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.
Currently Selected:
1 Samuel 30: YLT98
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
1 Samuel 30
30
The Amalekites Attack Ziklag
1As soon as David and his men arrived at Ziklag on the third day, they saw that the Amalekites had attacked Ziklag. The Amalekites invaded the Negev area, attacked Ziklag, and burned the city. 2They took all the women in Ziklag, both young and old, as prisoners. They didn’t kill anyone; they only took them as prisoners.
3When David and his men came to Ziklag, they found the city burning. Their wives, sons, and daughters were all gone. The Amalekites had taken them. 4David and the other men in his army cried loudly until they were too weak to cry anymore. 5The Amalekites had taken David’s two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, who had been the wife of Nabal from Carmel.
6All the men in the army were sad and angry because their sons and daughters were taken as prisoners. The men were talking about killing David with stones. This upset David very much, but he found strength in the Lord his God. 7David said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod.” So Abiathar brought it.
8Then David prayed to the Lord. “Should I chase the people who took our families? Will I catch them?”
The Lord answered, “Chase them. You will catch them, and you will save your families.”
David Finds an Egyptian Slave
9-10David took the 600 men with him and went to Besor Ravine. About 200 of his men stayed there because they were too weak and tired to continue. But David and the other 400 men continued to chase the Amalekites.
11David’s men found an Egyptian in a field and took him to David. They gave the Egyptian some water to drink and some food to eat. 12The Egyptian had not had any food or water for three days and nights, so they gave him a piece of fig cake and two clusters of raisins. He felt better after eating.
13David asked the Egyptian, “Who is your master? Where do you come from?”
The Egyptian answered, “I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite. Three days ago I got sick, and my master left me behind. 14We had attacked the Negev area where the Kerethites#30:14 Kerethites Or “people from Crete.” These were one of the groups of Philistines. Some of David’s best soldiers were Kerethites. live. We also attacked Judah and the Negev area where Caleb’s people live. We burned Ziklag.”
15David asked the Egyptian, “Will you lead me to the people who took our families?”
The Egyptian answered, “If you make a special promise before God, I will help you find them. But you must promise that you will not kill me or give me back to my master.”
David Defeats the Amalekites
16The Egyptian led David to the Amalekites. They were lying around on the ground, eating and drinking. They were celebrating with the many things they had taken from the Philistines and from Judah. 17David attacked them and killed them. They fought from sunrise until the evening of the next day. None of the Amalekites escaped, except for 400 young men who jumped onto their camels and rode away.
18David got back everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. 19Nothing was missing. They found all the children and old people, all their sons and daughters, and all their valuables. They got back everything the Amalekites had taken. David brought everything back. 20He took all the sheep and cattle. His men led these animals to the front of the group and said, “This is David’s prize.”
All Men Will Share Equally
21David came to the 200 men who had stayed at Besor Ravine. These were the men who were too weak and tired to follow David. They came out to meet him and the soldiers who went with him. They greeted David and his army as they approached. 22There were some troublemakers in the group who went with David who started complaining, “These 200 men didn’t go with us, so why should we give them any of the things we took. These men get nothing but their own wives and children.”
23David answered, “No, my brothers. Don’t do that! Think about what the Lord gave us. He let us defeat the enemy that attacked us. 24No one will listen to what you say. The share will be the same for the man who stayed with the supplies and for the man who went into battle. Everyone will share alike.” 25David made this an order and rule for Israel. This rule continues even today.
26When David got to Ziklag, he sent some of the things he took from the Amalekites to his friends, the leaders of Judah. David said, “Here is a present for you that we took from the Lord’s enemies.”
27David sent some of the gifts to the leaders in Bethel, Ramoth in the Negev, Jattir, 28Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, 29Racal, the cities of the Jerahmeelites and the cities of the Kenites, 30Hormah, Bor Ashan, Athach, 31and Hebron, and to all the other places where David and his men had stayed.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 1987, 2004 Bible League International