1Three days later, when David and his men arrived back at Ziklag, they found it had been attacked and burned by the Amalekites, who had raided the Negev region and Ziklag.
2They had taken captive all the women and everyone else — young and old. They had not killed anyone but had carried them all off.
3When David and his men came to the town and found it burned down with their wives, sons, and daughters taken captive,
4they wept until they had no strength left to weep.
5David's two wives had also been taken — Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, Nabal's widow from Carmel.
6David was in great distress, because the men were threatening to stone him — each one was bitter over the loss of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.
7He said to Abiathar the priest, son of Ahimelech, 'Bring me the ephod.' Abiathar brought it,
8and David asked the LORD, 'Should I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?' The LORD answered, 'Pursue them. You will certainly overtake them and recover everything.'
9David and his six hundred men set out and came to the Besor Ravine, where some men stayed behind.
10David pressed on with four hundred men, while two hundred stayed behind — too exhausted to cross the ravine.
11They found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David. They gave him food and water,
12and also gave him a piece of fig cake and two clusters of raisins. After he ate, his strength returned, for he had not eaten or drunk anything for three days and nights.
13David asked him, 'Who do you belong to? Where are you from?' The man replied, 'I am an Egyptian — the servant of an Amalekite. My master abandoned me when I fell sick three days ago.'
14'We had attacked the Negev of the Cherethites and the territory belonging to Judah and the Negev of Caleb. We burned down Ziklag.'
15David asked him, 'Can you lead me to this raiding party?' He replied, 'Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or hand me back to my master, and I will take you to them.'
16The man led David down to where the Amalekites were spread out over the whole landscape — eating, drinking, and celebrating because of the great plunder they had taken from Philistine and Judahite territory.
17David fought them from dusk until the following evening. None of them escaped except four hundred young men who fled on camels.
18David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives.
19Nothing was missing — young or old, sons or daughters, plunder or anything else that had been taken. David brought it all back.
20David also captured all the flocks and herds — the people drove those animals ahead of the others, saying, 'This is David's plunder.'
21When David returned to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him — those who had stayed at the Besor Ravine — they came out to meet him and the people with him. As David approached, he greeted them warmly.
22But some greedy troublemakers among David's men said, 'Since they didn't go with us, we won't give them any of the plunder we recovered. Each man may take his wife and children and go.'
23David said, 'No, my brothers! You must not do that with what the LORD has given us. He has protected us and handed over the raiding party to us.'
24'Why would anyone listen to your argument? The man who stays with the supplies shares equally with the man who goes into battle. All must share alike.'
25From that day on, David made this a standing rule and regulation for Israel, which remains in effect to this day.
26When David arrived at Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah who were his friends, with the message: 'Here is a gift for you from the plunder of the LORD's enemies.'
27He sent gifts to the elders of Bethel, Ramoth Negev, Jattir,
28Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa,
29Racal, the cities of Jerahmeel, the cities of the Kenites,
30Hormah, Bor Ashan, Athak,
31and Hebron — and to all the other places where David and his men had roamed.