1 Samuel 30

And it happened, when David and his men came {to} Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekite had raided against the Negev and against Ziklag, and they had struck Ziklag and burned it with fire.

And they had taken captive the women who {were} in it, from small and to great. They had not caused a man to die, but they had led {them} away and gone to their way. \*

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

And David and the people who {were} with him lifted up their voices and wept until that no strength {was} in them to weep. \*

And the two wives of David had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the Carmelitess, the wife of Nabal.

And it was very narrow to David, for the people said to stone him, for the soul of all of the people {was} bitter, a man for his sons and for his daughters. But David strengthened himself in God his God. \*

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

And David inquired of God, saying, “Shall I pursue after this band? Will I overtake it?” And he said to him, “Pursue, for overtaking, you will overtake, and delivering, you will deliver.” \*

So David went, he and the 600 men who {were} with him, and they came to the wadi of Besor. And the ones left behind stayed.

So David pursued, he and 400 men, but 200 men stayed who were too exhausted to pass over the wadi of Besor. \*

And they found a man, an Egyptian, in the field, and they took him to David. And they gave bread to him, and he ate, and they had him drink water.

And they gave to him a piece of a fig cake and two raisin clusters, and he ate, and his spirit returned to him. For he had not eaten bread and had not drunk water three days and three nights. \*

And David said to him, “To whom {are} you? And where from this {are} you?” And he said, “I {am} an Egyptian young man, the slave of a man of the Amalekite. But my master abandoned me the third day because I became sick.

We raided the Negev of the Kerethite and against what {is} to Judah and against the Negev of Caleb. And Ziklag, we burned with fire.”

And David said to him, “Will you bring me down to this band?” And he said, “Swear to me by God, if you will cause me to die and if you will enclose me in the hand of my master, and I will bring you down to this band.” \*

And he brought him down, and behold, they were spread out over the face of all of the land, eating and drinking and celebrating for all of the great plunder that they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.

And David struck them from twilight and until the evening of the next day of them. And a man did not escape from them except 400 men, young men who rode on camels and fled. \*

And David rescued all that Amalek had taken, and David rescued the two of his wives.

And nothing was missing to them from small and to great and to sons and daughters and from plunder and to all that they had taken for themselves. David brought back everything.

And David took all of the sheep and the cattle. They drove to the face of that livestock and said, “This {is} the plunder of David.” \*

And David came to the 200 men who had been too exhausted to go behind David, and they had had them stay at the wadi of Besor. And they came out to meet David and to meet the people who {were} with him. And David approached the people and asked them about peace.

But all of the evil and wicked men from the men who had gone with David answered and said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give to them from the plunder that we have rescued except a man, his wife and his sons, that they may lead away and go.” \*

But David said, “You shall not do thus, my brothers, with what God has given to us. For he has kept us and given the band having come against us into our hand.

Now who will listen to you regarding this matter? For as {is} the portion of the one having gone down into battle, so {shall be} the portion of the one having stayed with the equipment. They shall take portions together.”

And it happened, from that day and beyond, that he set it for a statute and for an ordinance for Israel to this day. \*

And David came to Ziklag, and he sent from the plunder to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, “Behold, a blessing for you from the plunder of the enemies of God,”

to who {was} in Bethel and to who {was} in Ramoth of the South and to who {was} in Jattir

and to who {was} in Aroer and to who {was} in Siphmoth and to who {was} in Eshtemoa \*

and to who {was} in Racal and to who {was} in the cities of the Jerahmeelite and to who {was} in the cities of the Kenite

and to who {was} in Hormah and to who {was} in Bor Ashan and to who {was} in Athach

and to who {was} in Hebron and to all of the places where David had walked about there, he and his men. \*