1When David and his men arrived at Ziklag on the third day, they found that the Amalekites had raided the Negev desert and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire.
2They had taken captive the women and everyone else there, both young and old. They didn't kill anyone, but carried them off and left.
3When David and his men came to the city, they saw it had been burned down, and their wives, sons, and daughters had been taken captive.
4Then David and the people with him cried loudly until they couldn't cry anymore.
5David's two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, Nabal the Carmelite's wife, had also been taken captive.
6David was in great distress because the people were talking about stoning him. Everyone was bitter because of their sons and daughters. But David found strength in Yahweh his God.
7David said to Abiathar the priest, son of Ahimelech, "Please bring the ephod here to me." Abiathar brought the ephod to David.
8David asked Yahweh, "If I pursue this raiding party, will I catch them?" Yahweh answered him, "Pursue them, for you will surely catch them and rescue everyone and everything."
9So David left with his six hundred men and came to the Besor Brook, where those who were too tired to continue stayed behind.
10David continued the pursuit with four hundred men, because two hundred were too exhausted to cross the Besor Brook and stayed behind.
11They found an Egyptian man in the field and brought him to David. They gave him bread to eat and water to drink.
12They also gave him a piece of fig cake and two clusters of raisins. After he ate, he felt revived, because he hadn't eaten any food or drunk any water for three days and three nights.
13David asked him, "Who do you belong to? Where are you from?" He replied, "I am a young Egyptian man who is a servant to an Amalekite. My master abandoned me three days ago because I got sick.
14We raided the Negev of the Cherethites, the territory of Judah, and the Negev of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire."
15David asked him, "Will you lead me to this raiding party?" He replied, "Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will lead you to this raiding party."
16When he led David down, they saw the Amalekites spread out all over the ground, eating, drinking, and celebrating because of all the great plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and the land of Judah.
17David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a single man escaped, except for four hundred young men who rode off on camels and fled.
18David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, and David rescued his two wives.
19Nothing was missing, neither young nor old, neither sons nor daughters, nor any of the plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought back everything.
20David took all the flocks and herds, driving them ahead of the other livestock. He announced, "This is David's plunder."
21David met the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him and had stayed at the Besor Brook. They came out to greet David and the people with him. When David approached them, he greeted them warmly.
22Then all the wicked and corrupt men who had gone with David spoke up. They said, "Since they didn't come with us, we won't give them any of the plunder we recovered. They can each take their wife and children and leave."
23But David said, "No, my brothers, not with what Yahweh has given us. He protected us and handed the group that attacked us over to us.
24Who will listen to you in this matter? Everyone who goes into battle will receive the same share as everyone who stays behind to guard the supplies. They will share equally."
25From that day forward, David made this a rule and a law for Israel, which remains to this day.
26When David arrived at Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah, his friends, saying, "Look, a gift for you from the plunder taken from Yahweh's enemies."
27He sent it to those in Bethel, to those in Ramoth of the South, to those in Jattir,
28to those in Aroer, to those in Siphmoth, to those in Eshtemoa,
29to those in Racal, to those in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, to those in the cities of the Kenites,
30to those in Hormah, to those in Borashan, to those in Athach,
31to those in Hebron, and to all the places where David and his men used to stay.