King James Version

1 And it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, and they struck Ziklag and burned it with fire. 2 And they captured the women who were in it, from small to great; they did not kill a man, and they led them away and went on their way. 3 And David came with his men to the city, and behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters were taken captive. 4 And David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no strength left to weep. 5 And David’s two wives were taken captive: Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. 6 And it was very distressing to David because the people said to stone him, for the soul of all the people was bitter, each man for his sons and for his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. 7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, "Please bring me the ephod." And Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 And David asked the LORD, saying, "Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?" And He said to him, "Pursue, for you will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue." 9 And David went, he and six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, and the remaining stood. 10 And David chased, he and four hundred men, and two hundred men stood still who were too exhausted to cross the Brook Besor. 11 And they found a man from Egypt in the field, and they took him to David, and they gave him bread, and he ate, and they gave him water to drink. 12 And they gave him a piece of cake and two dried figs, and he ate, and his spirit returned to him because he had not eaten bread and had not drunk water for three days and three nights. 13 And David said to him, "Who are you, and where are you from?" And he said, "I am a young man from Egypt, a servant to an Amalekite; my master left me because I fell sick three days ago." 14 We have stretched out (our hands) against the south of the Kerethites and against that of Judah and against the south of Caleb, and we have burned Ziklag with fire. 15 And David said to me, "Will you bring me down to this band?" And he swore to me by God, "If you kill me or deliver me into the hand of my lord, I will bring you down to this band." 16 And she descended, and behold, there were devastation upon the face of all the earth, eating and drinking and celebrating with all the great spoil that they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. 17 And David struck them from the twilight until the evening of the next day, and no man escaped from them except for four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled. 18 And David rescued all that the Amalekites had taken, and he rescued his two wives. 19 And David returned everything to them, from the small to the great, and to the sons and daughters, and from the spoil, and everything that they had taken. 20 And David took all the sheep and the cattle, which were driven before the livestock, and they said, "This is the plunder of David." 21 And David came to two hundred men who had stayed behind from going after David, and they were set down by the brook Besor. And they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him. And David approached the people and asked them about their well-being. 22 And every worthless man and the men who went with David answered, and they said, "Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoils that we rescued, except that each man may take his wife and his children, and let them lead them away and go." 23 And David said, "Do not do so, my brothers, concerning what the LORD has given us, and He has kept us and has given into our hand the troop that came against us." 24 And who will listen to you concerning this matter? For as the portion that goes down to battle, so shall be the portion that sits by the equipment; they shall share alike. 25 And it was on that day, and he set it as a statute and ordinance for Israel until this day. 26 And David came to Ziklag and sent from the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, "Here is a blessing for you from the spoil of the enemies of the Lord." 27 To which are in Bethel and to which are in Ramoth Negev and to which are in Jattir. 28 And for that which is in the valley and for that which is in the cliffs and for that which is in the high places. 29 And to that which is in / the cities of / the Yerahmeeli and / to that which is in / the cities of / the Kenite. 30 And for that which is in the pit of smoke and for that which is in your furnace. 31 And at Hebron and to all the places where David walked there, he and his men.