1And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; 2And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way.
3¶ So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. 4Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. 5And David’s two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. 6And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.30.6 grieved: Heb. bitter
7And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David. 8And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all. 9So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind stayed. 10But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred abode behind, which were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor.
11¶ And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water; 12And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and 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. 13And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick. 14We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire. 15And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company.
16¶ And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and 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. 17And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled.30.17 the next…: Heb. their morrow 18And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives. 19And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered all. 20And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drave before those other cattle, and said, This is David’s spoil.
21¶ And David came to the two hundred men, which were so faint that they could not follow David, whom they had made also to abide at the brook Besor: and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him: and when David came near to the people, he saluted them.30.21 saluted…: or, asked them how they did 22Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial, of those that went with David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them ought of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away, and depart.30.22 those: Heb. men 23Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the LORD hath given us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand. 24For who will hearken unto you in this matter? but as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike. 25And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day.30.25 forward: Heb. and forward
26¶ And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the LORD;30.26 present: Heb. blessing 27To them which were in Beth-el, and to them which were in south Ramoth, and to them which were in Jattir, 28And to them which were in Aroer, and to them which were in Siphmoth, and to them which were in Eshtemoa, 29And to them which were in Rachal, and to them which were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to them which were in the cities of the Kenites, 30And to them which were in Hormah, and to them which were in Chor-ashan, and to them which were in Athach, 31And to them which were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt.
Davi Derrota os Amalequitas
1Quando Davi e seus soldados chegaram a Ziclague, no terceiro dia, os amalequitas tinham atacado o Neguebe e incendiado a cidade de Ziclague. 2Levaram como prisioneiros todos os que lá estavam: as mulheres, os jovens e os idosos. A ninguém mataram, mas os levaram consigo, quando prosseguiram seu caminho.
3Ao chegarem a Ziclague, Davi e seus soldados encontraram a cidade destruída pelo fogo e viram que suas mulheres, seus filhos e suas filhas tinham sido levados como prisioneiros. 4Então Davi e seus soldados choraram em alta voz até não terem mais forças. 5As duas mulheres de Davi também tinham sido levadas: Ainoã, de Jezreel, e Abigail, de Carmelo, a que fora mulher de Nabal. 6Davi ficou profundamente angustiado, pois os homens falavam em apedrejá-lo; todos estavam amargurados por causa de seus filhos e de suas filhas. Davi, porém, fortaleceu-se no Senhor, o seu Deus.
7Então Davi disse ao sacerdote Abiatar, filho de Aimeleque: “Traga-me o colete sacerdotal”. Abiatar o trouxe a Davi, 8e ele perguntou ao Senhor: “Devo perseguir esse bando de invasores? Irei alcançá-los?”
E o Senhor respondeu: “Persiga-os; é certo que você os alcançará e conseguirá libertar os prisioneiros”.
9Davi e os seiscentos homens que estavam com ele foram ao ribeiro de Besor, onde ficaram alguns, 10pois duzentos deles estavam exaustos demais para atravessar o ribeiro. Todavia, Davi e quatrocentos homens continuaram a perseguição.
11Encontraram um egípcio no campo e o trouxeram a Davi. Deram-lhe água e comida: 12um pedaço de bolo de figos prensados e dois bolos de uvas passas. Ele comeu e recobrou as forças, pois tinha ficado três dias e três noites sem comer e sem beber.
13Davi lhe perguntou: “A quem você pertence e de onde vem?”
Ele respondeu: “Sou um jovem egípcio, servo de um amalequita. Meu senhor me abandonou quando fiquei doente há três dias. 14Nós atacamos o Neguebe dos queretitas, o território que pertence a Judá e o Neguebe de Calebe. E incendiamos a cidade de Ziclague”.
15Davi lhe perguntou: “Você pode levar-me até esse bando de invasores?”
Ele respondeu: “Jura, diante de Deus, que não me matarás nem me entregarás nas mãos de meu senhor, e te levarei até eles”.
16Quando ele levou Davi até lá, os amalequitas estavam espalhados pela região, comendo, bebendo e festejando os muitos bens que haviam tomado da terra dos filisteus e de Judá. 17Davi os atacou no dia seguinte, desde o amanhecer até a tarde, e nenhum deles escapou, com exceção de quatrocentos jovens que montaram em camelos e fugiram. 18Davi recuperou tudo o que os amalequitas tinham levado, incluindo suas duas mulheres. 19Nada faltou: nem jovens, nem velhos, nem filhos, nem filhas, nem bens, nem qualquer outra coisa que fora levada. Davi recuperou tudo. 20E tomou também todos os rebanhos dos amalequitas, e seus soldados os conduziram à frente dos outros animais, dizendo: “Estes são os despojos de Davi”.
21Então Davi foi até os duzentos homens que estavam exaustos demais para segui-lo e tinham ficado no ribeiro de Besor. Eles saíram para receber Davi e os que estavam com ele. Ao se aproximar com seus soldados, Davi os saudou. 22Mas todos os elementos maus e vadios que tinham ido com Davi disseram: “Uma vez que não saíram conosco, não repartiremos com eles os bens que recuperamos. No entanto, cada um poderá pegar sua mulher e seus filhos e partir”.
23Davi respondeu: “Não, meus irmãos! Não façam isso com o que o Senhor nos deu. Ele nos protegeu e entregou em nossas mãos os bandidos que vieram contra nós. 24Quem concordará com o que vocês estão dizendo? A parte de quem ficou com a bagagem será a mesma de quem foi à batalha. Todos receberão partes iguais”. 25Davi fez disso um decreto e uma ordenança para Israel, desde aquele dia até hoje.
26Quando Davi chegou a Ziclague, enviou parte dos bens às autoridades de Judá, que eram seus amigos, dizendo: “Eis um presente para vocês, tirado dos bens dos inimigos do Senhor”.
27Ele enviou esse presente às autoridades de Betel, de Ramote do Neguebe, de Jatir, 28de Aroer, de Sifmote, de Estemoa, 29de Racal, das cidades dos jerameelitas e dos queneus, 30de Hormá, de Corasã, de Atace, 31de Hebrom e de todos os lugares onde Davi e seus soldados tinham passado.
