1   On the third day David and his men reached Ziklag. Now the Amalekites had made a raid into the Negeb, attacked Ziklag and set fire to it; 2   they had carried off all the women, high and low, without putting one of them to death. These they drove with them and continued their march. 3   When David and his men approached the town, they found it destroyed by fire, and their wives, their sons, and their

Saul and his sons killed daughters carried off. 4   David and the people with him wept aloud until they could weep no more. 5   David's two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail widow of Nabal of Carmel, were among the captives. 6   David was in a desperate position because the people, embittered by the loss of their sons and daughters, threatened to stone him. So David sought strength in the Lord his God. 7   He told Abiathar the priest, son of Ahimelech, to bring the ephod. When Abiathar had brought the ephod, David inquired of the Lord, ‘Shall I pursue these raiders? 8   and shall I overtake them?’ The answer came, ‘Pursue them: you will overtake them and rescue everyone.’ 9   So David and his six hundred men set out and reached the ravine of Besor. ^note 10   Two hundred of them who were too weary to cross the ravine stayed behind, and David with four hundred pressed on in pursuit.

11   In the open country they came across an Egyptian and took him to David. 12   They gave him food to eat and water to drink, also a lump of dried figs and two bunches of raisins. When he had eaten these he revived; for he had had nothing to eat or drink for three days and nights. 13   David asked him, ‘Whose slave are you? and where have you come from?’ ‘I am an Egyptian boy,’ he answered, ‘the slave of an Amalekite, but my master left me behind because I fell ill three days ago. 14   We had raided the Negeb of the Kerethites, part of Judah, and the Negeb of Caleb; we also set fire to Ziklag.’ 15   David asked, ‘Can you guide me to this band?’ ‘Swear to me by God’, he answered, ‘that you will not put me to death or hand me back to my master, and I will guide you to them.’ 16   So he led him down, and there they were scattered everywhere, eating and drinking and celebrating the capture of the great mass of spoil taken from Philistine and Judaean territory.

17   David attacked from dawn till dusk and continued till next day; only four hundred young men mounted on camels made good their escape. 18   David rescued all those whom the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. 19   No one was missing, high or low, sons or daughters, and none of the spoil, nor anything they had taken for themselves: David recovered everything. 20   They took all the flocks and herds, drove the cattle before him ^note and said, ‘This is David's spoil.’ 21   When David returned to the two hundred men who had been too weak to follow him and whom he had left behind at the ravine of Besor, they came forward to meet him and his men. David greeted them all, inquiring how things were with them. 22   But some of those who had gone with David, worthless men and scoundrels, broke in and said, ‘These men did not go with us; ^note we will not allot them any of the spoil that we have retrieved, except that each of them may take his own wife and children

Saul and his sons killed and then go.’ 23   ‘That you shall never do,’ said David, ‘considering ^note what the Lord has given us, and how he has kept us safe and given the raiding party into our hands. 24   Who could agree with what you propose? Those who stayed with the stores shall have the same share as those who went into battle. 25   They shall share and share alike.’ From that time onwards, this has been the established custom in Israel down to this day.

26   When David reached Ziklag, he sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah and ^note to his friends, with this message: ‘This is a present for you out of the spoil taken from the Lord's enemies.’ 27   He sent to those in Bethuel, 28   in Ramoth-negeb, in Jattir, in Ararah, ^note in Siphmoth, in Eshtemoa, 29   in Rachal, in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, in the cities of the Kenites, 30    31   in Hormah, in Borashan, in Athak, in Hebron, and in all the places over which he and his men had ranged.

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