1 Kings 30
30
1Now, when David and his men were come to Siceleg on the third day, the Amalecites had made an invasion on the south side upon Siceleg, and had smitten Siceleg, and burnt it with fire.
2And had taken the women captives that were in it, both little and great: and they had not killed any person, but had carried them with them, and went on their way.
3So when David and his men came to the city, and found it burnt with fire, and that their wives and their sons, and their daughters were taken captives,
4David and the people that were with him lifted up their voices, and wept till they had no more tears.
5For the two wives also of David were taken captives, Achinoam the Jezrahelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal of Carmel.
6And David was greatly afflicted. For the people had a mind to stone him, for the soul of every man was bitterly grieved for his sons, and daughters. But David took courage in the Lord his God.
7And he said to Abiathar the priest the son of Achimelech: Bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought the ephod to David.
8And David consulted the Lord, saying: Shall I pursue after these robbers, and shall I overtake them, or not? And the Lord said to him: Pursue after them. For thou shalt surely overtake them and recover the prey.
9So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him. And they came to the torrent Besor: and some being weary stayed there.
10But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred stayed, who being weary could not go over the torrent Besor.
11And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David: and they gave him bread to eat, and water to drink,
12As also a piece of a cake of figs, and two bunches of raisins. And when he had eaten them his spirit returned, and he was refreshed: for he had not eaten bread, nor drunk water three days, and three nights.
13And David said to him: To whom dost thou belong? Or whence dost thou come? And whither art thou going? He said: I am a young man of Egypt, the servant of an Amalecite: and my master left me, because I began to be sick three days ago.
14For we made an invasion on the south side of Cerethi, and upon Juda, and upon the south of Caleb, and we burnt Siceleg with fire.
15And David said to him: Canst thou bring me to this company? And he said: Swear to me by God, that thou wilt not kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee to this company. And David swore to him.
16And when he had brought him, behold they were lying spread upon all the ground, eating and drinking, and as it were keeping a festival day, for all the prey, and the spoils which they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Juda.
17And David slew them from the evening unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, but four hundred young men, who had gotten upon camels, and fled.
18So David recovered all that the Amalecites had taken; and he rescued his two wives.
19And there was nothing missing small or great, neither of their sons or their daughters, nor of the spoils: and whatsoever they had taken David recovered all.
20And he took all the flocks and the herds, and made them go before him. And they said: This is the prey of David.
21And David came to the two hundred men, who being weary had stayed, and were not able to follow David, and he had ordered them to abide at the torrent Besor. And they came out to meet David, and the people that were with him. And David coming to the people saluted them peaceably.
22Then all the wicked and unjust men that had gone with David answering, said: Because they came not with us, we will not give them any thing of the prey which we have recovered. But let every man take his wife and his children, and be contented with them, and go his way.
23But David said: You shall not do so, my brethren, with these things, which the Lord hath given us, who hath kept us, and hath delivered the robbers that invaded us into our hands.
24And no man shall hearken to you in this matter. But equal shall be the portion of him that went down to battle and of him that abode at the baggage; and they shall divide alike.
25And this hath been done from that day forward, and since was made a statute, and an ordinance, and as a law in Israel.
26Then David came to Siceleg, and sent presents of the prey to the ancients of Juda his neighbours, saying: Receive a blessing of the prey of the enemies of the Lord.
27To them that were in Bethel, and that were in Ramoth to the south, and to them that were in Jether,
28And to them that were in Aroer and that were in Sephamoth, and that were in Esthamo,
29And that were in Rachal, and that were in the cities of Jerameel, and that were in the cities of Ceni,
30And that were in Arama, and that were in the lake Asan, and that were in Athach,
31And that were in Hebron, and to the rest that were in those places, in which David had abode with his men.
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1 Kings 30: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
1 Samuel 30
30
David Defeats the Amalekites
1Two days later, when David and his men came to Ziklag, the Amalekites had raided the Negev, including Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it. 2Although they captured the young and old women who were there, they killed no one. Instead, they had taken ⌞the women and other prisoners⌟ and gone away. 3By the time David and his men came to the town, it had been burned down, and their wives, sons, and daughters had been taken captive. 4Then David and his men cried loudly until they didn’t have the strength to cry anymore. 5The Amalekites also captured David’s two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail (who had been Nabal’s wife) from Carmel. 6David was in great distress because the people in their bitterness said he should be stoned. (They were thinking of their sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.)
7David told the priest Abiathar, Ahimelech’s son, “Please bring me the priestly ephod.” #30:7 Ephod is a technical term for a part of the priest’s clothes. Its exact usage and shape are unknown. So Abiathar brought David the ephod.
8Then David asked the Lord, “Should I pursue these troops? Will I catch up with them?”
“Pursue them,” the Lord told him. “You will certainly catch up with them and rescue the captives.”
9So David and his 600 men went to the Besor Valley, where some were left behind. 10David and 400 men went in pursuit, while 200 men who were too exhausted to cross the Besor Valley stayed behind.
11David’s men found an Egyptian in the open country and took him to David. They gave him food to eat and water to drink. 12They gave him a slice of fig cake and two bunches of raisins. After he had eaten, he revived. (He hadn’t eaten any food or drunk any water for three whole days.) 13David asked him, “To whom do you belong? Where do you come from?”
“I’m an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite,” the young man answered. “My master left me behind because I got sick three days ago. 14We raided the portion of the Negev where the Cherethites live, the territory of Judah, the portion of the Negev where Caleb settled, and we burned down Ziklag.”
15“Will you lead me to these troops?” David asked him.
He answered, “Take an oath in front of God that you won’t kill me or hand me over to my master, and I’ll lead you to these troops.”
16The Egyptian led him ⌞to them⌟. They were spread out all over the land, eating, and drinking. They were celebrating because they had taken so much loot from Philistine territory and from the land of Judah. 17From dawn until evening the next day, David attacked them. No one escaped except 400 young men who rode away on camels. 18David rescued everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. 19Nothing was missing—young or old, sons or daughters, the loot or anything else they had taken with them. David brought back everything. 20He took all the sheep and the cattle. His men drove the animals ahead of him and said, “This is David’s loot.”
21David came to the 200 men who had been too exhausted to go with him and had stayed in the Besor Valley. They came to meet David and the people with him. As David approached the men, he greeted them. 22Then every wicked and worthless man who had gone with David said, “Since they didn’t go with us, they shouldn’t be given any of the loot we recovered. Each of them should take only his wife and children and leave.”
23But David said, “My brothers, don’t do that with the things which the Lord has given us. He has protected us and handed the troops that attacked us over to us. 24Besides, who is going to pay attention to what you have to say in this matter? Certainly, the share of those who go into battle must be like the share of those who stay with the supplies. They will all share alike.” 25From that time on he made this a rule and a custom in Israel as it is to this day.
26When David came to Ziklag, he sent part of the loot to his friends, the leaders of Judah. He said, “Here is a gift for you from the loot ⌞taken from⌟ the Lord’s enemies.” 27There were shares for those in Bethel, Ramoth in the Negev, Jattir, 28Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, 29Racal, the cities belonging to the Jerahmeelites, the cities belonging to the Kenites, 30Hormah, Borashan, Athach, 31Hebron, and to all the places David and his men visited from time to time.
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