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.
It happened, when David and his men had come to Ziklag on the third day, that Amalek had made a raid on the Negev, and on Ziklag, and had struck Ziklag, and burned it with 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 taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great. They did not kill any, but carried them off, and went their way.
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.
When David and his men came to the city, look, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captive.
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 lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.
5 David’s two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail, had also been taken away.
David's two wives were taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
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.
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 [did not know what to do, so he] said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring to me the sacred vest.” So Abiathar brought it,
David said to Abiathar the cohen, the son of Ahimelech, "Please bring me here the ephod." Abiathar brought 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].”
David inquired of the LORD, saying, "If I pursue after this troop, shall I overtake them?" He answered him, "Pursue; for you shall surely overtake them, and shall without fail recover all."
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, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the Wadi Besor, where those who were left behind stayed.
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.
But David pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred stayed behind, who were so faint that they couldn't cross the Wadi Besor.
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.
They found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he ate; and they gave him water to 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.
They gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins. When he had eaten, his spirit came again to him; for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three 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].
David asked him, "To whom do you belong? Where are you from?" He said, "I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days ago I fell sick.
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 a raid on the Negev of the Kerethites, and on that which belongs to Judah, and on the Negev of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with 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.”
David said to him, "Will you bring me down to this troop?" He said, "Swear to me by God that you will neither kill me, nor deliver me up into the hands of my master, and I will bring you down to this troop." And he swore to him.
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.
When he had brought him down, look, they were spread around over all the ground, eating, drinking, and dancing, 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 [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.
David struck them from the twilight even to the evening of the next day and he put them to death. Not a man of them escaped from there, except four hundred young men, who rode on camels and fled.
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.
He recovered all that the Amalekites had taken; and David rescued 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 nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor anything that they had taken to them. David brought back all.
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!”
He took all the flocks and the herds, which they drove before those other livestock, and said, "This is David's spoil."
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!”
David came to the two hundred men, who were so faint that they could not follow David, whom he also had made to stay at the Wadi Besor; and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people who were with him. And when David came near to the people, he greeted them.
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 every wicked and worthless one of the men who had gone with David answered, and they said, "Because they did not go with us, we will not give them anything of the spoil that we have recovered, except to each man his wife and his children. And let them take them, and depart."
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 shall not do so after what the LORD has given to us, who has preserved us, and delivered into our hand the raiding party that came against us.
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.”
So who will listen to you in this matter? For they are not inferior to you. For as his share is who goes down to the battle, so will his share be who remains with the supplies; they will share alike."
25 David made that to be a law [DOU] for the Israeli people, and that is still a law in Israel.
It was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.
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.”
When David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil to the elders of Judah and to his friends, saying, "Look, a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of 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 it to those who were in Bethel, and to those who were in Ramath Negev, and to those who were in Jattir,
28 Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa,
and to those who were in Aroer, and to those who were in Siphmoth, and to those who were in Eshtemoa,
29 Racal, the cities where the descendants of Jehrameel lived and the cities where the Ken people-group lived,
and to those who were in Racal, and to those who were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to those who were in the cities of the Kenizzites.
30 Hormah, Bor-Ashan, Athach,
and to those who were in Hormah, and to those who were in Bor Ashan, and to those who were in Athach,
31 Hebron, and all the other places where David and his men had gone [when they were hiding from Saul].
and to those who were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men used to stay.
