1 Then it happened when David and his men came to A1 Sam 29:4, 11Ziklag on the third day, that B1 Sam 15:7; 27:8-10the Amalekites had made a raid on the 1I.e. South countryNegev and on C1 Sam 27:6, 8Ziklag, and had 2Lit smoteoverthrown Ziklag and burned it with fire; 2 and they took captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great, 1Lit they did not killA1 Sam 27:11without killing anyone, and carried them off and went their way. 3 When David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him ANum 14:1lifted their voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep. 5 Now A1 Sam 25:42, 43; 2 Sam 2:2David’s two wives had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the 1Lit wifewidow of Nabal the Carmelite. 6 Moreover David was greatly distressed because AEx 17:4; John 8:59the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were 1Lit bitter in soulembittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But B1 Sam 23:16; Ps 18:2; 27:14; 31:24; 71:4, 5; Rom 4:20David strengthened himself in the Loʀᴅ his God.

7 Then A1 Sam 23:6, 9David said to B1 Sam 22:20-23Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Please bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 A1 Sam 23:2, 4; Ps 50:15; 91:15David inquired of the Loʀᴅ, saying, “BEx 15:9Shall I pursue this band? Shall I overtake them?” And He said to him, “Pursue, for you will surely overtake them, C1 Sam 30:18and you will surely rescue all.” 9 So David went, A1 Sam 27:2he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those left behind remained. 10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men, for A1 Sam 30:9, 21two hundred who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor remained behind.

11 Now they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David, and gave him bread and he ate, and they provided him water to drink. 12 They gave him a piece of fig cake and two clusters of raisins, and he ate; AJudg 15:19then his spirit 1Lit returned to himrevived. For he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights. 13 David said to him, “To whom do you belong? And where are you from?” And he said, “I am a young man of Egypt, a servant of an Amalekite; and my master left me behind when I fell sick three days ago. 14  “We made a raid on A1 Sam 30:1, 16; 2 Sam 8:18; 1 Kin 1:38, 44; Ezek 25:16; Zeph 2:5the 1I.e. South countryNegev of the Cherethites, and on that which belongs to Judah, and on BJosh 14:13; 15:13; 21:12the 1I.e. South countryNegev of Caleb, and C1 Sam 30:1we burned Ziklag with fire.” 15 Then David said to him, “Will you bring me down to this band?” And he said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring you down to this band.”

16 When he had brought him down, behold, they were 1Lit leftspread over all the land, ALuke 12:19; 17:27feating and drinking and 2Lit keeping a pilgrim-feastdancing because of B1 Sam 30:14all the great spoil that they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. 17 David 1Lit smoteslaughtered them A1 Sam 11:11from the twilight 2Lit even untiluntil the evening of 3Lit theirthe next day; and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on BJudg 7:12; 1 Sam 15:3camels and fled. 18 So David AGen 14:16recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and 1Lit David rescuedrescued his two wives. 19 But nothing of theirs was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that they had taken for themselves; A1 Sam 30:8David brought it all back. 20 So David had 1Lit takencaptured all the sheep and the cattle which the people drove ahead of 2Lit those livestockthe other livestock, and they said, “A1 Sam 30:26-31This is David’s spoil.”

21 When A1 Sam 30:10David came to the two hundred men who were too exhausted to follow David, who had also been left at the brook Besor, and they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him, then David approached the people and greeted them. 22 Then all the wicked and worthless men among those who went with David said, “Because they did not go with 1Lit meus, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away and depart.” 23 Then David said, “You must not do so, my brothers, with what the Loʀᴅ has given us, who has kept us and delivered into our hand the band that came against us. 24  “And who will listen to you in this matter? For ANum 31:27; Josh 22:8as his share is who goes down to the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage; they shall share alike.” 25 So it has been from that day forward, that 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, “Behold, A1 Sam 25:27a 1Lit blessinggift for you from the spoil of B1 Sam 18:17; 25:28the enemies of the Loʀᴅ: 27 to those who were in AGen 12:8; Josh 7:2; 8:9; 16:1Bethel, and to those who were in BJosh 19:8Ramoth of the 1I.e. South countryNegev, and to those who were in CJosh 15:48; 21:14Jattir, 28 and to those who were in AJosh 13:16; 1 Chr 11:44Aroer, and to those who were in Siphmoth, and to those who were in BJosh 15:50Eshtemoa, 29 and to those who were in Racal, and to those who were in the cities of A1 Sam 27:10the Jerahmeelites, and to those who were in the cities of BJudg 1:16; 1 Sam 15:6the Kenites, 30 and to those who were in ANum 14:45; 21:3; Josh 12:14; 15:30; 19:4; Judg 1:17Hormah, and to those who were in BJosh 15:42; 19:7Bor-ashan, and to those who were in Athach, 31 and to those who were in ANum 13:22; Josh 14:13-15; 21:11-13; 2 Sam 2:1Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were accustomed to B1 Sam 23:22go.”