(KJV) 1 Samuel 30¹

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⥃The Amalekites Raid Ziklag

[1] And it came to pass, when David and his men were come² to Ziklag on the third³ day, that the Amalekites⁴ had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; [2] And had taken the women captives, that [were] therein: they slew not⁵ any, either great or small, but carried [them] away, and went on their way.

[3] [¶]So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, [it was] burned⁶ with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. [4] Then David and the people that [were] with him lifted up⁷ their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. [5] And David’s two wives⁸ were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. [6] And David was greatly⁹ distressed; for the people¹⁰ spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved¹¹, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David¹² encouraged himself in the Lord his God.

⥃David Destroys the Amalekites

[7] And David said to Abiathar¹³ the priest, Ahimelech’s son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David. [8] And David enquired¹⁴ at the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him¹⁵, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake [them], and without fail recover [all]. [9] So David went, he and the six hundred men that [were] with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind stayed. [10] But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred¹⁶ abode behind, which were so faint¹⁷ that they could not go over the brook Besor¹⁸.

[11] [¶]And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him¹⁹ bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water; [12] And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit²⁰ came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk [any] water, three days²¹ and three nights. [13] And David said unto him, To whom [belongest] thou? and whence [art] thou? And he said, I [am] a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master²² left me, because three days agone I fell sick. [14] We made an invasion [upon] the south of the Cherethites²³, and upon [the coast] which [belongeth] to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb²⁴; and we burned²⁵ Ziklag with fire. [15] And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, Swear²⁶ unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver²⁷ me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company.

[16] [¶]And when he²⁸ had brought him down, behold, [they were] spread abroad upon all the earth, eating²⁹ and drinking, and dancing, because of all³⁰ the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah. [17] And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day³¹: and there³² escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled. [18] And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives. [19] And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any [thing] that they had taken to them: David recovered all.³³ [20] And David took all the flocks and the herds, [which] they drave before those [other] cattle, and said, This [is] David’s spoil³⁴.

⥃The Spoils Are Divided

[21] And David came to the two hundred men³⁵, which were so faint that they could not follow David, whom they had made also to abide at the brook Besor: and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that [were] with him: and when David came near³⁶ to the people, he saluted them³⁷. [22] Then answered all the wicked³⁸ men and [men] of Belial, of those³⁹ that went with David, and said, Because⁴⁰ they went not with us, we will not give them [ought] of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead [them] away, and depart. [23] Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren⁴¹, with that which the Lord⁴² hath given us, who hath⁴³ preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand. [24] For who will hearken unto you in this matter? but as his part⁴⁴ [is] that goeth down to the battle, so [shall] his part [be] that tarrieth⁴⁵ by the stuff: they shall part alike. [25] And it was [so] from that day forward⁴⁶, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day.

[26] [¶]And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, [even] to his friends⁴⁷, saying, Behold a present⁴⁸ for you of the spoil of the enemies of the Lord; [27] To [them] which [were] in Beth–el⁴⁹, and to [them] which [were] in south Ramoth⁵⁰, and to [them] which [were] in Jattir⁵¹, [28] And to [them] which [were] in Aroer⁵², and to [them] which [were] in Siphmoth⁵³, and to [them] which [were] in Eshtemoa⁵⁴, [29] And to [them] which [were] in Rachal⁵⁵, and to [them] which [were] in the cities of the Jerahmeelites⁵⁶, and to [them] which [were] in the cities of the Kenites⁵⁷, [30] And to [them] which [were] in Hormah⁵⁸, and to [them] which [were] in Chor–ashan⁵⁹, and to [them] which [were] in Athach, [31] And to [them] which [were] in Hebron⁶⁰, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt.

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