1 Samuel 30
1 It came about, when David and his men had come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid upon the Negev and on Ziklag. They attacked Ziklag, burned it,
Three days later, when David and his men arrived at Ziklag, [they discovered that] men of the Amalek people-group had raided Ziklag and [towns in] the southern part of Judah. They had destroyed Ziklag and burned down all the buildings.
2 and captured the women and everyone who was in it, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off as they went on their way.
They had captured the women [and the children] and everyone else, and had taken them away. But they had not killed anyone.
3 When David and his men came to the city, it was burned, and their wives, their sons, and their daughters were taken captive.
When David and his men came to Ziklag, they saw that the town had been burned, and that their wives and sons and daughters had been captured and taken away.
4 Then David and the people that were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more power to weep.
David and his men cried loudly, until [they were so weak that] they could not cry [any more].
5 David's two wives were taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelite woman, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
David’s two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail, had also been taken away.
6 David was greatly distressed, for the people were talking about stoning him, for all the people were bitter in spirit, each man for his sons and daughters; but David strengthened himself in Yahweh, his God.
David’s men were threatening to [kill him by] throwing stones at him, because they were very angry because their sons and daughters [had been taken away]. David was very distressed, but Yahweh his God gave him strength.
7 David said to Abiathar son of Ahimelech, the priest, “I beg you, bring the ephod here for me.” Abiathar brought the ephod to David.
David [did not know what to do, so he] said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring to me the sacred vest.” So Abiathar brought it,
8 David prayed to Yahweh for direction, saying, “If I pursue after this troop, will I overtake them?” Yahweh answered him, “Pursue, for you will certainly overtake them, and you will surely recover everything.”
and David asked Yahweh, “Should I [and my men] pursue the men [who took our families]? Will we [be able to] catch up to them?” Yahweh answered [by means of the stones in Abiathar’s sacred pouch], “Yes, pursue them. You will catch up to them, and you will be able to rescue [your families].”
9 So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him; they came to the brook Besor, where those who were left behind stayed.
So David and the 600 men who were with him left, and they came to the Besor Ravine. Some of his men stayed there [with some of their supplies].
10 But David kept pursuing, he and four hundred men; for two hundred had stayed behind, who were so weak that they could not go over the brook Besor.
David and 400 men continued to pursue [the men who captured their families]. The other 200 men stayed there at the ravine, because they were so exhausted that they could not cross the ravine.
11 They found an Egyptian in a field and brought him to David; they gave him bread, and he ate; they gave him water to drink;
[As David and the 400 men were going], they saw a man from Egypt in a field; so they took him to David. They gave the man some water to drink and some food to eat.
12 and they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. When he had eaten, he gained strength again, for he had eaten no bread nor drunk any water for three days and three nights.
They also gave him a piece of fig cake and two clusters/packs of raisins. The man had not had anything to eat or drink for three days and nights, but [after he ate and drank] he felt refreshed.
13 David said to him, “To whom do you belong? Where do you come from?” He said, “I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; my master left me because three days ago I fell sick.
David asked him, “Who is your master? And where do you come from?” He replied, “I am from Egypt. I am a slave of a man from the Amalek people-group. Three days ago my master left me here, because I was sick [and I was not able to go with them].
14 We made a raid on the Negev of the Kerethites, and what belongs to Judah, and the Negev of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag.”
We had raided the southern part of Judah where the Kereth people-group live, and some other towns in Judah, and the area south [of Hebron city] where the descendants of Caleb live. We also burned Ziklag [town].”
15 David said to him, “Will you bring me down to this raiding party?” The Egyptian said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or betray me up into the hands of my master, and I will bring you down to this raiding party.”
David asked him, “Can you lead us to this group of raiders?” He replied, “Yes, [I will do that] if you ask God to listen while you promise that you will not kill me or give me back to my master. If you promise that, I will take you to them.”
16 When the Egyptian had brought David down, the raiders were spread out over all the ground, eating and drinking and dancing because of all the booty they had taken out of the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.
[David agreed to do that, ] so the man from Egypt led David [and his men] to where the men from the Amalek people-group were. Those men were lying on the ground, eating and drinking and celebrating because of having captured many things from the Philistia and Judah areas.
17 David attacked them from the twilight to the evening of the next day. Not a man escaped except for four hundred young men, who rode on camels and fled.
David [and his men] fought against them from sunset that day until the evening of the following day. Four hundred of them escaped and rode away on camels, but none of the others escaped.
18 David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken; and David rescued his two wives.
David rescued his two wives, and he and his men got back everything else that the men of the Amalek people-group had taken.
19 Nothing was missing, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither booty, nor anything that the raiders had taken for themselves. David brought back everything.
Nothing was missing. They took all their people back [to Ziklag]—young people and old people, [their wives], their sons and their daughters. They also recovered all the other things that the men of the Amalek people-group had taken from Ziklag.
20 David took all the flocks and the herds, which the men drove ahead of the other cattle. They said, “This is David's booty.”
They took with them the sheep and cattle that had been captured, and his men caused those animals to go in front of them, saying, “These are animals that we captured in the battle; they belong to David!”
21 David came to the two hundred men who had been too weak to follow him, the ones the others had made to stay at the brook Besor. These men went ahead to meet David and the people who were with him. When David came to these people, he greeted them.
David and his men got back to where the other 200 men were waiting, the men who did not go with David because they were very exhausted. They had stayed at Besor Ravine. [When they saw David and his men coming], they went out to greet them. And David [greeted them and] said to them, “I hope that things are going well with you!”
22 Then all the wicked men and worthless fellows among those who had gone with David said, “Because these men did not go with us, we will not give them any of the booty that we have recovered. Except that each man may take his wife and children, lead them away, and go.”
But some of the men who had gone with David, men who were evil and troublemakers, said, “These 200 men did not go with us. So we should not give to them any of the things that we recovered/captured. Each of them should take only his wife and children and go [back to their homes].”
23 Then David said, “You must not act like this, my brothers, with what Yahweh has given to us. He has preserved us and given into our hand the raiders who came against us.
David replied, “No, my fellow Israelis, it would not be right to divide up like that the things that Yahweh has allowed us to capture. Yahweh has protected us and enabled us to defeat the enemies who attacked our town.
24 Who will listen to you in this matter? For as the share is for anyone who goes into battle, so also will the share be for anyone who waits by the baggage; they will share and share alike.”
(Who will pay attention to you if you say things like that?/No one will pay attention to you if you say things like that.) [RHQ] The men who stayed here with our supplies will get the same amount that the men who went into the battle will get. They will all receive the same amount.”
25 It has been so from that day to this day, for David made it a statute and a decree for Israel.
David made that to be a law [DOU] for the Israeli people, and that is still a law in Israel.
26 When David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the booty to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, “See, here is a present for you from the booty from Yahweh's enemies.”
When David [and all the others] arrived in Ziklag, David sent to his friends who were leaders in Judah some of the things that they had captured from the Amalek people-group. He said to them, “Here is a present for you. These are things that we took from Yahweh’s enemies.”
27 He also sent some to the elders who were in Bethel, and to those who were in Ramoth of the South, and to those who were in Jattir,
[Here is a list of the cities and towns to whose leaders David sent gifts: ] Bethel, Ramoth in the southern part of Judah, Jattir,
28 and to those who were in Aroer, and to those who were in Siphmoth, and to those who were in Eshtemoa.
Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa,
29 He also sent some to the elders who were in Rakal, and to those who were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to those who were in the cities of the Kenites,
Racal, the cities where the descendants of Jehrameel lived and the cities where the Ken people-group lived,
30 and to those who were in Hormah, and to those who were in Bor Ashan, and to those who were in Athak,
Hormah, Bor-Ashan, Athach,
31 and to those who were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men habitually went.
Hebron, and all the other places where David and his men had gone [when they were hiding from Saul].
