# 1 Samuel 30

> Lumin Translation

Source: https://www.lumin.faith/read/1-samuel/30

Lumin’s own translation, drafted with AI from the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, checked verse by verse against them, and approved by Lumin. Brackets mark verses not found in the earliest manuscripts.

How it was made: https://www.lumin.faith/lumin-translation.md

1. When David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it down.
2. They had taken captive the women who were there, both young and old. They had not killed anyone, but had carried them off and gone on their way.
3. When David and his men came to the town, they found it burned down, and their wives, sons, and daughters taken captive.
4. David and the people with him wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep.
5. David’s two wives had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel.
6. David was in great danger, because the people were talking of stoning him; all the people were bitter in spirit, each one over his sons and daughters. But David found strength in Yahweh his God.
7. David said to Abiathar the priest, son of Ahimelech, “Please bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David.
8. David inquired of Yahweh, “Should I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?” He answered him, “Pursue them, for you will certainly overtake them and will certainly rescue the captives.”
9. So David set out, he and the six hundred men with him, and they came to the Besor Valley, where some stayed behind.
10. David and four hundred men kept up the pursuit, while two hundred men stayed behind because they were too exhausted to cross the Besor Valley.
11. They found an Egyptian in the open country and brought him to David. They gave him bread to eat and water to drink.
12. They also gave him a piece of a cake of pressed figs and two clusters of raisins. When he had eaten, his strength returned, for he had not eaten any food or drunk any water for three days and three nights.
13. David asked him, “Who do you belong to? Where are you from?” He said, “I am a young Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite. My master abandoned me three days ago because I fell sick.
14. We raided the Negev of the Kerethites, the territory belonging to Judah, and the Negev of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag down.”
15. David asked him, “Will you lead me down to this raiding party?” He said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will lead you down to this raiding party.”
16. So he led him down, and there they were, spread out over the whole area, eating and drinking and celebrating because of all the great plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.
17. David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day. None of them escaped except four hundred young men who got on camels and fled.
18. David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, and David rescued his two wives.
19. Nothing was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought it all back.
20. David also took all the flocks and herds. The people drove them ahead of the other livestock and said, “This is David’s plunder.”
21. Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him and had been left at the Besor Valley. They came out to meet David and the people with him. When David approached the people, he greeted them.
22. But all the wicked and worthless men among those who had gone with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the plunder we recovered, except that each man may take his wife and children and go.”
23. But David said, “You must not do that, my brothers, with what Yahweh has given us. He has protected us and handed over to us the raiding party that came against us.
24. Who would listen to you in this matter? The share of the one who goes down into battle is to be the same as the share of the one who stays with the supplies. They will share alike.”
25. From that day on he made this a statute and a rule for Israel, and it remains so to this day.
26. When David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah, his friends, saying, “Here is a gift for you from the plunder of Yahweh’s enemies.”
27. He sent it to those in Bethel, Ramoth of the Negev, and Jattir,
28. to those in Aroer, Siphmoth, and Eshtemoa,
29. to those in Racal, in the towns of the Jerahmeelites, and in the towns of the Kenites,
30. to those in Hormah, Bor-ashan, and Athach,
31. to those in Hebron, and to all the places where David and his men had roamed.

## Nearby chapters

[1 Samuel 29](https://www.lumin.faith/read/1-samuel/29.md)
[1 Samuel 31](https://www.lumin.faith/read/1-samuel/31.md)

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