Now it happened when David and his men came home to ^aZiklag on the third day, they found that ^bthe Amalekites had made a raid on the Negev (the South country) and on ^cZiklag, and had overthrown Ziklag and burned it with fire; 2 and they had taken captive the women and all who were there, both small and great. ^aThey killed no one, but carried them off to be used as slaves and went on their way. 3 When David and his men came to the town, it was burned, and their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him ^araised their voices and wept until ¹they were too exhausted to weep any longer. 5 ^aNow David’s two wives had been captured, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. 6 Further, David was greatly distressed because ^athe people spoke of stoning him, for all of them were embittered, each man for his sons and daughters. But ^bDavid felt strengthened and encouraged in the LORD his God.

7 ^aDavid said to ^bAbiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, “Please bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought him the ephod. 8 ^aDavid inquired of the LORD, saying, “^bShall I pursue this band of raiders? Will I overtake them?” And He answered him, “Pursue, for you will certainly overtake them, and ^cyou will certainly rescue the captives.” 9 So David went, ^ahe and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the brook Besor; there those who could not continue remained behind. 10 But David pursued the Amalekites, he and four hundred men, for ^atwo hundred who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor stayed behind.

11 They found an Egyptian who had collapsed in the field and brought him to David, and gave him bread and he ate, and they gave him water to drink, 12 and they gave him a piece of a fig cake and two clusters of raisins; and when he had eaten, ^ahis ¹energy returned, for he had not eaten bread or had any water to drink for three days and three nights. 13 David said to him, “To whom do you belong, and where are you from?” He said, “I am a young man from Egypt, a servant of an Amalekite; and my master abandoned me as useless when I fell sick three days ago. 14 We made a raid on ^athe Negev of the Cherethites, and on that which belongs to Judah, and on ^bthe Negev of Caleb, and ^cwe burned Ziklag with fire.” 15 Then David said to him, “Will you take me down to this band of raiders?” And he said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or turn me over to the hand of my master, and I will bring you down to this band.”

16 When he brought David down, the Amalekites had disbanded and spread over all the land, ^aeating and drinking and dancing because of ^ball the great spoil they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. 17 Then David and his men struck them down in battle ^afrom twilight until the evening of the next day; and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode ^bcamels and fled. 18 So David ^arecovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and rescued his two wives. 19 Nothing of theirs was missing whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken; ^aDavid recovered it all. 20 So David captured all the flocks and herds which the enemy had, and the people drove those animals before him and said, “^aThis is David’s spoil.”

21 ^aDavid came to the two hundred men who were so exhausted that they could not follow him and had been left at the brook Besor with the provisions. They went out to meet David and the people with him, and when he approached the people, he greeted them. 22 Then all the wicked and worthless men among those who went with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will give them none of the spoil that we have recovered, except that each man may take his wife and children away and leave.” 23 David said, “You must not do so, my brothers, with what the LORD has given us. He has kept us safe and has handed over to us the band of Amalekites that came against us. 24 And who will listen to you in regard to this matter? For ^aas is the share of him who goes down into the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the provisions and supplies; they shall share alike.” 25 So from that day forward he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.

26 When David came to Ziklag, he sent part of the spoil to the elders of Judah, his friends, saying, “Here is ^aa blessing (gift) for you from the spoil of ^bthe enemies of the LORD: 27 For those in ^aBethel, ^bRamoth of the Negev, ^cJattir, 28 ^aAroer, Siphmoth, ^bEshtemoa, 29 Racal, the cities of ^athe Jerahmeelites, the cities of ^bthe Kenites, 30 ^aHormah, ^bBor-ashan, Athach, 31 ^aHebron, and for those elders in all the places where David himself and his men ^bwere accustomed to go.”