1 Samuel 30
30
1And it cometh to pass, in the coming in of David and his men to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites have pushed unto the south, and unto Ziklag, and smite Ziklag, and burn it with fire,
2and they take captive the women who [are] in it; from small unto great they have not put any one to death, and they lead away, and go on their way.
3And David cometh in — and his men — unto the city, and lo, burnt with fire, and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters have been taken captive!
4And David lifteth up — and the people who [are] with him — their voice and weep, till that they have no power to weep.
5And the two wives of David have been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail wife of Nabal the Carmelite;
6and David hath great distress, for the people have said to stone him, for the soul of all the people hath been bitter, each for his sons and for his daughters; and David doth strengthen himself in Jehovah his God.
7And David saith unto Abiathar the priest, son of Ahimelech, ‘Bring nigh, I pray thee, to me the ephod;’ and Abiathar bringeth nigh the ephod unto David,
8and David asketh at Jehovah, saying, ‘I pursue after this troop — do I overtake it?’ And He saith to him, ‘Pursue, for thou dost certainly overtake, and dost certainly deliver.’
9And David goeth on, he and six hundred men who [are] with him, and they come in unto the brook of Besor, and those left have stood still,
10and David pursueth, he and four hundred men, (and two hundred men stand still who have been too faint to pass over the brook of Besor),
11and they find a man, an Egyptian, in the field, and take him unto David, and give to him bread, and he eateth, and they cause him to drink water,
12and give to him a piece of a bunch of dried figs, and two bunches of raisins, and he eateth, and his spirit returneth unto him, for he hath not eaten bread nor drunk water three days and three nights.
13And David saith to him, ‘Whose [art] thou? and whence [art] thou?’ And he saith, ‘An Egyptian youth I [am], servant to a man, an Amalekite, and my lord forsaketh me, for I have been sick three days,
14we pushed [to] the south of the Cherethite, and against that which [is] to Judah, and against the south of Caleb, and Ziklag we burned with fire.’
15And David saith unto him, ‘Dost thou bring me down unto this troop?’ and he saith, ‘Swear to me by God — thou dost not put me to death, nor dost thou shut me up into the hand of my lord — and I bring thee down unto this troop.’
16And he bringeth him down, and lo, they are spread out over the face of all the earth, eating, and drinking, and feasting, with all the great spoil which they have taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.
17And David smiteth them from the twilight even unto the evening of the morrow, and there hath not escaped of them a man, except four hundred young men who have ridden on the camels, and are fled.
18And David delivereth all that the Amalekites have taken; also his two wives hath David delivered.
19And there hath not lacked to them [anything], from small unto great, and unto sons and daughters, and from the spoil, even unto all that they had taken to themselves, the whole hath David brought back,
20and David taketh the whole of the flock, and of the herd, they have led on before these cattle, and they say, ‘This [is] David's spoil.’
21And David cometh in unto the two hundred men who were too faint to go after David, and whom they cause to abide at the brook of Besor, and they go out to meet David, and to meet the people who [are] with him, and David approacheth the people, and asketh of them of welfare.
22And every bad and worthless man, of the men who have gone with David, answereth, yea, they say, ‘Because that they have not gone with us we do not give to them of the spoil which we have delivered, except each his wife and his children, and they lead away and go.
23And David saith, ‘Ye do not do so, my brethren, with that which Jehovah hath given to us, and He doth preserve us, and doth give the troop which cometh against us into our hand;
24and who doth hearken to you in this thing? for as the portion of him who was brought down into battle, so also [is] the portion of him who is abiding by the vessels — alike they share.’
25And it cometh to pass from that day and forward, that he appointeth it for a statute and for an ordinance for Israel unto this day.
26And David cometh in unto Ziklag, and sendeth of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, (saying, ‘Lo, for you a blessing, of the spoil of the enemies of Jehovah),’
27to those in Beth-El, and to those in South Ramoth, and to those in Jattir,
28and to those in Aroer, and to those in Siphmoth, and to those in Eshtemoa,
29and to those in Rachal, and to those in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to those in the cities of the Kenites,
30and to those in Hormah, and to those in Chor-Ashan, and to those in Athach,
31and to those in Hebron, and to all the places where David had gone up and down, he and his men.
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1 Samuel 30: YLT98
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
1 Samuel 30
30
Ziklag in Ruins. 1Before David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had raided the Negeb and Ziklag. They stormed Ziklag, and set it on fire.#1 Sm 15:2; 27:6, 10; 1 Chr 12:21. 2They took captive the women and all who were in the city, young and old, killing no one, and they herded them off when they left. 3David and his men arrived at the city to find it burned to the ground and their wives, sons, and daughters taken captive. 4Then David and those who were with him wept aloud until they could weep no more. 5David’s two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel, had also been carried off.#1 Sm 25:42; 27:3; 30:5. 6Now David found himself in great danger, for the soldiers spoke of stoning him, so bitter were they over the fate of their sons and daughters. David took courage in the Lord his God 7#1 Sm 2:28; 23:6; Ex 28:30. and said to Abiathar, the priest, son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod!” When Abiathar brought him the ephod, 8David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue these raiders? Can I overtake them?” The Lord answered him: Go in pursuit, for you will certainly overtake them and bring about a rescue.
Raid on the Amalekites. 9So David went off with his six hundred as far as the Wadi Besor, where those who were to remain behind halted. 10David continued the pursuit with four hundred, but two hundred were too exhausted to cross the Wadi Besor and remained behind. 11An Egyptian was found in the open country and brought to David. They gave him food to eat and water to drink; 12they also offered a cake of pressed figs and two cakes of pressed raisins. When he had eaten, he revived, for he had not taken food nor drunk water for three days and three nights. 13Then David asked him, “To whom do you belong? Where did you come from?” “I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite,” he replied. “My master abandoned me three days ago because I fell sick. 14We raided the Negeb of the Cherethites, the territory of Judah, and the Negeb of Caleb; and we set Ziklag on fire.”#1 Sm 27:10; Ez 25:16. 15David then asked him, “Will you lead me down to these raiders?” He answered, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will lead you down to the raiders.” 16So he led them down, and there were the Amalekites lounging all over the ground, eating, drinking, and celebrating because of all the rich plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.
The Plunder Recovered. 17From dawn to sundown the next day David attacked them, allowing no one to escape except four hundred young men, who mounted their camels and fled.#1 Sm 15:3; Jos 6:17; Jgs 7:12. 18David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, and he rescued his two wives. 19Nothing was missing, small or great, plunder or sons or daughters, of all that the Amalekites had taken. David brought back everything. 20Moreover, David took all the sheep and oxen, and as they drove these before him, they shouted, “This is David’s plunder!”
Division of the Plunder. 21When David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him, whom he had left behind at the Wadi Besor, they came out to meet David and the men with him. As David approached, he greeted them. 22But all the greedy and worthless among those who had accompanied David said, “Since they did not accompany us, we will not give them anything from the plunder, except for each man’s wife and children.” 23But David said: “You must not do this, my brothers, after what the Lord has given us. The Lord has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiders that came against us.#Dt 20:4, 14. 24Who could agree with this proposal of yours? Rather, the share of the one who goes down to battle shall be the same as that of the one who remains with the baggage—they share alike.”#1 Sm 17:22; 25:13. 25And from that day forward he made this a law and a custom in Israel, as it still is today.#Nm 31:27.
David’s Gifts to Judah. 26When David came to Ziklag, he sent part of the plunder to his friends, the elders of Judah,#Elders of Judah: David consolidates his power in southern Judah in preparation for his anointing at Hebron (2 Sm 5:3). saying, “This is a gift to you from the plunder of the enemies of the Lord,” namely, 27to those in Bethel, Ramoth-negeb, Jattir, 28Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, 29Racal, Jerahmeelite cities and Kenite cities,#1 Sm 27:10. 30Hormah, Borashan, Athach, 31Hebron, and to all the places that David and his men had frequented.#2 Sm 2:1–4.
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