Read the Bible

¹ And it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had raided to the Negeb, even to Ziklag, and had struck Ziklag and burned it with fire.² And they captured the women in it, from the small even to the great; they did not kill anyone, but they led them away, and went on their way.³ And David and his men came into the city. And, behold! It was burned with fire! And their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken captive.⁴ And David and the people with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no power in them to weep.⁵ And the two wives of David had been taken, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail the former wife of Nabal of Carmel.⁶ And David was greatly distressed, for the people said to stone him. For the soul of the people was bitter, each for his sons and for his daughters. And David made himself strong in Jehovah his God.

⁷ And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, Please bring the ephod near to me. And Abiathar brought the ephod to David.⁸ And David asked of Jehovah, saying, Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake it? And He said to him, Pursue, for you shall certainly overtake, and shall certainly recover.⁹ So David went on, he and six hundred men who were with him. And they came to the torrent Besor. And those that were left stood.¹⁰ And David pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred men stood, who were too exhausted to pass over the torrent Besor.¹¹ And they found a man, an Egyptian, in the field, and took him to David, and gave him food, and he ate. And they made him drink water.¹² And they gave to him a piece of fig-cake, and two bunches of raisins. And he ate, and his spirit returned to him, for he had not eaten food nor drunk water three days and three nights.¹³ And David said to him, Whose are you? And from where do you come? And he said, I am an Egyptian youth, slave to an Amalekite man. And my lord abandoned me, for I had been sick three days.¹⁴ We raided the south of the Cherethites, and went against that belonging to Judah, and against the south of Caleb. And we burned Ziklag with fire.¹⁵ And David said to him, Are you able to bring me down to this troop? And he said, Swear to me by God that you will neither put me to death, nor deliver me up into my master's hand, and I will bring you down to this troop.¹⁶ And he brought him down. And, behold, they were spread out over the face of all the earth, eating and drinking and feasting, with all the great plunder which they had taken out of the landof the Philistines, and out of the land ofJudah.¹⁷ And David struck them from the twilight even to the evening of the next day. And not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled.¹⁸ And David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken; and David recovered his two wives.¹⁹ And nothing was missing to them, from the small even to the great, and to sons and daughters, and from the plunder, even to all that they had taken for themselves; David brought back the whole of it.²⁰ And David took all the flock, and the herd. They drove on before those other cattle. And they said, This is David's prize.

²¹ And David came to the two hundred men who were too exhausted to go after David, and whom they caused to remain at the torrent Besor. And they went out to meet David, and to meet the people with him. And David came up to the people, and askedthem of their peace.²² And every evil and worthless man of the men who had gone with David answered, and they said, Because they did not go with me, we will not give to them from the plunder which we have delivered, except to each man his wife and his sons. And letthem take them and go.²³ And David said, You shall not do so, my brothers, with that which Jehovah has given to us. And He has protected us, and has given the troop which came against us into our hand.²⁴ And who will listen to you in this thing? For as the portion of him who goes down to battle, so shall be his share who remains by the baggage. They shall share together.²⁵ And it was so , from that day and forward he commanded it for a statute and for an ordinance for Israel to this day.²⁶ And David came to Ziklag. And he sent of the plunder to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, Behold, a blessing for you of the plunder of the enemies of Jehovah;²⁷ to those in Bethel, and to those in Ramoth of the Negeb, and to those in Jattir,²⁸ and to those in Aroer, and to those in Siphmoth, and to those in Eshtemoa,²⁹ and to those in Rachal, and to those in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to those in the cities of the Kenites,³⁰ and to those in Hormah, and to those in Chorashan, and to those in Athach,³¹ and to those in Hebron, and to all the places where David had gone up and down, he and his men.