been to and fro, he and his men.
Hebron—all the places David and his men had gone to.
