1 And it came to pass, when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that, the Amalekites, had made a raid into the South, and into Ziklag, and had smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;2 and had taken captive the women and all who were therein, from small even unto great, they had not put one to death,but had driven them forth, and gone their way.3 So, when David and his men came to the city, lo! it was burnt with fire,and, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, had been taken captive.4 Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice, and wept,until they had no more strength to weep.5 And, the two wives of David, had been taken captive,Ahinoam, the Jezreelitess, and Abigail, wife of Nabal the Carmelite.6 And David was in sore distress, for the people had spoken of stoning him, because the souls of all the people were embittered, every man for his own sons and for his own daughters,but David emboldened himself in Yahweh his God.7 Then said David to Abiathar the priest, son of Ahimelech, Do bring near me, I pray thee, the ephod. So Abiathar brought near the ephod, unto David.8 And David enquired of Yahweh, saying, Shall I pursue this troop? shall I overtake it? And he said unto him: Pursue, for thou shalt, overtake, and thou shalt, rescue.9 So David went, he, and the six hundred men, who were with him, and they came in as far as the ravine of Besor,where, they who had to be left behind, stayed.10 But David pursued, he. and four hundred men,but the two hundred men stayed, because they were too wearied to cross over the ravine of Besor.11 And they found an Egyptian in the field, and took him unto David,and gave him food, and he did eat, and they gave him water to drink;12 and they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two cakes of raisins, and, when he had eaten, his spirit came back unto him,for he had neither eaten food, nor drunk water, three days and three nights.13 Then David said to himWhose art thou? and whence art thou? And he said, A young man of Egypt, am I, servant to an Amalekite, and my lord left me behind, because I fell sick, three days ago.14 As for us, we invaded the South of the Cherithites, and against that which pertaineth unto Judah, and against the South of Caleb,and, Ziklag, burned we with fire.15 And David said unto him, Wilt thou bring me down unto this troop? And he saidSwear unto me by God, that thou wilt not put me to death, neither wilt thou surrender me into the hand of my lord, and I will bring thee down unto this troop.16 So he brought him down, and lo! they were left to themselves over the face of all the land,eating, and drinking, and dancing around, for all the great spoil which they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.17 And David smote them, from the closing twilight even unto the evening of the next day,and there escaped not of them a man, save four hundred young men who rode upon camels, and fled.18 And David rescued all whom the Amalekites had taken,his two wives also, did David rescue;19 and there was nothing missing to themwhether small or great, whether spoil, or sons or daughters, or, any thing which they had taken unto themselves,the whole, did David recover.20 And David took all the flocks and the herds,they drave them before those other cattle, and they said, This, is Davids spoil.21 And David came unto the two hundred men, who had been too wearied to follow David, and whom they had suffered to remain at the ravine of Besor,and they came forth to meet David, and to meet the people who were with him, and when David came near unto the people, they enquired of his success.22 Then responded every man who was bad and abandoned, from among the men who had been with David, and saidBecause they went not with me there shall not be given them of the spoil that we have rescued,save, to every man, his wife and his children, let them put them forth, then, and go.23 Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren,with that which Yahweh hath given to us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the troop that came against us into our hand.24 Who indeed, could hearken unto you, in this mutter? Surely, like the share of him that went down into the battle, even, so, shall be the share of him that remained by the storesalike, shall they share.25 And so it came to pass, from that day forward, that he appointed it, for a statute and for a custom unto Israel, until this day.26 And, when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil, unto the elders of Judah, unto his friends, saying,Lo! for you, a blessing, out of the spoil of the enemies of Yahweh:27 to them who were in Bethel, and to them who were in Ramoth of the South, and to them who were in Jattir,28 and to them who were in Aroer, and to them who were in Siphmoth, and to them who were in Eshtemoa,29 and to them who were in Racal, and to them who were in the cities of the Jerameelites, and to them who were in the cities of the Kenites,30 and to them who were in Hormah, and to them who were in Cor-ashan, and to them who were in Athach,31 and to them who were in Hebron,and to all the places where David had been to and fro, he and his men.

1 Sucedeu, pois, que, chegando Davi e os seus homens ao terceiro dia a Ziclague, já os amalequitas com ímpeto tinham dado sobre o Sul e sobre Ziclague, e tinham ferido a Ziclague, e a tinham posto a fogo. 2 E levaram cativas as mulheres que estavam nela, porém a ninguém mataram, nem pequenos nem grandes; tão somente os levaram consigo e foram pelo seu caminho. 3 E Davi e os seus homens vieram à cidade, e eis que estava queimada a fogo, e suas mulheres, seus filhos e suas filhas eram levados cativos. 4 Então, Davi e o povo que se achava com ele alçaram a sua voz e choraram, até que neles não houve mais força para chorar. 5 Também as duas mulheres de Davi foram levadas cativas; Ainoã, a jezreelita, e Abigail, a mulher de Nabal, o carmelita. 6 E Davi muito se angustiou, porque o povo falava de apedrejá-lo, porque o ânimo de todo o povo estava em amargura, cada um por causa dos seus filhos e das suas filhas; todavia, Davi se esforçou no Senhor, seu Deus.

7 E disse Davi a Abiatar, o sacerdote, filho de Aimeleque: Traze-me, peço-te, aqui o éfode. E Abiatar trouxe o éfode a Davi. 8 Então, consultou Davi ao Senhor, dizendo: Perseguirei eu a esta tropa? Alcançá-la-ei? E o Senhor lhe disse: Persegue-a, porque, decerto, a alcançarás e tudo libertarás. 9 Partiu, pois, Davi, ele e os seiscentos homens que com ele se achavam, e chegaram ao ribeiro de Besor, onde os que ficaram atrás pararam. 10 E seguiu-os Davi, ele e os quatrocentos homens, pois que duzentos homens ficaram atrás, por não poderem, de cansados que estavam, passar o ribeiro de Besor.

11 E acharam no campo um homem egípcio e o trouxeram a Davi; deram-lhe pão, e comeu, e deram-lhe a beber água. 12 Deram-lhe também um pedaço de massa de figos secos e dois cachos de passas, e comeu; e voltou-lhe o seu espírito, porque havia três dias e três noites que não tinha comido pão nem bebido água. 13 Então, Davi lhe disse: De quem és tu e de onde és? E disse o moço egípcio: Sou servo de um homem amalequita, e meu senhor me deixou, porque adoeci há três dias. 14 Nós demos com ímpeto para a banda do sul dos queretitas, e para a banda de Judá, e para a banda do sul de Calebe e pusemos fogo a Ziclague. 15 E disse-lhe Davi: Poderias, descendo, guiar-me a essa tropa? E disse-lhe: Por Deus, me jura que me não matarás, nem me entregarás na mão de meu senhor, e, descendo, te guiarei a essa tropa. 16 E, descendo, o guiou. E eis que estavam espalhados sobre a face de toda a terra, comendo, e bebendo, e dançando, por todo aquele grande despojo que tomaram da terra dos filisteus e da terra de Judá. 17 E feriu-os Davi, desde o crepúsculo até à tarde do dia seguinte, e nenhum deles escapou, senão só quatrocentos jovens que, montados sobre camelos, fugiram. 18 Assim, livrou Davi tudo quanto tomaram os amalequitas; também as suas duas mulheres livrou Davi. 19 E ninguém lhes faltou, desde o menor até ao maior e até os filhos e as filhas; e também desde o despojo até tudo quanto lhes tinham tomado: tudo Davi tornou a trazer. 20 Também tomou Davi todas as ovelhas e vacas, e levavam-nas diante do outro gado e diziam: Este é o despojo de Davi.

21 E, chegando Davi aos duzentos homens que, de cansados que estavam, não puderam seguir a Davi e que deixaram ficar no ribeiro de Besor, estes saíram ao encontro de Davi e do povo que com ele vinha; e, chegando-se Davi ao povo, os saudou em paz.

22 Então, todos os maus e filhos de Belial, dentre os homens que tinham ido com Davi, responderam e disseram: Visto que não foram conosco, não lhes daremos do despojo que libertamos; mas que leve cada um sua mulher e seus filhos e se vá. 23 Porém Davi disse: Não fareis assim, irmãos meus, com o que nos deu o Senhor, que nos guardou e entregou a tropa que contra nós vinha nas nossas mãos. 24 E quem em tal vos daria ouvidos? Porque qual é a parte dos que desceram à peleja, tal também será a parte dos que ficaram com a bagagem; igualmente repartirão. 25 O que assim foi desde aquele dia em diante, porquanto o pôs por estatuto e direito em Israel, até ao dia de hoje.

26 E, chegando Davi a Ziclague, enviou do despojo aos anciãos de Judá, seus amigos, dizendo: Eis aí para vós uma bênção do despojo dos inimigos do Senhor: 27 aos de Betel, e aos de Ramote do Sul, e aos de Jatir, 28 e aos de Aroer, e aos de Sifmote, e aos de Estemoa, 29 e aos de Racal, e aos que estavam nas cidades jerameelitas e nas cidades dos queneus, 30 e aos de Horma, e aos de Borasã, e aos de Atace, 31 e aos de Hebrom, e a todos os lugares em que andara Davi, ele e os seus homens.