1 Samuel 30

David's Defeat of the Amalekites

1 David and his men arrived in Ziklag on the third day. The Amalekites had raided the Negev and attacked and burned down Ziklag.

2 They also had kidnapped the women and everyone in it from the youngest to the oldest. They had killed no one but had carried them off as they went on their way.
3 When David and his men arrived at the town, they found it burned down. Their wives, sons, and daughters had been kidnapped. 4 David and the troops with him wept loudly until they had no strength left to weep. 5 David's two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had also been kidnapped.

6 David was in a difficult position because the troops talked about stoning him, for they were all very bitter over [the loss of] their sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.
7 David said to Abiathar the priest, son of Ahimelech, "Bring me the ephod." So Abiathar brought it to him,

8 and David asked the Lord: "Should I pursue these raiders? Will I overtake them?"
The Lord replied to him, "Pursue [them], for you will certainly overtake [them] and rescue [the people]."
9 David and the 600 men with him went as far as the Wadi Besor, where 200 men who were to remain behind would stop.

10 They stopped because they were too exhausted to cross the Wadi Besor. David and 400 of the men continued in pursuit.
11 They found an Egyptian in the open country and brought him to David. They gave him some bread to eat and water to drink.

12 Then they gave him some pressed figs and two clusters of raisins. After he ate he revived, for he hadn't eaten food or drunk water for three days and three nights.

13 Then David said to him, "Who do you belong to? Where are you from?"
"I'm an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite man," he said. "My master abandoned me when I got sick three days ago.

14 We raided the south country of the Cherethites, [the territory] of Judah, and the south country of Caleb, and we burned down Ziklag."

15 David then asked him, "Will you lead me to these raiders?"
He said, "Swear to me by God that you won't kill me or turn me over to my master, and I will lead you to them."
16 So he led him, and there were the Amalekites, spread out over the entire area, eating, drinking, and celebrating because of the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and the land of Judah.

17 David slaughtered them from twilight until the evening of the next day. None of them escaped, except 400 young men who got on camels and fled.
18 David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken; he also rescued his two wives. 19 Nothing [of theirs] was missing from the youngest to the oldest, including the sons and daughters, of all the plunder the Amalekites had taken. David got everything back.

20 He took all the sheep and cattle, which were driven ahead of the other livestock, and the people shouted, "This is David's plunder!"
21 When David came to the 200 men who had been too exhausted to go with him and had been left at the Wadi Besor, they came out to meet him and to meet the troops with him. When David approached the men, he greeted them,

22 but all the corrupt and worthless men among those who had gone with David argued, "Because they didn't go with us, we will not give any of the plunder we recovered to them except for each man's wife and children. They may take them 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 raiders who came against us. 24 Who can agree to your proposal? The share of the one who goes into battle is to be the same as the share of the one who remains with the supplies. They will share equally."

25 And it has been so from that day forward. David established [this policy] as a law and an ordinance for Israel [and it continues] to this very day.
26 When David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, "Here is a gift for you from the plunder of the Lord's enemies." 27  [He sent gifts] to those in Bethel, in Ramoth of the Negev, and in Jattir; 28 to those in Aroer, in Siphmoth, and in Eshtemoa; 29 to those in Racal, in the towns of the Jerahmeelites, and in the towns of the Kenites; 30 to those in Hormah, in Bor-ashan, and in Athach;

31 to those in Hebron, and to [those in] all the places where David and his men had roamed.

1 Samuel 30

David rescues his soldiers' families

1 It took David and his men three days to reach Ziklag. But while they had been away, the Amalekites had been raiding in the desert around there. They had attacked Ziklag, burnt it to the ground, 2 and had taken away the women and children. 3 When David and his men came to Ziklag, they saw the burnt out ruins and learnt that their families had been taken captive. 4 They started crying and kept it up until they were too weak to cry any more.

5 David's two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail, had been taken captive with everyone else.t
6 David was desperate. His soldiers were so upset over what had happened to their sons and daughters that they were thinking about stoning David to death. But he felt the Lord God giving him strength,

7 and he said to the priest, “Abiathar, let's ask God what to do.”t
Abiathar brought everything he needed to get answers from God, and he went over to David.

8 Then David asked the Lord, “Should I go after the people who raided our town? Can I catch up with them?”
“Go after them,” the Lord answered. “You will catch up with them, and you will rescue your families.”

9-10 David led his six hundred men to Besor Gorge, but two hundred of them were too tired to go across. So they stayed behind, while David and the other four hundred men crossed the gorge.
11 Some of David's men found an Egyptian out in a field and took him to David. They gave the Egyptian some bread, and he ate it. Then they gave him a drink of water,

12 some dried figs, and two handfuls of raisins. This was the first time in three days he had tasted food or water. Now he felt much better.

13 “Who is your master?” David asked. “And where do you come from?”
“I'm from Egypt,” the young man answered. “I'm the servant of an Amalekite, but he left me here three days ago because I was sick.

14 We had attacked some towns in the desert where the Cherethites live, in the area that belongs to Judah, and in the desert where the Caleb clan lives. And we burnt down Ziklag.”

15 “Will you take me to those Amalekites?” David asked.
“Yes, I will, if you promise with God as a witness that you won't kill me or hand me over to my master.”
16 He led David to the Amalekites. They were eating and drinking everywhere, celebrating because of what they had taken from Philistia and Judah.

17 David attacked just before sunrise the next day and fought until sunset.t Four hundred Amalekites rode away on camels, but they were the only ones who escaped.
18 David rescued his two wives and everyone else the Amalekites had taken from Ziklag. 19 No one was missing—young or old, sons or daughters. David brought back everything that had been stolen,

20 including their livestock.
David also took the sheep and cattle that the Amalekites had with them, but he kept these separate from the others. Everyone agreed that these would be David's reward.

21 On the way back, David went to the two hundred men he had left at Besor Gorge, because they had been too tired to keep up with him. They came towards David and the people who were with him. When David was close enough, he greeted the two hundred men and asked how they were doing.

22 Some of David's men were good-for-nothings, and they said, “Those men didn't go with us to the battle, so they don't get any of the things we took back from the Amalekites. Let them take their wives and children and go!”

23 But David said:
My friends, don't be so greedy with what the Lord has given us! The Lord protected us and gave us victory over the people who attacked.

24 Who would pay attention to you, anyway? Soldiers who stay behind to guard the camp get as much as those who go into battle.

25 David made this a law for Israel, and it has been the same ever since.

26 David went back to Ziklag with everything they had taken from the Amalekites. He sent some of these things as gifts to his friends who were leaders of Judah, and he told them, “We took these things from the Lord's enemies. Please accept them as a gift.”
27-31 This is a list of the towns where David sent gifts: Bethel,t Ramoth in the Southern Desert, Jattir, Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, Racal, the towns belonging to the Jerahmeelites and the Kenites, Hormah, Bor-Ashan, Athach, and Hebron. He also sent gifts to the other towns where he and his men had travelled.