1 Samuel 30
1 When David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it down.
2 They had taken captive the women who were there, from the youngest to the oldest. They had killed no one, but had taken them away and gone on their way.
3 When David and his men came to the town, they found it burned down, and their wives, sons, and daughters had been taken captive.
4 David and the people with him raised their voices and wept until they had no strength left to weep.
5 David’s two wives had been taken captive: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, Nabal the Carmelite’s wife.
6 David was in great distress, because the people were talking of stoning him. They were all bitter over their sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.
7 David said to the priest Abiathar son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” Abiathar brought the ephod to David.
8 David inquired of the LORD, “Should I pursue this raiding party? Will I catch up with them?” He answered him, “Pursue them, for you will certainly catch up with them and rescue the captives.”
9 David set out with the six hundred men who were with him. They came to the Besor Ravine, where those who were left behind stopped.
10 David continued the pursuit with four hundred men, while two hundred men, too exhausted to cross the Besor Ravine, stopped there.
11 They found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David. They gave him bread, and he ate; they gave him water to drink.
12 They also gave him a piece of fig cake and two clusters of raisins. He ate, and his strength returned, for he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights.
13 David asked him, “Who do you belong to? Where are you from?” He answered, “I am an Egyptian youth, a slave of an Amalekite. My master abandoned me because I fell ill three days ago.
14 We raided the Negev of the Cherethites, the territory of Judah, and the Negev of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag.”
15 David asked him, “Can you lead me to this raiding party?” He answered, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will lead you to the raiding party.”
16 He led him there, and they found the raiders spread out over the whole region, eating, drinking, and celebrating over all the great plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and the land of Judah.
17 David struck them from twilight until the evening of the next day. None of them escaped, except four hundred young men who mounted camels and fled.
18 David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken. He also rescued his two wives.
19 Nothing was missing for them, from the youngest to the oldest—not sons or daughters, not plunder or anything else they had taken. David recovered everything.
20 David took all the sheep and cattle. They drove them ahead of the other livestock, saying, “This is David’s plunder.”
21 David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him and had been left at the Besor Ravine. They came out to meet David and the people with him. David approached them and asked how they were.
22 Then all the wicked and worthless men among those who had gone with David said, “Since they did not go with us, we will give them none of the plunder we recovered, except each man’s wife and children. Let them take those and go.”
23 But David said, “My brothers, you must not do this with what the LORD has given us. He protected us and handed over to us the raiding party that came against us.
24 Who would listen to you in this matter? The share of the one who goes down into battle will be the same as the share of the one who stays with the supplies. They will share equally.”
25 From that day on, David made this a decree and rule for Israel, and it remains so to this day.
26 When David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah, his friends, saying, “Here is a gift for you from the plunder taken from the LORD’s enemies.”
27 He sent it to those in Bethel, Ramoth of the Negev, and Jattir;
28 to those in Aroer, Siphmoth, and Eshtemoa;
29 to those in Rachal, the towns of the Jerahmeelites, and the towns of the Kenites;
30 to those in Hormah, Bor-ashan, and Athach;
31 to those in Hebron and to all the places where David and his men had gone.
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