1 Três dias depois, quando Davi e seus homens chegaram à cidade de Ziclague, viram que os amalequitas haviam invadido o Neguebe e atacado Ziclague; tinham destruído e queimado a cidade. 2 Não mataram ninguém, mas tomaram como prisioneiros as mulheres, as crianças e os demais e foram embora.

3 Quando Davi e seus homens viram a cidade queimada e se deram conta do que havia acontecido com suas mulheres, seus filhos e suas filhas, 4 lamentaram e choraram em alta voz até não aguentar mais. 5 As duas esposas de Davi, Ainoã, de Jezreel, e Abigail, viúva de Nabal, do Carmelo, estavam entre os que foram capturados. 6 Davi ficou muito aflito, pois os homens estavam amargurados por terem perdido seus filhos e suas filhas e começaram a falar em apedrejá-lo. Mas Davi encontrou forças no Senhor, seu Deus.

7 Então disse ao sacerdote Abiatar: "Traga o colete sacerdotal!", e Abiatar, filho de Aimeleque, o trouxe. 8 Davi perguntou ao Senhor: "Devo perseguir esse bando de saqueadores? Conseguirei apanhá-los?".

E o Senhor lhe respondeu: "Sim, vá atrás deles. Certamente conseguirá recuperar tudo que foi tomado de vocês".

9 Davi e os seiscentos homens partiram e chegaram ao ribeiro de Besor, onde ficaram alguns deles. 10 Duzentos dos homens estavam exaustos demais para atravessar o ribeiro, e Davi continuou a perseguição com quatrocentos homens.

11 No caminho, encontraram um rapaz egípcio num campo e o levaram até Davi. Deram-lhe um pouco de pão para comer e água para beber. 12 Também lhe deram um pedaço de bolo de figo e dois bolos de passas, pois fazia três dias e três noites que não comia nem bebia nada. Em pouco tempo, recuperou as forças.

13 Davi lhe perguntou: "A quem você pertence e de onde veio?".

"Sou egípcio, escravo de um amalequita", respondeu ele. "Meu senhor me abandonou três dias atrás porque fiquei doente. 14 Estávamos voltando de um ataque aos queretitas, no Neguebe, ao território de Judá e à terra de Calebe, e tínhamos queimado Ziclague."

15 "Você pode me levar até esse bando de saqueadores?", perguntou Davi.

O rapaz respondeu: "Se o senhor jurar por Deus que não me matará nem me entregará ao meu senhor, eu o levarei até eles".

16 O rapaz o levou até os amalequitas. Estavam espalhados pelos campos, comendo, bebendo e festejando por causa da grande quantidade de bens que haviam tomado da terra dos filisteus e da terra de Judá. 17 Davi e seus homens massacraram os amalequitas, atacando-os durante toda a noite e todo o dia seguinte, até o entardecer. Nenhum deles escapou, exceto quatrocentos rapazes que fugiram montados em camelos. 18 Davi recuperou tudo que os amalequitas haviam tomado e resgatou suas duas esposas. 19 Não faltava coisa alguma: nem pequena nem grande, nem filho nem filha, nem qualquer outra coisa que havia sido tomada. Davi trouxe tudo de volta. 20 Também recuperou todos os rebanhos, e seus companheiros os levaram à frente dos outros animais. "Este despojo pertence a Davi!", disseram.

21 Então Davi voltou ao ribeiro de Besor, onde estavam os duzentos homens que tinham sido deixados para trás porque estavam exaustos demais para acompanhá-los. Saíram ao encontro de Davi e seus companheiros, e ele os cumprimentou com alegria. 22 Contudo, entre os que tinham acompanhado Davi havia alguns homens perversos que disseram: "Como eles não foram conosco, não devem receber nada dos despojos que recuperamos. Devolvam as esposas e os filhos deles e mandem todos embora".

23 Davi, porém, disse: "Não, meus irmãos! Não sejam egoístas com aquilo que o Senhor nos deu. Ele nos guardou e nos ajudou a derrotar o bando de saqueadores que nos atacou. 24 Quem lhes dará ouvidos quando falam desse modo? Dividiremos igualmente entre os que foram à batalha e os que guardaram a bagagem". 25 A partir daquele dia, Davi fez disso decreto e estatuto em Israel, e assim é até hoje.

26 Quando Davi chegou a Ziclague, enviou parte dos despojos aos líderes de Judá, que eram seus amigos. Disse: "Eis um presente para vocês, tirado dos inimigos do Senhor!".

27 Os presentes foram enviados ao povo das seguintes cidades: Betel, Ramote do Neguebe, Jatir, 28 Aroer, Sifmote, Estemoa, 29 Racal, as cidades dos jerameelitas e as cidades dos queneus, 30 Hormá, Borasã, Atace, 31 Hebrom e todos os outros lugares por onde Davi e seus homens haviam passado.

1 When David and his men had come to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid on the South and on Ziklag, and had struck Ziklag and burned it with fire, 2 and had taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great. They didn’t kill any, but carried them off and went their way. 3 When David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters were taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voice and wept until they had no more power to weep. 5 David’s two wives were taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. 6 David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the souls of all the people were grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters; but David strengthened himself in Yahweh his God. 7 David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, "Please bring the ephod here to me."

Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 David inquired of Yahweh, saying, "If I pursue after this troop, will I overtake them?"

He answered him, "Pursue, for you will surely overtake them, and will without fail recover all."

9 So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those who were left behind stayed. 10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred stayed behind, who were so faint that they couldn’t go over the brook Besor. 11 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. 12 They gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. When he had eaten, his spirit came again to him; for he had eaten no bread, and drank no water for three days and three nights. 13 David asked him, "To whom do you belong? Where are you from?"

He said, "I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days ago I got sick. 14 We 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."

15 David said to him, "Will you bring me down to this troop?"

He said, "Swear to me by God that you will not kill me and not deliver me up into the hands of my master, and I will bring you down to this troop."

16 When he had brought him down, behold, they were spread around over all the ground, eating, drinking, and dancing, because of all the great plunder that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah. 17 David struck them from the twilight even to the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped from there, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled. 18 David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and David rescued his two wives. 19 There was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither plunder, nor anything that they had taken. David brought them all back. 20 David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drove before those other livestock, and said, "This is David’s plunder."

21 David came to the two hundred men, who were so faint that they could not follow David, whom also they had made to stay at the brook Besor; and they went out to meet David, and to meet the people who were with him. When David came near to the people, he greeted them. 22 Then all the wicked men and worthless fellows of those who went with David answered and said, "Because they didn’t go with us, we will not give them anything of the plunder that we have recovered, except to every man his wife and his children, that he may lead them away and depart."

23 Then David said, "Do not do so, my brothers, with that which Yahweh has given to us, who has preserved us, and delivered the troop that came against us into our hand. 24 Who 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 with the baggage. They shall share alike." 25 It was so from that day forward that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.

26 When David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, "Behold, a present for you from the plunder of Yahweh’s enemies." 27 He sent it to those who were in Bethel, to those who were in Ramoth of the South, to those who were in Jattir, 28 to those who were in Aroer, to those who were in Siphmoth, to those who were in Eshtemoa, 29 to those who were in Racal, to those who were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, to those who were in the cities of the Kenites, 30 to those who were in Hormah, to those who were in Borashan, to those who were in Athach, 31 to those who were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men used to stay.