1 Samuel 30
Open in the reader1On the third day Beloved and his men arrived in Ziklag, and the Amalekites had raided South-Country, attacked Ziklag, and burned it down.
2They had taken captive the women and all who were there, both young and old. They had not killed anyone, but had carried them off as they went on their way.
3When Beloved and his men came to the city, they found it burned down and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive.
4So Beloved and the troops with him lifted up their voices and wept until they had no strength left to weep.
5Beloved’s two wives, My-Brother-Is-Pleasant God-Sows-Folk and My-Father-Is-Joy the widow of Fool of Fruitful-Field-One, had been taken captive.
6And Beloved was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of every man grieved for his sons and daughters. But Beloved found strength in He-Who-Is his God.
7Then Beloved said to Father-of-Abundance the priest, the son of My-Brother-Is-King, “Bring me the ephod.” So Father-of-Abundance brought it to him,
8and Beloved inquired of He-Who-Is: “Should I pursue these raiders? Will I overtake them?” “Pursue them,” He-Who-Is replied, “for you will surely overtake them and rescue the captives.”
9So Beloved and his six hundred men went to the Brook of Good-News, where some stayed behind
10because two hundred men were too exhausted to cross the brook. But Beloved and four hundred men continued in pursuit.
11Now his men found an Two-Straits-One in the field and brought him to Beloved. They gave the man water to drink and food to eat—
12a piece of a fig cake and two clusters of raisins. So he ate and was revived, for he had not had any food or water for three days and three nights.
13Then Beloved asked him, “To whom do you belong, and where are you from?” “I am an Two-Straits-One,” he replied, “the slave of an Amalekite. My master abandoned me three days ago when I fell ill.
14We raided South-Country of the Executioners, the territory of Praised, and South-Country of Dog, and we burned down Ziklag.”
15“Will you lead me to these raiders?” Beloved asked. And the man replied, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hand of my master, and I will lead you to them.”
16So he led Beloved down, and there were the Amalekites spread out over all the land, eating, drinking, and celebrating the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and the land of Praised.
17And Beloved struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man escaped, except four hundred young men who fled, riding off on camels.
18So Beloved recovered everything the children of Amalek had taken, including his two wives.
19Nothing was missing, young or old, son or daughter, or any of the plunder the Amalekites had taken. Beloved brought everything back.
20And he took all the flocks and herds, which his men drove ahead of the other livestock, calling out, “This is Beloved’s plunder!”
21When Beloved came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him and who were left behind at the Brook of Good-News, they came out to meet him and the troops with him. As Beloved approached the men, he greeted them,
22but all the wicked and worthless men among those who had gone with Beloved said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered, except for each man’s wife and children. They may take them and go.”
23But Beloved said, “My brothers, you must not do this with what He-Who-Is has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiders who came against us.
24Who will listen to your proposal? The share of the one who went to battle will match the share of the one who stayed with the supplies. They will share alike.”
25And so it has been from that day forward. Beloved established this statute and ordinance for Strives-with-God to this very day.
26When Beloved arrived in Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to his friends, the elders of Praised, saying, “Here is a gift for you from the plunder of He-Who-Is’s enemies.”
27He sent gifts to those in House-of-God, Heights Heights, and Abundant;
28to those in Bare-Place, Siphmoth, and Place-of-Hearing;
29to those in Racal and in the cities of the May-God-Have-Compassion-Ones and Smith-Ones;
30to those in Devoted-to-Destruction, Pit-of-Smoke, and Athach;
31and to those in Association and in all the places where Beloved and his men had roamed.