1 And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to
Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag,
and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;
2 And
had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either
great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way.
3 So
David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned
with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken
captives.
4 Then
David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and
wept, until they had no more power to weep.
5 And
David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail
the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
6 And
David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the
soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his
daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.
7 And
David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, I pray thee, bring me
hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David.
8 And
David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I
overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.
9 So
David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor,
where those that were left behind stayed.
10 But
David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred abode behind, which
were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor.
11 And
they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him
bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water;
12 And
they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when
he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor
drunk any water,
three days and three nights.
13 And
David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou?
And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an
Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick.
14 We
made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to
Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.
15 And
David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, Swear
unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands
of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company.
16 And
when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth,
eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had
taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.
17 And
David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and
there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon
camels, and fled.
18 And
David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his
two wives.
19 And
there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor
daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David
recovered all.
20 And
David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drave before those other cattle,
and said, This is David's spoil.
21 And
David came to the two hundred men, which were so faint that they could not
follow David, whom they had made also to abide at the brook Besor: and they
went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with
him: and when David came near to the people, he saluted them.
22 Then
answered all the wicked men and men of Belial, of those that went with
David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them ought of
the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children,
that they may lead them away, and depart.
23 Then
said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the LORD hath
given us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us
into our hand.
24 For
who will hearken unto you in this matter? but as his part is that
goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that
tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike.
25 And
it was so from
that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto
this day.
26 And
when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to
his friends, saying, Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of
the LORD;
27 To them which were in
Bethel, and to them which were in
south Ramoth, and to them which were in
Jattir,
28 And
to them which were in
Aroer, and to them which were in
Siphmoth, and to them which were in
Eshtemoa,
29 And
to them which were in
Rachal, and to them which were in
the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to them which were in
the cities of the Kenites,
30 And
to them which were in
Hormah, and to them which were in
Chorashan, and to them which were in
Athach,
31 And
to them which were in
Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to
haunt.
