1 And it came to pass, when David and his men had come to 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,2 and had taken captive the women who were in it, both small and great: they did not slay any, but carried them off, and went their way.3 And when David and his men came to the city, look, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and 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 And David's two wives were taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.6 And David was greatly 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 David strengthened himself in Yahweh his God.7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, I pray you, bring the ephod here to me. And Abiathar brought the ephod there to David.8 And David inquired of Yahweh, saying, If I pursue after this troop, will I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue; for you will surely overtake [them], and without fail will 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 had stopped.10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred stopped, who 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 ate; and they gave him water to drink.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 drank any water, three days and three nights.13 And David said to him, To whom do you belong? And where are you from? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, slave to an Amalekite; and this is now the third day since my master left me because I was 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 And David said to him, Will you bring me down to this troop? And 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.16 And when he had brought him down, look, 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.17 And David struck them from the twilight even to the evening of the next day: and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men, who rode on camels and fled.18 And David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken; 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 anything that they had taken to them: David brought back all.20 And David took all the flocks and the herds, [which] they drove before those [other] cattle, and said, This is David's spoil.21 And David came to the two hundred men, who were so faint that they could not follow David, whom also they had left at the brook Besor; and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people who were with him: and when David came near to the people, he greeted them.22 Then all the wicked men and base 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 spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his sons, that he may lead them away, and depart.23 Then said David, You{+} will 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 And who will listen to you{+} in this matter? For as his share is that goes down to the battle, so will his share be that tarries by the baggage: they will share alike.25 And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.26 And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his fellow man, saying, Look, a present for you{+} of the spoil of the enemies of Yahweh:27 To those who were in Bethuel, and to those who were in Ramoth of the South, and to those who were in Jattir,28 and to those who were in Arad, and to those who were in Siphmoth, and to those who were in Eshtemoa,29 and 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,30 and to those who were in Hormah, and to those who were in Bor-ashan, and to those who were in Athach,31 and to those who were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were accustomed to roam.

1 Quando Davi e seus soldados chegaram a Ziclague, no terceiro dia, os amalequitas tinham atacado o Neguebe e Ziclague, e haviam incendiado a cidade.2 Levaram como prisioneiros todos os que lá estavam: as mulheres, os jovens e os idosos. A ninguém mataram, mas os levaram consigo, quando prosseguiram seu caminho.3 Ao chegarem a Ziclague, Davi e seus soldados encontraram a cidade destruída pelo fogo e viram que suas mulheres, filhos e filhas haviam sido levados como prisioneiros.4 Então Davi e seus soldados choraram em alta voz até não terem mais forças.5 As duas mulheres de Davi também tinham sido levadas: Ainoã de Jezreel, e Abigail de Carmelo, a que fora mulher de Nabal.6 Davi ficou profundamente angustiado, pois os homens falavam em apedrejá-lo; todos estavam amargurados por causa de seus filhos e suas filhas. Davi, porém, fortaleceu-se no Senhor seu Deus.7 Então Davi disse ao sacerdote Abiatar, filho de Aimeleque: "Traga-me o colete sacerdotal". Abiatar o trouxe a Davi,8 e ele perguntou ao Senhor: "Devo perseguir este bando de invasores? Irei alcançá-los? " E o Senhor respondeu: "Persiga-os; é certo que você os alcançará e conseguirá libertar os prisioneiros".9 Davi e os seiscentos homens que estavam com ele foram ao ribeiro de Besor, onde ficaram alguns,10 pois duzentos deles estavam exaustos demais para atravessar o ribeiro. Todavia, Davi e quatrocentos homens continuaram a perseguição.11 Encontraram um egípcio no campo e o trouxeram a Davi. Deram-lhe água e comida:12 um pedaço de bolo de figos prensados e dois bolos de uvas passas. Ele comeu e recobrou as forças, pois tinha ficado três dias e três noites sem comer e sem beber.13 Davi lhe perguntou: "A quem você pertence e de onde vem? " Ele respondeu: "Sou um jovem egípcio, servo de um amalequita. Meu senhor me abandonou quando fiquei doente há três dias.14 Nós atacamos o Neguebe dos queretitas, o território que pertence a Judá e o Neguebe de Calebe. E incendiamos a cidade de Ziclague".15 Davi lhe perguntou: "Você pode levar-me até esse bando de invasores? " Ele respondeu: "Jura, diante de Deus, que não me matarás nem me entregarás nas mãos de meu senhor, e te levarei até eles".16 Quando ele levou Davi até lá, eles estavam espalhados pela região, comendo, bebendo e festejando os muitos bens que haviam tomado da terra dos filisteus e de Judá.17 Davi os atacou no dia seguinte, desde o amanhecer até à tarde, e nenhum deles escapou, com a exceção de quatrocentos jovens que montaram em camelos e fugiram.18 Davi recuperou tudo o que os amalequitas tinham levado, incluindo suas duas mulheres.19 Nada faltou; nem jovens, nem velhos, nem filhos, nem filhas, nem bens nem qualquer outra coisa que fora levada. Davi recuperou tudo.20 E tomou também todos os rebanhos dos amalequitas, e seus soldados os conduziram à frente dos outros animais, dizendo: "Estes são os despojos de Davi".21 Então Davi foi até os duzentos homens que estavam exaustos demais para segui-lo e tinham ficado no ribeiro de Besor. Eles saíram para encontrar Davi e os que estavam com ele. Ao se aproximar com seus soldados, Davi os saudou.22 Mas todos os maus e vadios que tinham ido com Davi disseram: "Uma vez que não saíram conosco, não repartiremos com eles os bens que recuperamos. No entanto, cada um poderá pegar sua mulher e seus filhos e partir".23 Davi respondeu: "Não, meus irmãos! Não façam isso com o que o Senhor nos deu. Ele nos protegeu e entregou em nossas mãos as forças que vieram contra nós.24 Quem concordará com o que vocês estão dizendo? A parte de quem ficou com a bagagem será a mesma de quem foi à batalha. Todos receberão partes iguais".25 Davi fez disso um decreto e uma ordenança para Israel, desde aquele dia até hoje.26 Quando Davi chegou a Ziclague, enviou parte dos bens às autoridades de Judá, que eram seus amigos, dizendo: "Eis um presente para vocês, tirado dos bens dos inimigos do Senhor".27 Ele enviou esse presente às autoridades de Betel, de Ramote do Neguebe, de Jatir,28 de Aroer, de Sifmote, de Estemoa,29 de Racal, das cidades dos jerameelitas e dos queneus,30 e de Hormá, de Corasã, de Atace,31 de Hebrom e de todos os lugares onde Davi e seus soldados tinham passado.