9 So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the Wadig Besor, but the rest remained. 10 David pursued, he and four hundred men; but two hundred men stayed because they were too exhausted to pass over the Wadi Besor.

11 Then they found an Egyptian man in the open country and brought him to David, and they gave him food and he ate; they also gave him water. 12 They gave him a slice of fig cake and two raisin cakes; he ate and ⌊this revived him⌋,h because he had not eaten food or drunk water for three days and three nights. 13 Then David said to him, “⌊To whom do you belong⌋,i and from where are you? The young man said, “I am an Egyptian young man, a servant of an Amalekite man, but my master abandoned me because I became ill three days ago. 14 We raided the Negev of the Kerethites and that which belongs to Judah and then the Negev of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.” 15 So David asked him, “Will you take me down to this band of raiders?” He said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me and that you will not deliver me into my master’s hand! Then I will take you down to this band.” 16 So he took him down, and ⌊there they were⌋,j spread out over the surface of all the land, eating and drinking and dancing because of all of the abundant plunder which they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. 17 Then David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped ⌊except⌋k four hundred young men who rode off on camels and fled. 18 So David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken; David also rescued his two wives. 19 None of theirs was missing ⌊from the smallest to the greatest⌋,l even sons and daughters, from the plunder up to everything they had taken for themselves; David brought back everything. 20 And David took all of the sheep,m and the cattle they drove along in front of that livestock, and they said, “This is David’s plunder.”

21 Then David came to the two hundred men ⌊who had been too exhausted to follow⌋n David; they had left them behind at the Wadio Besor. They went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him. David came near with the people and ⌊asked them how they were doing⌋.p