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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Shemu’ĕl Aleph (1 Samuel) 30
30
1And it came to be, when Dawiḏ and his men came to Tsiqlaḡ, on the third day, that the Amalĕqites had invaded the South and Tsiqlaḡ, and struck Tsiqlaḡ and burned it with fire.
2And they took captive the women and those who were there, from small to great. They did not kill anyone, but they led them away and went their way.
3And Dawiḏ and his men came to the city and saw it burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken captive.
4And Dawiḏ and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep.
5And Dawiḏ’s two wives, Aḥino‛am the Yizre‛ĕlitess, and Aḇiḡayil the widow of Naḇal the Karmelite, had been taken captive.
6And Dawiḏ was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the being of all the people was grieved, each for his sons and his daughters. But Dawiḏ strengthened himself in יהוה his Elohim.
7And Dawiḏ said to Eḇyathar the priest, son of Aḥimeleḵ, “Please bring the shoulder garment here to me.” So Eḇyathar brought the shoulder garment to Dawiḏ.
8And Dawiḏ inquired of יהוה, saying, “Do I pursue this band? Do I overtake them?” And He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall certainly overtake them, and certainly rescue.”
9So Dawiḏ went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the wadi Besor, where a halt was made by those who were left behind,
10while Dawiḏ pursued, he and four hundred men – for two hundred halted, who were too faint to pass over the wadi Besor.
11And they found a man in the field, a Mitsrian, and took him to Dawiḏ. And they gave him bread and he ate, and they let him drink water,
12and gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. And when he had eaten, his strength came back to him, for he had not eaten bread nor drunk water for three days and three nights.
13And Dawiḏ said to him, “To whom do you belong, and where are you from?” And he said, “I am a young man from Mitsrayim, servant of an Amalĕqite. And my master left me behind, for I had been sick three days.
14“We attacked the south of the Kerĕthites and against that which belongs to Yehuḏah, and upon the south of Kalĕḇ, and we burned Tsiqlaḡ with fire.”
15And Dawiḏ said to him, “Could you bring me down to this marauding band?” And he said, “Swear to me by Elohim that you neither kill me nor surrender me into the hands of my master, then I bring you down to this marauding band.”
16And he brought him down and saw they were spread out over all the land, eating and drinking and celebrating, because of all the great spoil which they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Yehuḏah.
17And Dawiḏ struck them from twilight until the evening of the next day. And none of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled.
18And Dawiḏ rescued all that the Amalĕqites had taken. Dawiḏ also rescued his two wives.
19And there was none missing to them, whether small or great, whether sons or daughters, or spoil or whatever they had taken from them. Dawiḏ recovered all.
20Besides, Dawiḏ captured all the flocks and herds they had driven before those livestock, and they said, “This is Dawiḏ’s spoil.”
21And Dawiḏ came to the two hundred men who were too faint to follow Dawiḏ, who had also been left at the wadi Besor. And they went out to meet Dawiḏ and to meet the people who were with him. And when Dawiḏ came near the people, he greeted them.
22And all the evil and worthless men of those who went with Dawiḏ answered and said, “Because they did not go with us, we do not give them any of the spoil that we have rescued, except for every man’s wife and children, and let them take them and go.”
23But Dawiḏ said, “My brothers, do not do so with what יהוה has given us, who has protected us and gave into our hand the band that came against us.
24“And who would listen to you in this matter? For as his portion is who goes down to the battle, so is his portion who remains with the baggage, they share alike.”
25And it came to be, from that day forward, he appointed it for a law and a right-ruling for Yisra’ĕl to this day.
26And when Dawiḏ came to Tsiqlaḡ, he sent some of the spoil to the elders of Yehuḏah, to his friends, saying, “Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of יהוה,”
27to those in Bĕyth Ěl, and to those in Ramoth of the South, and to those in Yattir,
28and to those in Aro‛ĕr, and to those in Siphmoth, and to those in Eshtemoa,
29and to those in Raḵal, and to those in the cities of the Yeraḥme’ĕlites, and to those in the cities of the Qĕynites,
30and to those in Ḥormah, and to those in Korashan, and to those in Athaḵ,
31and to those in Ḥeḇron, and to all the places where Dawiḏ had gone up and down, he and his men.
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