1 Samuel 30

It happened, when Dawud and his men arrived at Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid on the South, and on Ziklag, and had struck Ziklag, and burned it with fire, ²and had taken captive the women and all who were therein, both small and great: they did not kill any, but carried them off, and went their way. ³When Dawud and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captive. ⁴Then Dawud and the people who were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. ⁵Dawud's two wives were taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. ⁶Dawud was very distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but Dawud strengthened himself in Allah his God. ⁷Dawud said to Abiathar the priest, Ibn Ahimelech, Please bring me here the ephod. Abiathar brought there the ephod to Dawud. ⁸Dawud inquired of Allah, saying, If I pursue this troop, shall I overtake them? He answered him, Pursue; for you shall surely overtake them, and shall without fail recover all. ⁹So Dawud went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those who were left behind stayed. ¹⁰But Dawud pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred stayed behind, who were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor. ¹¹They found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to Dawud, and gave him bread, and he ate; and they gave him water to drink. ¹²They 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. ¹³Dawud said to him, Who do you belong to? And where do you come from? He said, I am an Egyptian, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days ago I fell sick. ¹⁴We made a raid on the South of the Cherethites, and on that which belongs to Judah, and on the South of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire. ¹⁵Dawud said to him, Will you bring me down to this troop? He said, Swear to me by God, that you will neither kill me, nor deliver me up into the hands of my master, and I will bring you down to this troop. ¹⁶When he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad over all the ground, 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. ¹⁷Dawud struck them from the twilight even to the evening of the next day: and no one escaped, except four hundred young men, who rode on camels and fled. ¹⁸Dawud recovered all that the Amalekites had taken; and Dawud rescued his two wives. ¹⁹There was nothing missing to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor anything that they possessed: Dawud brought back all. ²⁰Dawud took all the flocks and the herds, which they drove before those other cattle, and said, This is Dawud's spoil. ²¹Dawud came to the two hundred men, who were so faint that they could not follow Dawud, whom also they had made to stay at the brook Besor; and they went forth to meet Dawud, and to meet the people who were with him: and when Dawud came near to the people, he greeted them. ²²Then all the wicked and worthless men, of those who went with Dawud said, Because they didn't go with us, we will not give them anything of the spoil that we have recovered, except to every man his wife and his children, that he may lead them away, and depart. ²³Then Dawud said, You shall not do so, my brothers, with that which Allah has given to us, who has preserved us, and delivered the troop that came against us into our hand. ²⁴Who will listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who goes down to the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the supplies: they shall share alike. ²⁵It was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day. ²⁶When Dawud came to Ziklag, he sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, This is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of Allah: ²⁷To those who were in Bethel, and to those who were in Ramoth of the South, and to those who were in Jattir, ²⁸and to those who were in Aroer, and to those who were in Siphmoth, and to those who were in Eshtemoa, ²⁹and to those who were in Racal, and to those who were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to those who were in the cities of the Kenites, ³⁰and to those who were in Hormah, and to those who were in Borashan, and to those who were in Athach, ³¹and to those who were in Hebron, and to all the places where Dawud himself and his men used to stay.