1 Samuel 30
1 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.
Three days later David and his men arrived back in Ziklag. Some Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it down.
2 They had captured the women [and the children] and everyone else, and had taken them away. But they had not killed anyone.
They had captured the women and everyone else there, young and old. They hadn't killed anyone, but they took everyone with them as they left.
3 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.
When David and his men arrived back in town, they found it burned to the ground, and their wives and children captured.
4 David and his men cried loudly, until [they were so weak that] they could not cry [any more].
David and his men cried loudly until they couldn't cry any more.
5 David’s two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail, had also been taken away.
David's two wives had also been taken as prisoners—Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, Nabal's widow, from Carmel.
6 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.
David was in a great deal of trouble, because the men were so upset over losing their children that they began to talk of stoning him. But trusting in the Lord his God,
7 David [did not know what to do, so he] said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring to me the sacred vest.” So Abiathar brought it,
David went to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, and said, “Bring me the ephod.” Abiathar brought it to him.
8 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].”
David asked the Lord, “Should I chase after these raiders? Will I catch up with them?” “Yes, chase after them,” the Lord replied, “for you will definitely catch up with them and rescue the prisoners.”
9 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].
David and six hundred of his men set off for the Besor Valley.
10 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.
Two hundred of them remained behind there because they were too tired to cross the valley while David continued on with four hundred men.
11 [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.
They came across an Egyptian in the countryside and they took him to David. They gave him some food to eat and water to drink.
12 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.
They also gave him a piece of a fig cake and two raisins cakes. He ate them and recovered, because he hadn't had any food or water for three days and nights.
13 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].
“Whose slave are you, and where do you come from?” David asked him. “I'm an Egyptian,” he replied, “the slave of an Amalekite. My master left me behind three days ago when I got sick.
14 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].”
We raided the Kerethites in the Negev, as well as the part that belongs to Judah, and the Negev of Caleb. We burned Ziklag too.”
15 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.”
“Can you lead me to these raiders?” David asked. “If you swear to me by God that you won't kill me or hand me over to my master, then I'll take you to them,” the man replied.
16 [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.
He led David to the Amalekites, where they were spread out all over the place, eating, drinking, and dancing because of the large haul of plunder they had taken from the lands of the Philistines and of Judah.
17 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.
David attacked them from dusk until the following evening. Nobody escaped, except for four hundred men who managed to get away, riding on camels.
18 David rescued his two wives, and he and his men got back everything else that the men of the Amalek people-group had taken.
David got back everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives.
19 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.
Everything was accounted for—all the adults and children, as well as all the plunder the Amalekites had taken. David brought everything back.
20 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!”
He also recovered all the flocks and herds. His men drove them ahead of the other livestock, shouting, “This is David's plunder!”
21 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!”
When David got back to the two hundred men who had been too tired to continue with him from the Besor Valley, they came to meet him and the men with him. As David approached the men to greet them,
22 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].”
all the unpleasant, good-for-nothing men of those who had gone with David said, “They weren't with us, so we won't share the plunder that we took, except to give them back their wives and children. They can take them and leave.”
23 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.
But David intervened, saying, “No, my brothers, you shouldn't do this with what the Lord has given us. He has protected us and handed over to us the raiders that had attacked us.
24 (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.”
Who's going to listen to you when you say such things? Whatever share those who went into battle receive will be the same as those who stayed to guard the supplies.”
25 David made that to be a law [DOU] for the Israeli people, and that is still a law in Israel.
David made this the rule and regulation for Israel from that day until now.
26 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.”
When David got back to Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to each of his friends among the elders of Judah, saying, “Here's a gift for you from the plunder of the Lord's enemies.”
27 [Here is a list of the cities and towns to whose leaders David sent gifts: ] Bethel, Ramoth in the southern part of Judah, Jattir,
David sent it to those who lived in Bethuel, Ramoth Negev, Jattir,
28 Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa,
Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa,
29 Racal, the cities where the descendants of Jehrameel lived and the cities where the Ken people-group lived,
Racal, and the towns of the Jerahmeelites and Kenites,
30 Hormah, Bor-Ashan, Athach,
Hormah, Bor-ashan, Athach,
31 Hebron, and all the other places where David and his men had gone [when they were hiding from Saul].
Hebron—all the places David and his men had gone to.
