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 SUCEDEU pois que, chegando Davi e os seus homens ao terceiro dia a Siclague, já os amalequitas com ímpeto tinham dado sobre o sul, e sobre Siclague, e tinham ferido a Siclague 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; Aquinoã, 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 Aquimeleque: 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 donde és? E disse o moço egípcio: Sou servo dum 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 Siclague. 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 mancebos 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 Siclague, 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 Jater, 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 Hormá, e aos de Corasã, e aos de Ataque. 31 E aos de Hebrom, e a todos os lugares em que andara Davi, ele e os seus homens.