“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.” (1 Samuel 30:1-31 AV)
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