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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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
1 Samuel 30
30
David Destroys the Amalekites
1Three days later, when David and his men arrived home at their town of Ziklag, they found that the Amalekites had made a raid into the Negev and Ziklag; they had crushed Ziklag and burned it to the ground. 2They had carried off the women and children and everyone else but without killing anyone.
3When David and his men saw the ruins and realized what had happened to their families, 4they wept until they could weep no more. 5David’s two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel, were among those captured. 6David was now in great danger because all his men were very bitter about losing their sons and daughters, and they began to talk of stoning him. But David found strength in the Lord his God.
7Then he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring me the ephod!” So Abiathar brought it. 8Then David asked the Lord, “Should I chase after this band of raiders? Will I catch them?”
And the Lord told him, “Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!”
9So David and his 600 men set out, and they came to the brook Besor. 10But 200 of the men were too exhausted to cross the brook, so David continued the pursuit with 400 men.
11Along the way they found an Egyptian man in a field and brought him to David. They gave him some bread to eat and water to drink. 12They also gave him part of a fig cake and two clusters of raisins, for he hadn’t had anything to eat or drink for three days and nights. Before long his strength returned.
13“To whom do you belong, and where do you come from?” David asked him.
“I am an Egyptian—the slave of an Amalekite,” he replied. “My master abandoned me three days ago because I was sick. 14We were on our way back from raiding the Kerethites in the Negev, the territory of Judah, and the land of Caleb, and we had just burned Ziklag.”
15“Will you lead me to this band of raiders?” David asked.
The young man replied, “If you take an oath in God’s name that you will not kill me or give me back to my master, then I will guide you to them.”
16So he led David to them, and they found the Amalekites spread out across the fields, eating and drinking and dancing with joy because of the vast amount of plunder they had taken from the Philistines and the land of Judah. 17David and his men rushed in among them and slaughtered them throughout that night and the entire next day until evening. None of the Amalekites escaped except 400 young men who fled on camels. 18David got back everything the Amalekites had taken, and he rescued his two wives. 19Nothing was missing: small or great, son or daughter, nor anything else that had been taken. David brought everything back. 20He also recovered all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock. “This plunder belongs to David!” they said.
21Then David returned to the brook Besor and met up with the 200 men who had been left behind because they were too exhausted to go with him. They went out to meet David and his men, and David greeted them joyfully. 22But some evil troublemakers among David’s men said, “They didn’t go with us, so they can’t have any of the plunder we recovered. Give them their wives and children, and tell them to be gone.”
23But David said, “No, my brothers! Don’t be selfish with what the Lord has given us. He has kept us safe and helped us defeat the band of raiders that attacked us. 24Who will listen when you talk like this? We share and share alike—those who go to battle and those who guard the equipment.” 25From then on David made this a decree and regulation for Israel, and it is still followed today.
26When he arrived at Ziklag, David sent part of the plunder to the elders of Judah, who were his friends. “Here is a present for you, taken from the Lord’s enemies,” he said.
27The gifts were sent to the people of the following towns David had visited: Bethel, Ramoth-negev, Jattir, 28Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, 29Racal,#30:29 Greek version reads Carmel. the towns of the Jerahmeelites, the towns of the Kenites, 30Hormah, Bor-ashan, Athach, 31Hebron, and all the other places David and his men had visited.
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