The Amalekites Raid Ziklag 1 UST David and his men got back to Ziklag after marching for two whole days and part of another day. When they arrived, they discovered that the Amalekites, who had been raiding towns in the southern Judean wilderness, had also raided Ziklag. When the Amalekites had attacked Ziklag, they had burned down all the buildings. BSB BSB: On the third day David and his men arrived in Ziklag, and the Amalekites had raided the Negev, attacked Ziklag, and burned it down.
2 UST But they had not killed anyone. Instead, they had captured all the wives and children of David’ s men. They had taken them with them when they left. BSB BSB: They had taken captive the women and all who were there, both young and old. They had not killed anyone, but had carried them off as they went on their way.
3 UST When David and his men arrived at Ziklag, they saw that the Amalekites had burned down the city and that they had captured and taken away their wives and children. BSB BSB: When David and his men came to the city, they found it burned down and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive.
4 UST David and his men cried very loudly until they became so weak that they could not cry any more. BSB BSB: So David and the troops with him lifted up their voices and wept until they had no strength left to weep.
5 UST David’ s two wives were among the women whom the Amalekites had captured. They were Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, Nabal’ s widow, from Carmel. BSB BSB: David’s two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel, had been taken captive.
6 UST David’ s men were very angry that the Amalekites had taken away their{ wives and} children. They were talking about killing David by throwing stones at him. So David was in great danger. But he asked Yahweh his God to help him, and Yahweh made him strong. BSB BSB: And David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of every man grieved for his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.
David Destroys the Amalekites 7 UST Then David{ asked Yahweh to guide him. He} told Abiathar the priest,“Please bring the sacred apron over here.” So Abiathar brought it over to David. BSB BSB: Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought it to him,
8 UST Then David asked Yahweh,“Should I and my men pursue the men who took our families? Will we be able to catch up with them?” Yahweh answered David{ by means of the stones in the sacred apron}:“Yes, pursue them. Yes, you will catch up with them. Yes, you will be able to rescue your families.” BSB BSB: and David inquired of the LORD: “Should I pursue these raiders? Will I overtake them?” “Pursue them,” the LORD replied, “for you will surely overtake them and rescue the captives.”
9 UST So David and the 600 men who were with him set out from Ziklag{ in pursuit of the Amalekites}. When they came to the Besor Ravine, some of men stayed there{ with their supplies}. BSB BSB: So David and his six hundred men went to the Brook of Besor, where some stayed behind
10 UST There were 200 of those men. They stayed there at the ravine because they were too tired to cross it. But David and the other 400 men continued to pursue{ the Amalekites who had captured their families}. BSB BSB: because two hundred men were too exhausted to cross the brook. But David and four hundred men continued in pursuit.
11 UST Some of David’ s men happened to find an Egyptian man who was lying in a field. They picked him up and carried him to David. They gave the man some water to drink and some food to eat. BSB BSB: Now his men found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David. They gave the man water to drink and food to eat—
12 UST They also gave him part of a fig cake and two packs of raisins. The man had not had anything to eat or drink since two days before, but after he ate and drank, he felt refreshed. BSB BSB: a piece of a fig cake and two clusters of raisins. So he ate and was revived, for he had not had any food or water for three days and three nights.
13 UST David asked him,“Who is your master? And where do you come from?” He replied,“I am a youth from Egypt. I am a slave of an Amalekite man. But I became sick{, and it was difficult for me to keep traveling with the raiding band}. So the day before yesterday, my master left me here. BSB BSB: Then David asked him, “To whom do you belong, and where are you from?” “I am an Egyptian,” he replied, “the slave of an Amalekite. My master abandoned me three days ago when I fell ill.
14 UST We had raided the southern Judean wilderness where the Kerethites live. We also raided some other towns in Judah and the southern Judean wilderness where the descendants of Caleb live. We also{ attacked the city of} Ziklag and burned it down.” BSB BSB: We raided the Negev of the Cherethites, the territory of Judah, and the Negev of Caleb, and we burned down Ziklag.”
15 UST David asked him,“Can you lead us to this group of raiders?” He replied,“Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or give me back to my master. If you promise that, I will take you to them.” BSB BSB: “Will you lead me to these raiders?” David asked. And the man replied, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hand of my master, and I will lead you to them.”
16 UST { David agreed, so} the Egyptian man led David and his men to where the Amalekites were. Those men had captured many things from the regions of Philistia and Judah, and they had spread out around their camp eating and drinking and celebrating. BSB BSB: So he led David down, and there were the Amalekites spread out over all the land, eating, drinking, and celebrating the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and the land of Judah.
17 UST David and his men slaughtered them from sunset that day until the evening of the next day. There were 400 young men who rode away on camels in order to escape, but none of the other Amalekites escaped. BSB BSB: And David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man escaped, except four hundred young men who fled, riding off on camels.
18 UST David and his men were able to recover everything that the Amalekites had taken, including David’ s two wives. BSB BSB: So David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives.
19 UST They did not lose anything. They were able to rescue all of their family members. They also recovered all the things that the Amalekites had taken. David and his men brought all of this back to Ziklag. BSB BSB: Nothing was missing, young or old, son or daughter, or any of the plunder the Amalekites had taken. David brought everything back.
20 UST They also took all of the sheep and cattle that the Amalekites had captured from other places. David’ s men drove those animals ahead of their own animals. They announced,“These are animals that we captured in battle. They belong to David!” BSB BSB: And he took all the flocks and herds, which his men drove ahead of the other livestock, calling out, “This is David’s plunder!”
The Spoils Are Divided 21 UST David and his men got back to where the other 200 men were waiting. Those were the men who had not gone with David because they were so exhausted. They had stayed at the Besor Ravine.{ When they saw} David and his men{ coming}, they went out to greet them. And David greeted them in return. BSB BSB: When David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him and who were left behind at the Brook of Besor, they came out to meet him and the troops with him. As David approached the men, he greeted them,
22 UST But some of the men who had gone with David were bad men and troublemakers. They said,“These 200 men did not go with us. So we will not give them any of the things that we recovered. We will just allow each of them to take his wife and children and go back to his home.” BSB BSB: but all the wicked and worthless men among those who had gone with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered, except for each man’s wife and children. They may take them and go.”
23 UST David replied,“No, my friends, that would not be right. Yahweh protected us and enabled us to defeat the enemies who attacked our city. So what we captured from them was really something that Yahweh gave to us{, and we do not have a right to keep it to ourselves}. BSB BSB: But David said, “My brothers, you must not do this with what the LORD has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiders who came against us.
24 UST None of the rest of us will agree with you about this. Here is what I have decided. The men who stayed here with our supplies will get the same amount as the men who fought in the battle. They will all receive the same amount.” BSB BSB: Who will listen to your proposal? The share of the one who went to battle will match the share of the one who stayed with the supplies. They will share alike.”
25 UST David made that a rule for the Israelite people, and they still follow that rule now. BSB BSB: And so it has been from that day forward. David established this statute and ordinance for Israel to this very day.
26 UST Then David and his men and their families returned safely to Ziklag. The leaders of some of the cities and towns in Judah{ had helped David. They} were his friends. David sent them some of the things that he and his men had captured from the Amalekites. He sent messengers with those things to say,“Here is a present for you. These are things that we took from Yahweh’ s enemies.” BSB BSB: When David arrived in Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, “Here is a gift for you from the plunder of the LORD’s enemies.”
27 UST Here is a list of the cities and towns to whose leaders David sent gifts: Bethel, the city that people call Ramoth that is in the southern part of Judah, Jattir, BSB BSB: He sent gifts to those in Bethel, Ramoth Negev, and Jattir;
28 UST Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, BSB BSB: to those in Aroer, Siphmoth, and Eshtemoa;
29 UST Racal, the cities where the Jehrameelites live, the cities where the Kenites live, BSB BSB: to those in Racal and in the cities of the Jerahmeelites and Kenites;
30 UST Hormah, Bor Ashan, Athach, BSB BSB: to those in Hormah, Bor-ashan, and Athach;
31 UST Hebron, and all the other places where David and his men had often gone. BSB BSB: and to those in Hebron and in all the places where David and his men had roamed.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.