30:1 David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it,
30:2 and had taken captive the women and all who were in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way.
30:3 When David and his men came to Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive.
30:4 So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep.
30:5 David’s two wives had been captured–Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel.
30:6 David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.
30:7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” Abiathar brought it to him,
30:8 and David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?” “Pursue them,” he answered. “You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.”
30:9 David and the six hundred men with him came to the Besor Ravine, where some stayed behind,
30:10 for two hundred men were too exhausted to cross the ravine. But David and four hundred men continued the pursuit.
30:11 They found an Egyptian in a field and brought him to David. They gave him water to drink and food to eat–
30:12 part of a cake of pressed figs and two cakes of raisins. He ate and was revived, for he had not eaten any food or drunk any water for three days and three nights.
30:13 David asked him, “To whom do you belong, and where do you come from?” He said, “I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite. My master abandoned me when I became ill three days ago.
30:14 We raided the Negev of the Kerethites and the territory belonging to Judah and the Negev of Caleb. And we burned Ziklag.”
30:15 David asked him, “Can you lead me down to this raiding party?” He answered, “Swear to me before God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will take you down to them.”
30:16 He led David down, and there they were, scattered over the countryside, eating, drinking and reveling because of the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from Judah.
30:17 David fought them from dusk until the evening of the next day, and none of them got away, except four hundred young men who rode off on camels and fled.
30:18 David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives.
30:19 Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back.
30:20 He took all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock, saying, “This is David’s plunder.”
30:21 Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him and who were left behind at the Besor Ravine. They came out to meet David and the people with him. As David and his men approached, he greeted them.
30:22 But all the evil men and troublemakers among David’s followers said, “Because they did not go out with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered. However, each man may take his wife and children and go.”
30:23 David replied, “No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the LORD has given us. He has protected us and handed over to us the forces that came against us.
30:24 Who will listen to what you say? The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.”
30:25 David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to this.
30:26 When David arrived in Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah, who were his friends, saying, “Here is a present for you from the plunder of the LORD’S enemies.”
30:27 He sent it to those who were in Bethel, Ramoth Negev and Jattir;
30:28 to those in Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa
30:29 and Racal; to those in the towns of the Jerahmeelites and the Kenites;
30:30 to those in Hormah, Bor Ashan, Athach
30:31 and Hebron; and to those in all the other places where David and his men had roamed.
30:1 And when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid upon the south and upon Ziklag; and they had struck Ziklag and burned it with fire.
30:2 And they had taken the women and all who were in it captive, both small and great; they had killed none, but had carried them off, and had gone on their way.
30:3 And David and his men came to the city; and there it was, burned with fire. And their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken captive.
30:4 And David and the people who were with him lifted up their voice and wept until they had no strength to weep.
30:5 And David s two wives had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
30:6 And David was very distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for the soul of all the people was bitter, every man because of his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in Jehovah his God.
30:7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, Bring the ephod to me. So Abiathar brought the ephod to David.
30:8 And David inquired of Jehovah, saying, Shall I pursue after this band? Will I overtake them? And He said to him, Pursue, for you will certainly overtake them, and you will certainly deliver them.
30:9 So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him; and they came to the brook Besor, where those who were left stayed behind.
30:10 And David pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred stayed behind, who were too exhausted to cross over the brook Besor.
30:11 And they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David. And they gave him food, and he ate; and they gave him water to drink.
30:12 And they gave him a piece of fig cake and two raisin cakes; and he ate, and his spirit returned to him; for he had eaten no food and had drunk no water for three days and three nights.
30:13 And David said to him, To whom do you belong and where are you from? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, the servant of an Amalekite man; and my master abandoned me because I fell sick three days ago.
30:14 We attacked the south of the Cherethites and what belongs to Judah and the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.
30:15 And David said to him, Can you lead me down to this band? And he said, Swear to me by God that you will neither kill me nor deliver me into the hand of my master, and I will lead you down to this troop.
30:16 And he led him down; and there they were, spread over the whole land, eating and drinking and celebrating because of all the great spoil that they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.
30:17 And David struck them from twilight until the evening of the next day; and not a man of them escaped except for four hundred young men, who rode upon camels and fled.
30:18 And David delivered all that the Amalekites had taken; and David delivered his two wives.
30:19 And nothing was missed by them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil nor anything that they had taken; David brought everything back.
30:20 And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drove before the other cattle and of which they said, This is David s spoil.
30:21 Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow David and who had been left behind at the brook Besor. And they went forth to meet David and to meet the people who were with him; and David came near to the people and greeted them.
30:22 And all the wicked and worthless men among the men that had gone with David responded; and they said, Because they did not go with us, we will not give them anything of the spoil that we have delivered, except every man his wife and his children that they may lead them off and go away.
30:23 Then said David, You shall not do so, my brothers, with that which Jehovah has given us, who has kept us and given this band that came against us into our hand.
30:24 And who will listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who goes down to the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage; they shall share alike.
30:25 And from that day forward he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day.
30:26 And David came to Ziklag, and he sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his companions, saying, Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of Jehovah:
30:27 For those in Bethel, and for those in Ramoth of the south, and for those in Jattir,
30:28 And for those in Aroer, and for those in Siphmoth, and for those in Eshtemoa,
30:29 And for those in Racal, and for those in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and for those in the cities of the Kenites,
30:30 And for those in Hormah, and for those in Bor-ashan, and for those in Athach,
30:31 And for those in Hebron, and for all the places where David himself and his men had gone about.