1 Samuel 30

1 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.

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 They had captured the women [and the children] and everyone else, and had taken them away. But they had not killed anyone.

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 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.

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 David and his men cried loudly, until [they were so weak that] they could not cry [any more].

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 David’s two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail, had also been taken away.

And David's two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the wife of Nabal of Carmel, had been made prisoners.

6 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.

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 David [did not know what to do, so he] said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring to me the sacred vest.” So Abiathar brought it,

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 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].”

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 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].

So David went, and his six hundred men went with him, and they came to the stream Besor.

10 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.

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 [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.

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 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.

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 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].

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 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].”

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 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.”

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 [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.

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 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.

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 David rescued his two wives, and he and his men got back everything else that the men of the Amalek people-group had taken.

And David got back everything the Amalekites had taken; and he got back his two wives.

19 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.

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 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!”

And they took all the flocks and herds, and driving them in front of him, said, These are David's.

21 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!”

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 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].”

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 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.

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 (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.”

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 David made that to be a law [DOU] for the Israeli people, and that is still a law in Israel.

And so he made it a rule and an order for Israel from that day till now.

26 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.”

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 [Here is a list of the cities and towns to whose leaders David sent gifts: ] Bethel, Ramoth in the southern part of Judah, Jattir,

He sent to those who were in Beth-el, and in Ramah of the South, and in Jattir;

28 Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa,

And to those in Arara and Eshtemoa

29 Racal, the cities where the descendants of Jehrameel lived and the cities where the Ken people-group lived,

and Carmel and in the towns of the Jerahmeelites, and in the towns of the Kenites;

30 Hormah, Bor-Ashan, Athach,

And to those who were in Hormah and in Bor-ashan and in Athach;

31 Hebron, and all the other places where David and his men had gone [when they were hiding from Saul].

And in Hebron, and to all the places where David and his men had been living.