David’s Conflict with the Amalekites

30 Now it happened, when David and his men came to ^(A)Ziklag, on the third day, that the ^(B)Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, ² and had taken captive the ^(C)women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way. ³ So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. ⁴ Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. ⁵ And David’s two ^(D)wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. ⁶ Now David was greatly distressed, for ^(E)the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was ^[a]grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. ^(F)But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

^7 (G)Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, “Please bring the ephod here to me.” And ^(H)Abiathar brought the ephod to David. ^8 (I)So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?”

And He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.”

⁹ So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the Brook Besor, where those stayed who were left behind. ¹⁰ But David pursued, he and four hundred men; ^(J)for two hundred stayed behind, who were so weary that they could not cross the Brook Besor.

¹⁷ Then David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled. ¹⁸ So David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away, and David rescued his two wives. ¹⁹ And nothing of theirs was lacking, either small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything which they had taken from them; ^(A)David recovered all. ²⁰ Then David took all the flocks and herds they had driven before those other livestock, and said, “This is David’s spoil.”

²¹ Now David came to the ^(B)two hundred men who had been so weary that they could not follow David, whom they also had made to stay at the Brook Besor. So they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him. And when David came near the people, he ^[a]greeted them. ²² Then all the wicked and ^(C)worthless^[b] men of those who went with David answered and said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except for every man’s wife and children, that they may lead them away and depart.”

²³ But David said, “My brethren, you shall not do so with what the Lord has given us, who has preserved us and delivered into our hand the troop that came against us. ²⁴ For who will heed you in this matter? But ^(D)as his part is who goes down to the battle, so shall his part be who stays by the supplies; they shall share alike.” ²⁵ So it was, from that day forward; he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.