New Living Translation

Darby Bible Translation

David Destroys the Amalekites

Three days later, when David and his men arrived home at their town of Ziklag, they found that the Amalekites had made a raid into the Negev and Ziklag; they had crushed Ziklag and burned it to the ground.

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The Amalekites Raid Ziklag

And it came to pass, when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid upon the south, and upon Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag and burned it with fire;

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They had carried off the women and children and everyone else but without killing anyone.

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and had taken the women captives that were in it; both great and small: they had put none to death, but had carried them off, and went on their way.

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When David and his men saw the ruins and realized what had happened to their families,

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And David and his men came to the city, and behold, it was burnt with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters were taken captives.

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they wept until they could weep no more.

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Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.

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David’s two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel, were among those captured.

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And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jizreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.

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David was now in great danger because all his men were very bitter about losing their sons and daughters, and they began to talk of stoning him. But David found strength in the LORD his God.

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And David was greatly distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him; for the soul of all the people was embittered, every man because of his sons and because of his daughters; but David strengthened himself in Jehovah his God.

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Then he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring me the ephod!” So Abiathar brought it.

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David Destroys the Amalekites

And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, Bring near to me, I pray thee, the ephod. And Abiathar brought the ephod near to David.

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Then David asked the LORD, “Should I chase after this band of raiders? Will I catch them?”
And the LORD told him, “Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!”

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And David inquired of Jehovah, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he said to him, Pursue; for thou shalt assuredly overtake [them] and shalt certainly recover.

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So David and his 600 men set out, and they came to the brook Besor.

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So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and they came to the torrent Besor; and those that were left stayed behind.

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But 200 of the men were too exhausted to cross the brook, so David continued the pursuit with 400 men.

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And David pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred stayed behind, who were too exhausted to go over the torrent Besor.

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Along the way they found an Egyptian man in a field and brought him to David. They gave him some bread to eat and water to drink.

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And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he ate; and they gave him water to drink,

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They also gave him part of a fig cake and two clusters of raisins, for he hadn’t had anything to eat or drink for three days and nights. Before long his strength returned.

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and gave him a piece of fig-cake and two raisin-cakes, and he ate, and his spirit came again to him; for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, for three days and three nights.

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“To whom do you belong, and where do you come from?” David asked him.
“I am an Egyptian — the slave of an Amalekite,” he replied. “My master abandoned me three days ago because I was sick.

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And David said to him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant of an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days ago I fell sick.

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We were on our way back from raiding the Kerethites in the Negev, the territory of Judah, and the land of Caleb, and we had just burned Ziklag.”

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We made a raid against the south of the Cherethites, and against what [belongs] to Judah, and against the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.

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“Will you lead me to this band of raiders?” David asked.
The young man replied, “If you take an oath in God’s name that you will not kill me or give me back to my master, then I will guide you to them.”

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And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this troop? And he said, Swear to me by God, that thou wilt neither put me to death nor deliver me up into the hand of my master, and I will bring thee down to this troop.

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So he led David to them, and they found the Amalekites spread out across the fields, eating and drinking and dancing with joy because of the vast amount of plunder they had taken from the Philistines and the land of Judah.

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And he brought him down, and behold, they were spread over the whole land, 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.

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David and his men rushed in among them and slaughtered them throughout that night and the entire next day until evening. None of the Amalekites escaped except 400 young men who fled on camels.

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And David smote them from the twilight even to the evening of the next day; and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, who rode upon camels, and fled.

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David got back everything the Amalekites had taken, and he rescued his two wives.

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And David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken: and David recovered his two wives.

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Nothing was missing: small or great, son or daughter, nor anything else that had been taken. David brought everything back.

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And there was nothing missed by them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil nor anything that they had taken: David brought all back.

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He also recovered all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock. “This plunder belongs to David!” they said.

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And David took all the flocks and the herds, [which] they drove before the other cattle, and said, This is David's spoil.

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Then David returned to the brook Besor and met up with the 200 men who had been left behind because they were too exhausted to go with him. They went out to meet David and his men, and David greeted them joyfully.

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The Spoils are Divided

And David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow David, and whom they had left behind at the torrent Besor; and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him; and David drew near to the people and saluted them.

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But some evil troublemakers among David’s men said, “They didn’t go with us, so they can’t have any of the plunder we recovered. Give them their wives and children, and tell them to be gone.”

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And all the wicked men, and [men] of Belial, of those that had gone with David, answered and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them [aught] of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead [them] away and depart.

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But David said, “No, my brothers! Don’t be selfish with what the LORD has given us. He has kept us safe and helped us defeat the band of raiders that attacked us.

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Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which Jehovah has given us, who has preserved us, and given the troop that came against us into our hand.

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Who will listen when you talk like this? We share and share alike — those who go to battle and those who guard the equipment.”

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And who will hearken to you in this matter? For as his share is that goes down to the battle, so shall his share be that abides by the baggage: they shall share alike.

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From then on David made this a decree and regulation for Israel, and it is still followed today.

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And it was [so] from that day forward; and he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.

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When he arrived at Ziklag, David sent part of the plunder to the elders of Judah, who were his friends. “Here is a present for you, taken from the LORD’s enemies,” he said.

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And David came to Ziklag, and he sent of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of Jehovah:

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The gifts were sent to the people of the following towns David had visited: Bethel, Ramoth-negev, Jattir,

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to those in Bethel, and to those in south Ramoth, and to those in Jattir,

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Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa,

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and to those in Aroer, and to those in Siphmoth, and to those in Eshtemoa,

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Racal,a the towns of the Jerahmeelites, the towns of the Kenites,

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and to those in Rachal, and to those in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to those in the cities of the Kenites,