-
And it
came to pass, when David and his men were come to
Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had
invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten
Ziklag, and burned it with fire;
02 And had taken the women captives, that were
therein: they slew not any, either great or
small, but carried them away, and went on their
way.
03 So David and his men came to the city, and,
behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives,
and their sons, and their daughters, were taken
captives.
04 Then David and the people that were with him
lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no
more power to weep.
05 And David's two wives were taken captives,
Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of
Nabal the Carmelite.
06 And David was greatly distressed; for the
people spake of stoning him, because the soul of
all the people was grieved, every man for his
sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged
himself in the Lord his God.
07 And David said to Abiathar the priest,
Ahimelech's son, I pray thee, bring me hither the
ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to
David.
08 And David enquired at the Lord, saying, Shall
I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them?
And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt
surely overtake them, and without fail recover
all.
09 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 hundred abode behind, which were so faint
that they could not go over the brook Besor.
11 And they found an Egyptian in the field, and
brought him to David, and gave him 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 spirit came again to him: for he had
eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days
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 master left me, because three days agone I
fell sick.
14 We made an invasion upon the south of the
Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth
to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we
burned Ziklag with fire.
15 And David said to him, Canst thou bring me
down to this company? And he said, Swear unto me
by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor
deliver me into the hands of my master, and I
will bring thee down to this company.
16 And when he had brought him down, behold, they
were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and
drinking, and dancing, because of all 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 day: and there
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.
20 And David took all the flocks and the herds,
which they drave before those other cattle, and
said, This is David's spoil.
21 And David came to the two hundred men, 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 near to the people, he saluted them.
22 Then answered all the wicked men and men of
Belial, of those that went with David, and said,
Because 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
brethren, with that which the Lord hath given us,
who hath 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 part is that goeth down to the battle,
so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff:
they shall part alike.
25 And it was so from that day forward, 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
friends, saying, Behold a present for you of the
spoil of the enemies of the Lord;
27 To them which were in Bethel, and to them
which were in south Ramoth, and to them which
were in Jattir,
28 And to them which were in Aroer, and to them
which were in Siphmoth, and to them which were in
Eshtemoa,
29 And to them which were in Rachal, and to them
which were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites,
and to them which were in the cities of the
Kenites,
30 And to them which were in Hormah, and to them
which were in Chorashan, and to them which were
in Athach,
31 And to them which were in Hebron, and to all
the places where David himself and his men were
wont to haunt.
__________________________________ |
