New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid on the Negeb and on Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag, burned it down,
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Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made an attack on the South and on Ziklag, and had overcome Ziklag and put it on fire;
2 and taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great; they killed none of them, but carried them off, and went their way.
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And had made the women and all who were there, small and great, prisoners: they had not put any of them to death, but had taken them all away.
3 When David and his men came to the city, they found it burned down, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive.
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And when David and his men came to the town, they saw that it had been burned down, and their wives and their sons and daughters had been made prisoners.
4 Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept, until they had no more strength to weep.
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Then David and the people who were with him gave themselves up to weeping till they were able to go on weeping no longer.
5 David's two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel.
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And David's two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the wife of Nabal of Carmel, had been made prisoners.
6 David was in great danger; for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in spirit for their sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
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And David was greatly troubled; for the people were talking of stoning him, because their hearts were bitter, every man sorrowing for his sons and his daughters: but David made himself strong in the Lord his God.
7 David said to the priest Abiathar son of Ahimelech, "Bring me the ephod." So Abiathar brought the ephod to David.
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And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, Come here to me with the ephod. And Abiathar took the ephod to David.
8 David inquired of the Lord, "Shall I pursue this band? Shall I overtake them?" He answered him, "Pursue; for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue."
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Then David, questioning the Lord, said, Am I to go after this band? will I be able to overtake them? And in answer he said, Go after them, for you will certainly overtake them, and get back everything.
9 So David set out, he and the six hundred men who were with him. They came to the Wadi Besor, where those stayed who were left behind.
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So David went, and his six hundred men went with him, and they came to the stream Besor.
10 But David went on with the pursuit, he and four hundred men; two hundred stayed behind, too exhausted to cross the Wadi Besor.
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And David, with four hundred men, went on: but two hundred of them were overcome with weariness, and not able to go across the stream.
11 In the open country they found an Egyptian, and brought him to David. They gave him bread and he ate; they gave him water to drink;
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And in the fields they saw an Egyptian whom they took to David, and they gave him bread, and he had a meal, and they gave him water for drink;
12 they also gave him a piece of fig cake and two clusters of raisins. When he had eaten, his spirit revived; for he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights.
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And they gave him part of a cake of figs and some dry grapes; and after the food, his spirit came back to him, for he had had no food or drink for three days and nights.
13 Then David said to him, "To whom do you belong? Where are you from?" He said, "I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite. My master left me behind because I fell sick three days ago.
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And David said to him, Whose man are you and where do you come from? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master went on without me because three days back I became ill.
14 We had made a raid on the Negeb of the Cherethites and on that which belongs to Judah and on the Negeb of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag down."
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We made an attack on the south part of the country of the Cherethites, and on the land which is Judah's, and on the south of Caleb; and we put Ziklag on fire.
15 David said to him, "Will you take 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 take you down to them."
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And David said to him, Will you take me down to this band? And he said, If you give me your oath that you will not put me to death or give me up to my master, I will take you to them.
16 When he had taken him down, they were spread out all over the ground, eating and drinking and dancing, because of the great amount of spoil they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.
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And when he had taken him down, they saw them all, seated about on all sides, feasting and drinking among all the mass of goods which they had taken from the land of the Philistines and the land of Judah.
17 David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not one of them escaped, except four hundred young men, who mounted camels and fled.
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And David went on fighting them from evening till the evening of the day after; and not one of them got away but only four hundred young men who went in flight on camels.
18 David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken; and David rescued his two wives.
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And David got back everything the Amalekites had taken; and he got back his two wives.
19 Nothing was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken; David brought back everything.
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There was no loss of anything, small or great, sons or daughters or goods or anything which they had taken away: David got it all back.
20 David also captured all the flocks and herds, which were driven ahead of the other cattle; people said, "This is David's spoil."
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And they took all the flocks and herds, and driving them in front of him, said, These are David's.
21 Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow David, and who had been left at the Wadi Besor. They went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him. When David drew near to the people he saluted them.
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And David came to the two hundred men, who because of weariness had not gone with him, but were waiting at the stream Besor: and they went out, meeting David and the people who were with him; and when they came near them, they said, How are you?
22 Then all the corrupt and worthless fellows among the men who had gone with David said, "Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except that each man may take his wife and children, and leave."
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Then the bad and good-for-nothing men among those who went with David said, Because they did not go with us, we will give them nothing of the goods which we have got back, but only to every man his wife and children, so that he may take them and go.
23 But David said, "You shall not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord has given us; he has preserved us and handed over to us the raiding party that attacked us.
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Then David said, You are not to do this, my brothers, after what the Lord has given us, who has kept us safe and given up the band which came against us into our hands.
24 Who would listen to you in this matter? For the share of the one who goes down into the battle shall be the same as the share of the one who stays by the baggage; they shall share alike."
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Who is going to give any attention to you in this question? for an equal part will be given to him who went to the fight and to him who was waiting by the goods: they are all to have the same.
25 From that day forward he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel; it continues to the present day.
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And so he made it a rule and an order for Israel from that day till now.
26 When David came to Ziklag, he sent part of the spoil to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, "Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of the Lord";
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And when David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the goods to the responsible men of Judah, and to his friends, saying, Here is an offering for you from the goods of those who were fighting against the Lord;
27 it was for those in Bethel, in Ramoth of the Negeb, in Jattir,
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He sent to those who were in Beth-el, and in Ramah of the South, and in Jattir;
28 in Aroer, in Siphmoth, in Eshtemoa,
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And to those in Arara and Eshtemoa
29 in Racal, in the towns of the Jerahmeelites, in the towns of the Kenites,
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and Carmel and in the towns of the Jerahmeelites, and in the towns of the Kenites;
30 in Hormah, in Bor-ashan, in Athach,
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And to those who were in Hormah and in Bor-ashan and in Athach;
31 in Hebron, all the places where David and his men had roamed.
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And in Hebron, and to all the places where David and his men had been living.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.