1 Samuel 30:1–8

DAVID’S DEFEAT OF THE AMALEKITES

30David and his menⁿ arrived in Ziklag^o on the third day. The Amalekites^p had raided the Negev and attacked and burned Ziklag. ²They also had kidnapped the women and everyone^D in it from youngest to oldest. They had killed no one but had carried them off^q as they went on their way.

³When David and his men arrived at the town, they found it burned. Their wives, sons, and daughters had been kidnapped. ⁴David and the troops with him wept loudly until they had no strength left to weep. ⁵David’s two wives,^r Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had also been kidnapped. ⁶David was in an extremely difficult position because the troops talked about stoning him,^s for they were all very bitter over the loss of their sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.^t

⁷David said to the priest Abiathar son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.”^u So Abiathar brought it to him, ⁸and David asked the Lord,^v “Should I pursue these raiders? Will I overtake them?”^w

The Lord replied to him, “Pursue them, for you will certainly overtake them and rescue the people.”^x