1 Samuel 30
English Standard Version
David's Wives Are Captured
30 Now when David and his men came to (A)Ziklag on the third day, (B)the Amalekites had (C)made a raid against the Negeb and against Ziklag. They had overcome Ziklag and burned it with fire 2 and taken captive the women and all[a] who were in it, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off and went their way. 3 And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep. 5 David's (D)two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6 And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke (E)of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul,[b] each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
7 (F)And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 (G)And David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue after this (H)band? Shall I overtake them?” He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake (I)and shall surely rescue.” 9 So David set out, and (J)the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, where those who were left behind stayed. 10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men. (K)Two hundred stayed behind, who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor.
11 They found an Egyptian in the open country and brought him to David. And they gave him bread and he ate. They gave him water to drink, 12 and they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. And when he had eaten, (L)his spirit revived, for he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights. 13 And David said to him, “To whom do you belong? And where are you from?” He said, “I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite, and my master left me behind because I fell sick three days ago. 14 (M)We had made a raid against the Negeb of (N)the Cherethites and against that which belongs to Judah and against the Negeb of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.” 15 And David said to him, “Will you take me down to this band?” And he said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will take you down to this (O)band.”
David Defeats the Amalekites
16 And when he had taken him down, behold, they were spread abroad over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. 17 And David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day, and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men, who mounted camels and fled. 18 (P)David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and David rescued his two wives. 19 Nothing was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken. (Q)David brought back all. 20 David also captured all the flocks and herds, and the people drove the livestock before him,[c] and said, “This is David's spoil.”
21 Then David came to (R)the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow David, and who had been left (S)at the brook Besor. And they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him. And when David came near to the people he greeted them. 22 Then all the wicked and worthless fellows among the men who had gone with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except that each man may lead away his wife and children, and depart.” 23 But David said, “You shall not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord has given us. He has preserved us and given into our hand the band that came against us. 24 Who would listen to you in this matter? (T)For as his share is who goes down into the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage. They shall share alike.” 25 And he made it a statute and a rule for Israel from that day forward to this day.
26 When David came to Ziklag, he sent part of the spoil to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, “Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of the Lord.” 27 It was for those in (U)Bethel, in Ramoth of the Negeb, in (V)Jattir, 28 in (W)Aroer, in Siphmoth, in (X)Eshtemoa, 29 in Racal, in the cities of (Y)the Jerahmeelites, in the cities of (Z)the Kenites, 30 in (AA)Hormah, in Bor-ashan, in Athach, 31 in (AB)Hebron, for all the places where David and his men had roamed.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 30:2 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks and all
- 1 Samuel 30:6 Compare 22:2
- 1 Samuel 30:20 The meaning of the Hebrew clause is uncertain
1 Samuel 30
International Standard Version
Trouble on David’s Return to Ziklag
30 When David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had raided the Negev[a] and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and set it on fire. 2 They took the women in it captive, from young to old.[b] They did not kill anyone. Instead, they carried them off and went on their way. 3 David and his men came to the town, and it had been burned down. Their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him lifted their voices and cried until they had no more strength left to cry. 5 David’s two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, Nabal’s former[c] wife, had been captured. 6 David was in great danger[d] because all the people were bitter because of their sons and daughters, and they were talking about stoning him. But David found strength[e] in the Lord his God.
David Pursues the Amalekites
7 David told Ahimelech’s son Abiathar the priest, “Bring me the ephod.”[f] So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 David inquired of the Lord: “Shall I pursue this raiding party?[g] Will I overtake them?”
The Lord[h] told David,[i] “Pursue them! You will definitely overtake them and rescue the captives.”[j] 9 So David and 600 men who were with him set out. They came to the Wadi[k] Besor where those who were left behind stayed. 10 David and 400 men continued the pursuit,[l] while the 200 men who were too exhausted to cross over the Wadi[m] Besor remained there.[n]
An Egyptian Leads David to the Amalekites
11 They found an Egyptian man in the field, and they took him to David. They gave him food to eat and provided water for him. 12 They gave him part of a fig cake and two bunches of raisins. After he had eaten, he revived,[o] since he had neither eaten food nor had he drunk water for three days and three nights. 13 David told him, “To whom do you belong and where are you from?”
The Egyptian[p] replied, “I’m a young Egyptian man, the slave of an Amalekite man. My master abandoned me, because I got sick three days ago. 14 We raided the Negev[q] of the Cherethites, the territory that belongs to Judah,[r] and the Negev[s] of Caleb, and we set Ziklag on fire.”
15 David asked him, “Will you take me to this raiding party?”[t]
He said, “Swear to me by God that you won’t kill me or turn me over to my master, and I’ll take you to the raiding party.”[u]
David Defeats the Amalekites
16 The Egyptian[v] led him to the camp,[w] and there the Amalekites[x] were spread out over the whole area, eating, drinking, and celebrating with the great amount of spoil they had taken from the territory belonging to the Philistines and to Judah. 17 David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day, and not one of them escaped except for 400 young men who mounted camels and fled. 18 David rescued everyone whom the Amalekites[y] had captured, including[z] his two wives. 19 Nothing of theirs was missing, whether small or large, sons or daughters, spoil, or anything that they had taken for themselves—David brought back everything. 20 David took all the rest of[aa] the sheep and cattle, driving them ahead of their rescued livestock.[ab] People said about all this,[ac] “This is David’s spoil.”
David Divides the Spoil
21 David came to the 200 men who were too exhausted to follow him[ad] and who had been left at the Wadi[ae] Besor. They came out to meet David and the people who were with him. As David approached the people, he asked them how they were doing.[af] 22 At this point, all the wicked and worthless men of the group who had gone with David answered, “Because they didn’t go with us, we won’t give them any of the spoil that we recovered, except that each person may take his wife and his children and go.”
23 David said, “No, you won’t do this, my brothers, with what the Lord has given us. He guarded us and gave the raiding party[ag] that came against us into our hand. 24 Who will listen to you in this matter? Indeed, the share of those who went down into battle and the share of those who stayed with the supplies will be the same. They’ll share alike.” 25 From that day forward he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel, and it remains[ah] to this present[ai] day.
David Shares the Spoil with the People of Judah
26 David came to Ziklag, and he sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah, and to his friends, telling them, “Look, this is a gift for you from the spoil of the enemies of the Lord 27 in Bethel, Ramoth-negev, Jattir, 28 Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, 29 Rachal, in the Jerahmeelite towns, in the Kenite towns, 30 in Hormah, Bor-ashan, Athach, 31 Hebron, and for all those places where David and his men had frequented.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 30:1 I.e. the southern region of Israel; cf. Josh 10:40
- 1 Samuel 30:2 Lit. from small to great
- 1 Samuel 30:5 The Heb. lacks former
- 1 Samuel 30:6 Or greatly distressed
- 1 Samuel 30:6 Or strengthened himself
- 1 Samuel 30:7 The ephod was a type of vest worn by the priest and was used to determine God’s will.
- 1 Samuel 30:8 Or band
- 1 Samuel 30:8 Lit. He
- 1 Samuel 30:8 Lit. him
- 1 Samuel 30:8 Lit. and you will definitely rescue
- 1 Samuel 30:9 I.e. a seasonal stream or river that channels water during rain seasons but is dry at other times
- 1 Samuel 30:10 Lit. pursued
- 1 Samuel 30:10 I.e. a seasonal stream or river that channels water during rain seasons but is dry at other times
- 1 Samuel 30:10 The Heb. lacks there
- 1 Samuel 30:12 Lit. his spirit revived
- 1 Samuel 30:13 Lit. He
- 1 Samuel 30:14 Or the southern region
- 1 Samuel 30:14 Lit. what belongs to Judah
- 1 Samuel 30:14 Or the southern region
- 1 Samuel 30:15 Or band
- 1 Samuel 30:15 Or band
- 1 Samuel 30:16 Lit. He
- 1 Samuel 30:16 Lit. him down
- 1 Samuel 30:16 Lit. they
- 1 Samuel 30:18 Lit. whom Amalek; i.e., those who lived in the town of Amalek
- 1 Samuel 30:18 Lit. captured, and David rescued
- 1 Samuel 30:20 The Heb. lacks the rest of
- 1 Samuel 30:20 Lit. ahead of those livestock
- 1 Samuel 30:20 Lit. about them
- 1 Samuel 30:21 Lit. David
- 1 Samuel 30:21 I.e. a seasonal stream or river that channels water during rain seasons but is dry at other times
- 1 Samuel 30:21 Or he greeted them
- 1 Samuel 30:23 Or band
- 1 Samuel 30:25 The Heb. lacks and it remains
- 1 Samuel 30:25 The Heb. lacks present
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