1 Samuel 30
30
David Destroys the Amalekites
1On the third day David and his men arrived in Ziklag. The Amalekites had attacked the people of the Negev Desert. They had also attacked Ziklag and burned it. 2They had captured the women and everyone else in Ziklag. They had taken as prisoners young people and old people alike. But they didn’t kill any of them. Instead, they carried them off as they went on their way.
3David and his men reached Ziklag. They saw that it had been destroyed by fire. They found out that their wives and sons and daughters had been captured. 4So David and his men began to weep out loud. They wept until they couldn’t weep anymore. 5David’s two wives had been captured. Their names were Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail from Carmel. Abigail was Nabal’s widow. 6David was greatly troubled. His men were even talking about killing him by throwing stones at him. All of them were very bitter because their sons and daughters had been taken away. But David was made strong by the Lord his God.
7Then David spoke to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelek. He said, “Bring me the linen apron.” Abiathar brought it to him. 8David asked the Lord for advice. He said, “Should I chase after the men who attacked Ziklag? If I do, will I catch up with them?”
“Chase after them,” the Lord answered. “You will certainly catch up with them. You will succeed in saving those who were captured.”
9David and his 600 men came to the Besor Valley. Some of them stayed behind there. 10That’s because 200 of them were too tired to go across the valley. But David and the other 400 continued the chase.
11David’s men found an Egyptian in a field. They brought him to David. They gave him water to drink and food to eat. 12They gave him part of a cake of pressed figs. They also gave him two raisin cakes. After he ate them, he felt as good as new. That’s because he hadn’t eaten any food for three days and three nights. He hadn’t drunk any water during that time either.
13David asked him, “Who do you belong to? Where do you come from?”
The man said, “I’m from Egypt. I’m the slave of an Amalekite. My master deserted me when I became ill three days ago. 14We attacked the people in the Negev Desert of the Kerethites. We attacked the territory that belongs to Judah. We attacked the people in the Negev Desert of Caleb. And we burned Ziklag.”
15David asked him, “Can you lead me down to the men who attacked Ziklag?”
He answered, “Make a promise to me in the name of God. Promise that you won’t kill me. Promise that you won’t hand me over to my master. Then I’ll take you down to them.”
16He led David down to where the men were. They were scattered all over the countryside. They were eating and drinking and dancing wildly. That’s because they had taken a large amount of goods from those they had attacked. They had taken it from the land of the Philistines and from the people of Judah. 17David fought against them from sunset until the evening of the next day. None of them escaped except 400 young men. They rode off on camels and got away. 18David got everything back that the Amalekites had taken. That included his two wives. 19Nothing was missing. Not one young person or old person or boy or girl was missing. None of the goods or anything else the Amalekites had taken was missing. David brought everything back. 20He brought back all the flocks and herds. His men drove them on ahead of the other livestock. They said, “Here’s what David has captured.”
21Then David came to the 200 men who had been too tired to follow him. They had been left behind in the Besor Valley. They came out to welcome David and the men with him. As David and his men approached, he asked them how they were. 22But some of the men who had gone out with David were evil. They wanted to stir up trouble. They said, “The 200 men didn’t go out into battle with us. So we won’t share with them the goods we brought back. But each man can take his wife and children and go home.”
23David replied, “No, my friends. You must not hold back their share of what the Lord has given us. He has kept us safe. He has handed over to us the men who attacked us. 24So no one will pay any attention to what you are saying. Each man who stayed with the supplies will receive the same share as each man who went down to the battle. Everyone’s share will be the same.” 25David made that a law and a rule for Israel. It has been followed from that day until now.
26David reached Ziklag. He sent some of the goods to the elders of Judah. They were his friends. He said, “Here’s a gift for you. It’s part of the things we took from the Lord’s enemies.”
27David sent some goods to the elders in Bethel, Ramoth Negev and Jattir. 28He sent some to the elders in Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa 29and Rakal. He sent some to the elders in the towns of the Jerahmeelites and Kenites. 30He sent some to the elders in Hormah, Bor Ashan, Athak 31and Hebron. He also sent some to the elders in all the other places where he and his men had wandered around.
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1 Samuel 30: NIrV
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1 Samuel 30
30
David’s Defeat of the Amalekites
1David and his men # Gn 14:1-16 arrived in Ziklag # 1Sm 27:6,8 on the third day. The Amalekites # 1Sm 15:7; 27:8-10 had raided the Negev and attacked and burned down Ziklag. 2They also had kidnapped the women and everyone # LXX; MT omits and everyone in it from the youngest to the oldest. They had killed no one but had carried them off # 1Sm 27:11 as they went on their way.
3When David and his men arrived at the town, they found it burned down. Their wives, sons, and daughters had been kidnapped. 4David and the troops with him wept loudly until they had no strength left to weep. 5David’s two wives, # 1Sm 25:42-43 Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had also been kidnapped. 6David was in a difficult position because the troops talked about stoning him, # Ex 17:4 for they were all very bitter over the loss of their sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God. # 1Sm 23:16; Ps 18:2; 27:14
7David said to Abiathar the priest, son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” # 1Sm 23:6-9 So Abiathar brought it to him, 8and David asked the Lord: # 1Sm 23:2,4 “Should I pursue these raiders? Will I overtake them? ” # Ex 15:9
The Lord replied to him, “Pursue them, for you will certainly overtake them and rescue the people.” # 1Sm 30:18
9David and the 600 men with him # 1Sm 27:2 went as far as the Wadi Besor, where 200 men who were to remain behind would stop. # 1Sm 30:21 10They stopped because they were too exhausted to cross the Wadi Besor. David and 400 of the men continued in pursuit.
11They found an Egyptian in the open country and brought him to David. They gave him some bread to eat and water to drink. 12Then they gave him some pressed figs and two clusters of raisins. After he ate he revived, # Jdg 15:19 for he hadn’t eaten food or drunk water for three days and three nights.
13Then David said to him, “Who do you belong to? Where are you from? ”
“I’m an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite man,” he said. “My master abandoned me when I got sick three days ago. 14We raided the south country of the Cherethites, # 1Sm 30:16; 2Sm 8:18; Ezk 25:16 the territory of Judah, and the south country of Caleb, # Jos 14:13; 21:11-12 and we burned down Ziklag.” # 1Sm 30:1
15David then asked him, “Will you lead me to these raiders? ”
He said, “Swear to me by God that you won’t kill me or turn me over to my master, and I will lead you to them.”
16So he led him, and there were the Amalekites, spread out over the entire area, eating, drinking, and celebrating because of the great amount of plunder # 1Sm 30:14 they had taken from the land of the Philistines and the land of Judah. 17David slaughtered them from twilight until the evening of the next day. # 1Sm 11:11 None of them escaped, except 400 young men who got on camels and fled. # Jdg 7:12; 1Sm 15:3
18David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken; he also rescued his two wives. 19Nothing of theirs was missing from the youngest to the oldest, including the sons and daughters, of all the plunder the Amalekites had taken. David got everything back. # 1Sm 30:8 20He took all the sheep and cattle, which were driven ahead of the other livestock, and the people shouted, “This is David’s plunder! ” # 1Sm 30:26-31
21When David came to the 200 men who had been too exhausted to go with him and had been left at the Wadi Besor, # 1Sm 30:9-10 they came out to meet him and to meet the troops with him. When David approached the men, he greeted them, 22but all the corrupt and worthless men among those who had gone with David argued, “Because they didn’t go with us, we will not give any of the plunder we recovered to them except for each man’s wife and children. They may take them and go.”
23But David said, “My brothers, you must not do this with what the Lord has given us. He protected us and handed over to us the raiders who came against us. 24Who can agree to your proposal? The share of the one who goes into battle is to be the same as the share of the one who remains with the supplies. They will share equally.” # Nm 31:25-27; Jos 22:8 25And it has been so from that day forward. David established this policy as a law and an ordinance for Israel and it continues to this very day.
26When David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, “Here is a gift for you # 1Sm 25:27 from the plunder of the Lord’s enemies.” # 1Sm 18:17; 25:28 27 He sent gifts to those in Bethel, # Jos 15:30; 19:4 in Ramoth of the Negev, # Jos 19:8 and in Jattir; # Jos 15:48; 21:14 28to those in Aroer, # 1Ch 11:44 in Siphmoth, # 1Ch 27:27 and in Eshtemoa; # Jos 15:50 29to those in Racal, in the towns of the Jerahmeelites, # 1Sm 27:10 and in the towns of the Kenites; # 1Sm 15:6 30to those in Hormah, # Jos 12:14; 15:30; 19:4 in Bor-ashan, # Jos 15:42; 19:7 and in Athach; 31to those in Hebron, # Nm 13:22; Jos 14:13-15; 21:11-13 and to those in all the places where David and his men had roamed. # 1Sm 23:22
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