1 And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;
2 And had taken the women captives that were in it, they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way.
3 So David and his men came to the city, and behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives
, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives.
4 Then David and the people that were with him, lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.
were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
6 And David was greatly distressed: for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons, and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.
7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, I pray thee bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David.
8 And David inquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue; for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without failrecover all.
9 So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind remained.
10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred abode behind, who were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor.
11 And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he ate; and they made him drink water;
12 And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drank any water, three days and three nights.
13 And David said to him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days ago I fell sick.
14 We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burnedZiklag with fire.
15 And David said to him, Canst thou conduct me down to this company? And he said, Swear to me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will lead thee down to this company.
16 And when he had conducted him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken from the land of the Philistines, and from the land of Judah.
17 And David smote them from the twilight even to the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, who rode upon camels, and fled.
19 And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: Davidrecovered all.
21 And David came to the two hundred men, who were so faint that they could not follow David, whom they had made also to abide at the brook Besor: and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him: and when David came near to the people, he saluted them.
22 Then answered all the wicked men, and men of Belial, of those that went with David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them aught of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away, and depart.
23 Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the LORD hath given us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand.
24 For who will hearken to you in this matter? but as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the goods: they shall part alike.
25 And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.
