1It happened, when David and his men had come to Ziklag on the third day, that Amalek had made a raid on the Negev, and on Ziklag, and had struck Ziklag, and burned it with fire, 2and had taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great. They did not kill any, but carried them off, and went their way. 3When David and his men came to the city, look, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captive. 4Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. 5David's two wives were taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelite, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. 6David was greatly distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.

7David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, "Please bring me here the ephod." Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8David inquired of the LORD, saying, "If I pursue after this troop, shall I overtake them?" He answered him, "Pursue; for you shall surely overtake them, and shall without fail recover all." 9So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the Wadi Besor, where those who were left behind stayed. 10But David pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred stayed behind, who were so faint that they couldn't cross the Wadi Besor.

11They found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he ate; and they gave him water to drink. 12They gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins. When he had eaten, his spirit came again to him; for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights. 13David asked him, "To whom do you belong? Where are you from?" He said, "I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days ago I fell sick. 14We made a raid on the Negev of the Kerethites, and on that which belongs to Judah, and on the Negev of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire." 15David said to him, "Will you bring me down to this troop?" He said, "Swear to me by God that you will neither kill me, nor deliver me up into the hands of my master, and I will bring you down to this troop." And he swore to him.

16When he had brought him down, look, they were spread around over all the ground, eating, drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah. 17David struck them from the twilight even to the evening of the next day and he put them to death. Not a man of them escaped from there, except four hundred young men, who rode on camels and fled. 18He recovered all that the Amalekites had taken; and David rescued his two wives. 19There was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor anything that they had taken to them. David brought back all. 20He took all the flocks and the herds, which they drove before those other livestock, and said, "This is David's spoil."

21David came to the two hundred men, who were so faint that they could not follow David, whom he also had made to stay at the Wadi Besor; and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people who were with him. And when David came near to the people, he greeted them. 22Then every wicked and worthless one of the men who had gone with David answered, and they said, "Because they did not go with us, we will not give them anything of the spoil that we have recovered, except to each man his wife and his children. And let them take them, and depart." 23Then David said, "You shall not do so after what the LORD has given to us, who has preserved us, and delivered into our hand the raiding party that came against us. 24And who will listen to you in this matter? For they are not inferior to you. For as his share is who goes down to the battle, so will his share be who remains with the supplies; they will share alike." 25It was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.

26When David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil to the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, "Look, a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the LORD." 27He sent it to those who were in Bethel, and to those who were in Ramath Negev, and to those who were in Jattir, 28and to those who were in Aroer, and to those who were in Siphmoth, and to those who were in Eshtemoa, 29and to those who were in Racal, and to those who were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to those who were in the cities of the Kenizzites, 30and to those who were in Hormah, and to those who were in Bor Ashan, and to those who were in Athach, 31and to those who were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men used to stay.