1 Samuel 30

Davids Conflict with the Amalekites

1 Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire,2 and had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away 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 who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep.5 And Davids two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive.6 Now David was greatly distressed, for the 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 the Lord his God.7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelechs son, Please bring the ephod here to me. And Abiathar brought the ephod to David.8 So David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them? And He answered him, Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all. 9 So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with 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 stayed behind, 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 of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. So when 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 you belong, and where are you from?14 We made an invasion of the southern area of the Cherethites, in the territory which belongs to Judah, and of the southern area of 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 my master, 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 those other livestock, and said, This is Davids spoil.21 Now David came to the two 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 who were with him. And when David came near the people, he greeted them.22 Then all the wicked and worthless men of those who went with David answered and said, Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except for every mans wife and children, that they may lead them away and depart.23 But David said, My brethren, you shall not do so with what the Lord has 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? But as his part is who goes down to the battle, so shall his part be who 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 sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of the Lord27 to those who were in Bethel, those who were in Ramoth of the South, those who were in Jattir,28 those who were in Aroer, those who were in Siphmoth, those who were in Eshtemoa,29 those who were in Rachal, those who were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, those who were in the cities of the Kenites,30 those who were in Hormah, those who were in Chorashan, those who were in Athach,31 those who were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were accustomed to rove.

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, burned 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 burned-out ruins and learned 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 t David's two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail, had been taken captive with everyone else.
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 t and he said to the priest, “Abiathar, let's ask God what to do.”
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 600 men to Besor Gorge, but 200 of them were too tired to go across. So they stayed behind, while David and the other 400 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 burned 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 200 men he had left at Besor Gorge, because they had been too tired to keep up with him. They came toward David and the people who were with him. When David was close enough, he greeted the 200 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 traveled.