1
And it came to pass, when Daviyd and his men came to Tziqlag on the third day, that the Amaleqi had made a raid upon the Negev and upon Tziqlag. And they struck Tziqlag and burned it with fire.
2
And they had taken captive the women who were in it, from small even to great. They did not put any ish to death, but carried them away and went on their way.
3
And Daviyd and his men came to the city, and see, it was burned with fire, and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive.
4
And Daviyd and the people who were with him lifted up their voice and wept until there was no longer strength in them to weep.
5
And the two wives of Daviyd had been taken captive: Achinoam the Yizre’elit, and Avigayil, former ishah of Naval the Karmeli.
6
And Daviyd was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the being of all the people was bitter, each ish over his sons and over his daughters. But Daviyd strengthened himself in Yahuah his Elohim.
7
And Daviyd said to Evyatar the kohen, son of Achimelekh, “Please bring near to me the ephod.” And Evyatar brought the ephod near to Daviyd.
8
And Daviyd asked of Yahuah, saying, “Shall I pursue after this troop? Shall I overtake them?” And He said to him, “Pursue, for overtaking, you shall surely overtake, and delivering, you shall surely deliver.”
9
And Daviyd went, he and the six hundred ish who were with him, and they came to the wadi Besor, where those who remained behind stayed.
10
And Daviyd pursued, he and four hundred ish. And two hundred ish remained behind, who were too exhausted to cross the wadi Besor.
11
And they found an ish of Mitzrayim in the field and took him to Daviyd. And they gave him bread, and he ate, and they caused him to drink water.
12
And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins, and he ate, and his ruach returned to him, for he had eaten no bread and drunk no water for three days and three nights.
13
And Daviyd said to him, “To whom do you belong, and from where are you?” And he said, “I am a young man of Mitzrayim, servant to an ish, an Amaleqi. And my master abandoned me because I became sick three days ago.
14
We raided the Negev of the Kereti, and that which belongs to Yehudah, and the Negev of Kalev, and Tziqlag we burned with fire.”
15
And Daviyd said to him, “Will you bring me down to this troop?” And he said, “Swear to me by Elohim that you will not put me to death and will not give me into the hand of my master, and I will bring you down to this troop.”
16
And he brought him down, and see, they were spread out upon all the face of the land, eating and drinking and celebrating because of all the great spoil that they had taken from the land of the Pelishtim and from the land of Yehudah.
17
And Daviyd struck them from twilight even until the evening of the next day. And not an ish from them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode upon camels and fled.
18
And Daviyd delivered all that the Amaleqi had taken, and Daviyd delivered his two wives.
19
And nothing was missing from them, from small even to great, and from sons and daughters, and from spoil, even to everything that they had taken for themselves. Daviyd returned all.
20
And Daviyd took all the sheep and the oxen. They drove them before that livestock and said, “This is the spoil of Daviyd.”
21
And Daviyd came to the two hundred ish who had been too exhausted to walk after Daviyd, whom they had caused to remain at the wadi Besor. And they went out to meet Daviyd and to meet the people who were with him. And Daviyd drew near to the people and asked them concerning shalom.
22
And every evil ish and son of worthlessness among the men who had gone with Daviyd answered and said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them from the spoil that we delivered, except to each ish his ishah and his sons, and let them lead them away and go.”
23
And Daviyd said, “You shall not do so, my brothers, with what Yahuah has given us, who guarded us and gave into our hand the troop that came against us.
24
And who will listen to you concerning this matter? For as the portion of the one who goes down into the battle, so shall be the portion of the one who remains with the vessels. Together they shall divide.”
25
And it came to pass from that day and onward that he set it as a statute and as a judgment for Yisra’el to this day.
26
And Daviyd came to Tziqlag and sent from the spoil to the elders of Yehudah, to his companions, saying, “See, a blessing for you from the spoil of the enemies of Yahuah”—
27
to those who were in Beit-El, and to those who were in Ramot of the Negev, and to those who were in Yattir,
28
and to those who were in Aroer, and to those who were in Sifmot, and to those who were in Eshtemoa,
29
and to those who were in Rakhal, and to those who were in the cities of the Yerachmeeli, and to those who were in the cities of the Qeini,
30
and to those who were in Chormah, and to those who were in Bor-Ashan, and to those who were in Atakh,
31
and to those who were in Chevron, and to all the places where Daviyd himself and his men had walked.