1 Samuel 30 - 31

David Strikes Down the Amalekites

Then it happened when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid on the Negev and on Ziklag and had struck Ziklag and burned it with fire; 2 and they took captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great—they did not put anyone to death—and carried them off and went their way. 3 Then David and his men came to the city, and behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken captive. 4 So David and the people who were with him lifted their voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep. 5 Now David’s two wives had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. 6 Moreover David was greatly distressed because the people said to stone him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in Yahweh his God. 7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Please bring the ephod near to me.” So Abiathar brought the ephod near to David. 8 And David asked of Yahweh, saying, “Shall I pursue this band? Shall I overtake them?” And He said to him, “Pursue, for you will surely overtake them, and you will surely deliver all.” 9 So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, where those left behind remained. 10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men, for two hundred who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor remained behind. 11 Then they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David and gave him bread, and he ate, and they provided him water to drink. 12 And they gave him a piece of fig cake and two clusters of raisins, and he ate; then his spirit revived. For he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights. 13 And David said to him, “To whom do you belong? And where are you from?” And he said, “I am a young man of Egypt, a slave of an Amalekite; and my master forsook me when I fell sick three days ago. 14 We made a raid on the Negev of the Cherethites and on that which belongs to Judah and on the Negev of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.” 15 Then David said to him, “Will you bring me down to this band?” And he said, “Swear to me by God that you will not put me to death or surrender me into the hands of my master, and I will bring you down to this band.” 16 So he brought him down, and behold, they were spread over all the land, eating and drinking and celebrating because of all the great spoil that they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. 17 Then David struck them down from the twilight until the evening of the next day; and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled. 18 So David delivered all that the Amalekites had taken and delivered his two wives. 19 Indeed nothing of theirs was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that they had taken for themselves; David brought it all back. 20 And David took all the sheep and the cattle which the people drove ahead of the other livestock, and they said, “This is David’s spoil.”

David Apportions the Spoils

21 Then David came to the two hundred men who were too exhausted to follow David, who had also remained at the brook Besor, and they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him, and David approached the people and greeted them. 22 Then all the evil and vile men among those who went with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have delivered, except to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away and depart.” 23 Then David said, “You must not do so, my brothers, with what Yahweh has given us, who has kept us and given into our hand the band that came against us. 24 And who will listen to you in this matter? For as is the portion of the one who goes down to the battle, so shall the portion be of the one who remains by the baggage; they shall be apportioned together.” 25 So it has been from that day forward, that he made it a statute and a judgment for Israel to this day. 26 Then David came to Ziklag and sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, “Behold, a gift for you from the spoil of the enemies of Yahweh: 27 to those who were in Bethel, and to those who were in Ramoth of the Negev, and to those who were in Jattir, 28 and to those who were in Aroer, and to those who were in Siphmoth, and to those who were in Eshtemoa, 29 and 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 Kenites, 30 and to those who were in Hormah, and to those who were in Bor-ashan, and to those who were in Athach, 31 and to those who were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men went about.”

The Death of Saul and His Sons

Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. 2 And the Philistines closely pursued Saul and his sons; and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. 3 And the battle became heavy against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was badly wounded by the archers. 4 Then Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and pierce me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and pierce me through and abuse me.” But his armor bearer was not willing, for he was greatly afraid. So Saul took his sword and fell on it. 5 Then his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, so he also fell on his sword and died with him. 6 Thus Saul died with his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men on that day together. 7 Then the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, with those who were beyond the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead. So they forsook the cities and fled; and the Philistines came and lived in them. 8 Now it happened on the next day, that the Philistines came to strip the slain, and they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 Then they cut off his head and stripped off his weapons and sent them all around the land of the Philistines, to proclaim the good news to the house of their idols and to the people. 10 And they placed his weapons in the house of Ashtaroth and fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. 11 Then the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 so all the valiant men arose and walked all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and burned them there. 13 And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.