1 Samuel 30

David and his men got back to Ziklag after marching for two whole days and part of another day. When they arrived, they discovered that the Amalekites, who had been raiding towns in the southern Judean wilderness, had also raided Ziklag. When the Amalekites had attacked Ziklag, they had burned down all the buildings.

But they had not killed anyone. Instead, they had captured all the wives and children of David’s men. They had taken them with them when they left. \*

When David and his men arrived at Ziklag, they saw that the Amalekites had burned down the city and that they had captured and taken away their wives and children.

David and his men cried very loudly until they became so weak that they could not cry any more. \*

David’s two wives were among the women whom the Amalekites had captured. They were Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, Nabal’s widow, from Carmel.

David’s men were very angry that the Amalekites had taken away their {wives and} children. They were talking about killing David by throwing stones at him. So David was in great danger. But he asked God his God to help him, and God made him strong. \*

Then David {asked God to guide him. He} told Abiathar the priest, “Please bring the sacred apron over here.” So Abiathar brought it over to David.

Then David asked God, “Should I and my men pursue the men who took our families? Will we be able to catch up with them?” God answered David {by means of the stones in the sacred apron}: “Yes, pursue them. Yes, you will catch up with them. Yes, you will be able to rescue your families.” \*

So David and the 600 men who were with him set out from Ziklag {in pursuit of the Amalekites}. When they came to the Besor Ravine, some of men stayed there {with their supplies}.

There were 200 of those men. They stayed there at the ravine because they were too tired to cross it. But David and the other 400 men continued to pursue {the Amalekites who had captured their families}. \*

Some of David’s men happened to find an Egyptian man who was lying in a field. They picked him up and carried him to David. They gave the man some water to drink and some food to eat.

They also gave him part of a fig cake and two packs of raisins. The man had not had anything to eat or drink since two days before, but after he ate and drank, he felt refreshed. \*

David asked him, “Who is your master? And where do you come from?” He replied, “I am a youth from Egypt. I am a slave of an Amalekite man. But I became sick{, and it was difficult for me to keep traveling with the raiding band}. So the day before yesterday, my master left me here.

We had raided the southern Judean wilderness where the Kerethites live. We also raided some other towns in Judah and the southern Judean wilderness where the descendants of Caleb live. We also {attacked the city of} Ziklag and burned it down.” \*

David asked him, “Can you lead us to this group of raiders?” He replied, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or give me back to my master. If you promise that, I will take you to them.” \*

{David agreed, so} the Egyptian man led David and his men to where the Amalekites were. Those men had captured many things from the regions of Philistia and Judah, and they had spread out around their camp eating and drinking and celebrating.

David and his men slaughtered them from sunset that day until the evening of the next day. There were 400 young men who rode away on camels in order to escape, but none of the other Amalekites escaped. \*

David and his men were able to recover everything that the Amalekites had taken, including David’s two wives.

They did not lose anything. They were able to rescue all of their family members. They also recovered all the things that the Amalekites had taken. David and his men brought all of this back to Ziklag.

They also took all of the sheep and cattle that the Amalekites had captured from other places. David’s men drove those animals ahead of their own animals. They announced, “These are animals that we captured in battle. They belong to David!” \*

David and his men got back to where the other 200 men were waiting. Those were the men who had not gone with David because they were so exhausted. They had stayed at the Besor Ravine. {When they saw} David and his men {coming}, they went out to greet them. And David greeted them in return.

But some of the men who had gone with David were bad men and troublemakers. They said, “These 200 men did not go with us. So we will not give them any of the things that we recovered. We will just allow each of them to take his wife and children and go back to his home.” \*

David replied, “No, my friends, that would not be right. God protected us and enabled us to defeat the enemies who attacked our city. So what we captured from them was really something that God gave to us{, and we do not have a right to keep it to ourselves}.

None of the rest of us will agree with you about this. Here is what I have decided. The men who stayed here with our supplies will get the same amount as the men who fought in the battle. They will all receive the same amount.”

David made that a rule for the Israelite people, and they still follow that rule now. \*

Then David and his men and their families returned safely to Ziklag. The leaders of some of the cities and towns in Judah {had helped David. They} were his friends. David sent them some of the things that he and his men had captured from the Amalekites. He sent messengers with those things to say, “Here is a present for you. These are things that we took from God’s enemies.”

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

Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, \*

Racal, the cities where the Jehrameelites live, the cities where the Kenites live,

Hormah, Bor Ashan, Athach,

Hebron, and all the other places where David and his men had often gone. \*