1 Samuel 30

30 ¹ On the third day, when David and his men reached Ziklag, the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, ² and had taken captive the women and all who were there, from the youngest to the oldest. They killed no one, but carried them off and went on their way. ³ So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire, and their wives, sons, and daughters taken captive. ⁴ Then David and the people with him lifted up their voices and wept until they had no strength left to weep. ⁵ David's two wives had also been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. ⁶ David was in great distress, for the people were talking of stoning him; everyone was bitter in spirit over their sons and daughters. But David found his strength in our Father.

The Father Sends David in Pursuit

⁷ Then David said to Abiathar the priest, son of Ahimelech, "Please bring me the ephod." So Abiathar brought the ephod to David.

⁸ And David inquired of our Father, "Shall I pursue this raiding band? Will I overtake them?" "Pursue them," he answered, "for you will surely overtake them and rescue everyone."

⁹ So David and the six hundred men with him set out and came to the Besor Valley, where some stayed behind. ¹⁰ David pressed on in pursuit with four hundred men, while two hundred who were too exhausted to cross the Besor Valley stayed behind. ¹¹ They found an Egyptian in the open country and brought him to David. They gave him bread to eat and water to drink, ¹² and they gave him a piece of fig cake and two clusters of raisins. When he had eaten, his strength returned to him, for he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights. ¹³ David asked him, "To whom do you belong, and where are you from?" He said, "I am a young Egyptian, the servant of an Amalekite. My master abandoned me three days ago when I fell sick.

¹⁴ We had raided the Negev of the Cherethites, the territory of Judah, and the Negev of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire."

¹⁵ David asked him, "Will you lead me down to this raiding band?" He answered, "Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will lead you down to them."

¹⁶ He led him down, and there they were, scattered over all the land, eating, drinking, and celebrating because of the great plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and the land of Judah. ¹⁷ David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day, and not one of them escaped except four hundred young men who rode off on camels. ¹⁸ David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, and he rescued his two wives. ¹⁹ Nothing was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought it all back. ²⁰ He took all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock, saying, "This is David's plunder."

All Share in the Father's Gift

²¹ Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him, whom he had left at the Besor Valley. They came out to meet David and the people with him, and as David approached, he greeted them. ²² 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 any of the plunder we recovered, except that each man may take his wife and children and go."

²³ But David said, "You must not do this, my brothers, with what our Father has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiding band that came against us. ²⁴ Who would listen to you in this matter? The share of the one who goes down to battle will be the same as the share of the one who stays with the supplies; they will share alike." ²⁵ And so it has been from that day on; David made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.

²⁶ When David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah, his friends, with the message, "Here is a gift for you from the plunder of the enemies of our Father." ²⁷ He sent it to those in Bethel, in Ramoth of the Negev, and in Jattir; ²⁸ to those in Aroer, Siphmoth, and Eshtemoa; ²⁹ to those in Rachal, in the towns of the Jerahmeelites and the Kenites; ³⁰ to those in Hormah, Bor-ashan, and Athach; ³¹ and to those in Hebron and all the places where David and his men had roamed.