1 Samuel 30

The Amalekites raid Ziklag

¹On the third day David and his men reached Ziklag. The Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it down. ²They had taken captive the women who were there, young and old alike. They had killed no one, but had carried them all off and gone on their way. ³When David and his men came to the town, they found it burned down, and their wives, sons and daughters taken captive. ⁴David and the troops with him wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. ⁵David’s two wives had been taken captive too: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. ⁶David was in deep distress, because the troops were talking about stoning him. Each of them was bitter over his sons and daughters. Yet David drew strength from the LORD his God.

David pursues the raiders

⁷David told Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, “Bring the ephod here to me, please.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. ⁸Then David inquired of the LORD, “Should I go after this raiding party? Will I catch up with them?” The LORD answered him, “Go after them. You will certainly catch up with them, and you will certainly rescue the captives.” ⁹So David set out with the 600 men who were with him. They came to the Wadi Besor, where those who were left behind stayed. ¹⁰David and 400 men kept up the pursuit, while 200 men stayed behind, too exhausted to cross the Wadi Besor. ¹¹They found an Egyptian out in the open country and brought him to David. They gave him food to eat and water to drink. ¹²They also gave him a piece of pressed fig cake and two clusters of raisins. When he had eaten, his strength came back, for he had had no food or water for three days and three nights.

¹³David asked him, “Who do you belong to, and where are you from?” He answered, “I am a young Egyptian, the servant of an Amalekite. My master left me behind three days ago because I fell sick. ¹⁴We raided the Negev of the Cherethites, the part that belongs to Judah, and the Negev of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag down.” ¹⁵David asked him, “Will you lead me down to this raiding party?” He replied, “Give me your oath by God that you will neither kill me nor hand me over to my master, and I will take you down to them.” ¹⁶So he led him down, and there they were, spread out over the whole area, eating and drinking and celebrating over all the great plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. ¹⁷From twilight until the evening of the following day David struck them down. Not one of them escaped except 400 young men, who got on camels and fled.^{a 18}David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, and he rescued his two wives. ¹⁹Nothing of theirs was missing, small or great, sons or daughters, plunder or anything else the raiders had taken. David brought it all back. ²⁰David also took all the flocks and herds. His men drove them ahead of the other livestock and said, “This is David’s plunder.”^{b 21}Then David came back to the 200 men who had been too exhausted to follow him and had been left at the Wadi Besor. They came out to meet David and the troops with him, and as David came near, he greeted them.

Equal shares for those who stayed behind

²²But every wicked and worthless man in the company that had gone with David said, “Since they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the plunder we recovered. Each man may take his wife and children and go.”

²³But David said, “My brothers, you must not act this way with what the LORD has given us. He has kept us safe and has handed over to us the raiding party that came against us. ²⁴Who would listen to you in this matter? The share of the man who stays with the supplies is to be the same as the share of the man who goes down into battle. They will share alike.”

²⁵From that day on it was so: David made it a statute and a ruling for Israel, and it remains so to this day.

Gifts to the elders of Judah

²⁶Back in Ziklag, David sent part of the plunder to the elders of Judah, who were his friends, with the words, “Here is a gift for you, taken from the plunder of the LORD’s enemies.” ²⁷He sent it to those in Bethel, in Ramoth of the Negev and in Jattir,^{c 28}to those in Aroer, in Siphmoth and in Eshtemoa,

²⁹to those in Racal, in the towns of the Jerahmeelites and in the towns of the Kenites,^{d 30}to those in Hormah, in Bor-ashan and in Athach, ³¹to those in Hebron, and to all the places where David and his men had moved about.