1 Samuel 30:1–20

David Defeats the Amalekites

¹Two days later, when David and his men came to Ziklag, the Amalekites had raided the Negev, including Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it. ²Although they captured the young and old women who were there, they killed no one. Instead, they had taken ⸤the women and other prisoners⸥ and gone away. ³By the time David and his men came to the town, it had been burned down, and their wives, sons, and daughters had been taken captive. ⁴Then David and his men cried loudly until they didn’t have the strength to cry anymore. ⁵The Amalekites also captured David’s two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail (who had been Nabal’s wife) from Carmel. ⁶David was in great distress because the people in their bitterness said he should be stoned. (They were thinking of their sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.) 

⁷David told the priest Abiathar, Ahimelech’s son, “Please bring me the priestly ephod.”^aSo Abiathar brought David the ephod. 

⁸Then David asked the Lord, “Should I pursue these troops? Will I catch up with them?” 

“Pursue them,” the Lord told him. “You will certainly catch up with them and rescue the captives.” 

⁹So David and his 600 men went to the Besor Valley, where some were left behind. ¹⁰David and 400 men went in pursuit, while 200 men who were too exhausted to cross the Besor Valley stayed behind. 

¹¹David’s men found an Egyptian in the open country and took him to David. They gave him food to eat and water to drink. ¹²They gave him a slice of fig cake and two bunches of raisins. After he had eaten, he revived. (He hadn’t eaten any food or drunk any water for three whole days.) ¹³David asked him, “To whom do you belong? Where do you come from?” 

“I’m an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite,” the young man answered. “My master left me behind because I got sick three days ago. ¹⁴We raided the portion of the Negev where the Cherethites live, the territory of Judah, the portion of the Negev where Caleb settled, and we burned down Ziklag.” 

¹⁵“Will you lead me to these troops?” David asked him. 

He answered, “Take an oath in front of God that you won’t kill me or hand me over to my master, and I’ll lead you to these troops.” 

¹⁶The Egyptian led him ⸤to them⸥. They were spread out all over the land, eating, and drinking. They were celebrating because they had taken so much loot from Philistine territory and from the land of Judah. ¹⁷From dawn until evening the next day, David attacked them. No one escaped except 400 young men who rode away on camels. ¹⁸David rescued everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. ¹⁹Nothing was missing—young or old, sons or daughters, the loot or anything else they had taken with them. David brought back everything. ²⁰He took all the sheep and the cattle. His men drove the animals ahead of him and said, “This is David’s loot.”