1 Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had raided the south and Ziklag, struck Ziklag and burned it with fire,

2 and had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way.

3 So David and his men came into the city, and behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive.

4 Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more strength to weep.

5 And David’s two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widowed wife of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive.

6 And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the souls of all the people had become bitter, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in Jehovah his God.

7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, Please bring the ephod here to me. And Abiathar brought the ephod to David.

8 And David inquired of Jehovah, saying, Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them? And He answered him, Pursue, for you shall reach to overtake them, and rescue to recover all.

9 So David went, he and the six hundred men with him, and came to the Brook Besor, where those stayed who were left behind.

10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred stayed behind, who had become too exhausted to cross over the Brook Besor.

11 And they found a man from Egypt in the field, and brought him to David; and they gave him bread and he ate, and they let him drink water.

12 And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. So when he had eaten, his spirit revived; for he had eaten no bread nor drunk water for 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 from Egypt, servant of an Amalekite; and my master left me behind, because three days ago I fell sick.

14 We had raided the southern area of the Cherethites, in the territory of Judah, and the southern area of Caleb; and we had burned Ziklag with fire.

15 And David said to him, Can you bring me down to this troop? So he said, Swear to me by God that you will neither kill me nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring you down to this troop.

16 And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread out over the face of the land, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoils which they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.

17 And David struck them from twilight until the evening of the next day. 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 carried away, and David rescued his two wives.

19 And nothing of theirs was lacking, either small or great, sons or daughters, spoils or anything which they had taken from them; David brought back all.

20 And David took all the flocks and herds they had driven before those other livestock, and said, This is David’s spoils.

21 And David came to the two hundred men who had become too exhausted to go after David, whom they also had made to stay at the Brook Besor. So they went out to meet David and to meet the people with him. And when David came near the people, he asked after their welfare.

22 Then all the wicked and worthless men of those who went with David answered and said, Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoils that we have recovered, except for every man’s wife and children, that they may lead them away and depart.

23 But David said, My brethren, you shall not do so with what Jehovah has given to us, who has preserved us and delivered into our hand the troop that came against us into our hand.

24 For who will heed you in this matter? But as his part is who goes down to the battle, so shall his part be who stays by the supplies; they shall share together.

25 So it was, from that day forward; he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.

26 And when David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the spoils to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, Here is a present for you from the spoils of the enemies of Jehovah;

27 to those in Bethel, to those in Ramoth of the South, to those in Jattir,

28 to those in Aroer, to those in Siphmoth, to those in Eshtemoa,

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

30 to those in Hormah, to those in Chorashan, to those in Athach,

31 to those in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men had traversed.

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.