David’s Conflict with the Amalekites
1 Now it happened, when David and his men came toZiklag, on the third day, that theAmalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire,
2 and had taken captive thewomen and those whowerethere, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carriedthemaway and went their way.
3 So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive.
4 Then David and the people whowerewith him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep.
5 And David’s twowives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive.
6 Now David was greatly distressed, forthe people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters.But David strengthened himself in theLordhis God.
7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, “Please bring the ephod here to me.” AndAbiathar brought the ephod to David.
8 So David inquired of theLord, saying, “Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?”
And He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtakethemand without fail recoverall.”
9 So David went, he and the six hundred men whowerewith him, and came to the Brook Besor, where those stayed who were left behind.
10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men;for two hundred stayedbehind,who were so weary that they could not cross the Brook Besor.
11 Then they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David; and they gave him bread and he ate, and they let him drink water.
12 And they gave him a piece ofa cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. Sowhen he had eaten, his strength came back to him; for he had eaten no bread nor drunk water for three days and three nights.
13 Then David said to him, “To whom do youbelong,and whereareyou from?”
And he said, “Iama young man from Egypt, servant of an Amalekite; and my master left me behind, because three days ago I fell sick.
14 We made an invasion of the southernareaofthe Cherethites, in theterritorywhichbelongsto Judah, and of the southernareaof Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.”
15 And David said to him, “Can you take me down to this troop?”
# So he said, “Swear to me by God that you will neither kill me nor deliver me into the hands of mymaster, and I will take you down to this troop.”
16 And when he had brought him down, there they were, spread out over all the land,eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil which they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.
17 Then David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled.
18 So David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away, and David rescued his two wives.
19 And nothing of theirs was lacking, either small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything which they had taken from them;David recovered all.
20 Then David took all the flocks and herds they had driven before thoseotherlivestock, and said, “ThisisDavid’s spoil.”
21 Now David came to thetwo hundred men who had been so weary that they could not follow David, whom they also had made to stay at the Brook Besor. So they went out to meet David and to meet the people whowerewith him. And when David came near the people, he greeted them.
22 Then all the wicked andworthless men of those who went with David answered and said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give themanyof the spoil that we have recovered, except for every man’s wife and children, that they may leadthemaway and depart.”
23 But David said, “My brethren, you shall not do so with what theLordhas given us, who has preserved us and delivered into our hand the troop that came against us.
24 For who will heed you in this matter? Butas his partiswho goes down to the battle, soshallhis partbewho stays by the supplies; they shall share alike.”
25 So it was, from that day forward; he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.
26 Now when David came to Ziklag, he sentsomeof the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, “Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of theLord”—
27 tothosewhowerein Bethel,thosewhowereinRamoth of the South,thosewhowereinJattir,
28 thosewhowereinAroer,thosewhowereinSiphmoth,thosewhowereinEshtemoa,
29 thosewhowerein Rachal,thosewhowerein the cities ofthe Jerahmeelites,thosewhowerein the cities of theKenites,
30 thosewhowereinHormah,thosewhowerein Chorashan,thosewhowerein Athach,
31 thosewhowereinHebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were accustomed torove.