1 Samuel 30

1When David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid against the Negev and against Ziklag, and they had struck Ziklag and burned it with fire.

2They took captive the women who were in it, from small to great. They did not kill anyone, but led them away and went on their way.

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

4Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no strength left to weep.

5And David’s two wives had been taken captive: Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail, the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.

6And David was greatly distressed, because the people spoke of stoning him, for the soul of all the people was bitter, each man because of his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in Yahweh his God.

7Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Please bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David.

8And David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Should I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?” And he said to him, “Pursue, for you will surely overtake them, and you will surely rescue.”

9So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the Brook Besor, where those who were left behind stayed.

10So David pursued, he and four hundred men, while two hundred men stayed behind, who were too exhausted to cross the Brook Besor.

11They found an Egyptian man in the field and brought him to David. They gave him bread, and he ate, and they gave him water to drink.

12They gave him a piece of fig cake and two clusters of raisins, and he ate, and his spirit returned to him, for he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights.

13David said to him, “Whose are you, and where are you from?” He said, “I am an Egyptian young man, a servant of an Amalekite man, and my master abandoned me because I became sick three days ago.”

14We raided the Negev of the Kerethites, and the territory that belongs to Judah, and the Negev of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.

15David said to him, “Will you lead me down to this raiding party?” He said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or hand me over into the hand of my master, and I will lead you down to this raiding party.”

16When he had led him down, behold, they were spread out over the face of all the land, eating and drinking and celebrating over all the great spoil that they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.

17David struck them down from the twilight until the evening of the next day, and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on the camels and fled.

18David recovered all that Amalek had taken, and David rescued his two wives.

19Nothing of theirs was missing, from small to great, sons and daughters, spoil, or anything that had been taken from them; David brought back everything.

20David took all the flocks and the herds. They drove them ahead of the other livestock, and said, “This is David’s spoil.”

21David came to the two hundred men who had become too exhausted to follow after David, and whom they had left at the Brook Besor. They came out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him, and David approached the people and asked them how they were.

22Then every wicked and worthless man from among the men who had gone with David answered and said, “Because they did not go with me, we will not give them any of the spoil that we recovered, except that each man may take his wife and his children and lead them away and go.”

23But David said, “You must not do so, my brothers, with what Yahweh has given us. He has preserved us and has given into our hand the raiding band that came against us.”

24And who will listen to you in this matter? For as is the share of the one who goes down into the battle, so is the share of the one who stays by the supplies; together they shall divide.

25And it was so from that day onward: he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.

26When David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah, his friends, saying, “Look, here is a gift for you from the plunder of the enemies of Yahweh.”

27to those in Bethel, to those in Ramoth-negeb, and to those in Jattir—

28and to those in Aroer, and to those in Siphmoth, and to those in Eshtemoa,

29and to those in Rakal, and to those in the towns of the Jerahmeelites, and to those in the towns of the Kenites.

30and to those in Hormah, and to those in Bor-ashan, and to those in Athach.

31and to those in Hebron, and to all the places where David and his men had gone about.