Ngwa ne Baamaleki
1 Dafite ne balanda babe bakaswika ku Zikilagi mu zhuba le butatu. Baamaleki bakabe banginilila Negebu ne Zikilagi. Bakabe banginilila Zikilagi bepisa, 2 bakatapa bakadzi na bose bakabe bali muili, bose batukununu ne bakulukulu, kusina wababulaya, koga bakabatapa bakayenda nabo. 3 Kwakati Dafite ne balanda babe beswika ku Zikilagi, bakawana wakapisiwa nge moto ne bakadzi babo ne bakololo ne bakololokadzi babo bakatapiwa. 4 Ndizo Dafite ne balanda babe bakalilila pezhugwi, kuswikila bepelegwa nge simba le kulila. 5 Bakadzi ba Dafite nge bubili, Ahinoami we Jezerele na Abigaile tjilikadzi ya Nabhali we Karimeli, bakabe batapiwabo.
6 Dafite wakabe ali mu mbatsha dzisishoma, ngobe bathu beti banonlikitidza nge mabgwe, mmwe ne mmwe akadzipikana ngekwe bakololo ne bakololokadzi babe. Koga Dafite kawana simba muna Yahwe Ndzimu uwe. 7 Dafite kadwa mpirisiti Abiathari nkololo wa Ahimeleke kati, “Undipe tjiambalo tje bupirisiti.” Abiathari kampa itjo. 8 Dafite kabuzwa muna Yahwe kati, “Apa ndingatobela goko ileli kene? Apa ndonolibhata kene?”
Yahwe bakashandula beti, “Ulitobele unowonolibhata, ukatubula kubasunungula.”
9 Ndizo Dafite wakamilika ne balume bali mazana ali tathatu, bakaswika ku Bheza Ravine, pakabe bamwe basala shule. 10 Dafite kadwilila nge gwendo ne balume bali mazana manna (400), ngobe bali mazana mabili (200) bakasala bakong'wa ngotjuluka Bheza banyala kwazo. 11 Balume bakabe bana Dafite bakawana nzhuzha we N'egipiti mu shango bakantola bakan'yisa kuna Dafite, bakampa zojiwa kaja ne vula kang'wa. 12 Bakampa gwamu le phaya dzakakobogwa ne zhambi dzakawanikiwa kaja kazibunuka, ngobe wakabe ana mazhuba matatu ne masiku matatu asingawane zojiwa kene vula. 13 Dafite kambhuzwa kati, “U nlanda waani, unodwa ngayi?”
Kashandula eti, “Ndi N'egipiti, nlanda we N'amaleki. Tetshi wangu wakandilasha ngobe ndakabe ndagwala mazhuba matatu akapinda. 14 Takanginilila Negebu kwe Bakerethiya ne ntuthu we Juda ne Negebu kwe Khalibhi, tikabuya tikapisa Zikilagi.”
15 Dafite kambhuzwa kati, “Apa unganondilakidza goko ileli kwaliyako kene?”
Ngono nzhuzha kadabila eti, “Ha mungatuna mbeli kwe Ndzimu, kuti amungandibulaye kene amungandipe tetshi wangu, ndinganomuyisa ku goko ileli.” 16 Wakatungamila Dafite kanonswikisa ku bali, bakabawana bakaandama ne shango yose, beja beng'wa, bezana, ngobe bakabe bakashathila bukulu gwe thundu yabakatapa mu shango ye Bafilisitiya ne mu Juda. 17 Dafite kagwa nabo kababulaya kudwa mangwanana kuyedza kuswikila tjimuka madekwana, ngono akuna wabo wakapudzumuka, kuzhe kwe bazhuzha bali mazana manna (400) bakatatha kamela bakatizha. 18 Dafite kadzutunula kose kwakabe kwatogwa nge Baamaleki, kose ne bakadzi babe nge babili. 19 Akuna tjakasheteka, tjitukununu kene tjikulu kulu, balisana kene baanadi, zwakabe zwatapiwa keneni tjakabe tjatogwa, Dafite wakabuya nazo zose. 20 Dafite wakadzutunula zose ngubi ye pkhwizi ne ng'ombe, bathu babe bakatakula zwithuwo mbeli kukwe, beyenda beti, “Eyi, i thundu ya Dafite yakabe yatapiwa.”
21 Ndizo Dafite kaswika ku balume bali mazana mabili (200) bakabe bakakong'wa nge kuyenda naye bakasala pa Bheza Ravine banyala kwazo. Balume ibabo bakabhuda bakanshanganidza Dafite ne bathu baakabe anabo. Kukati Dafite ne balanda babe beswika koga, kabadumilisa. 22 Koga bathu bose be meyambi ne basi be tjimwe bamwe be batobeli ba Dafite bakabe beti, “Ngobe ibaba abazobe bayenda naswi, atitowokobana nabo zwakatapiwa zwatakadzutunula, kuzhe kwekuti nlume mmwe ne mmwe atole nkadzi uwe ne bana babe ayende.” 23 Dafite kashandula eti, “Akuzojalo bakololo ba tate bangu, amuzofanila thama muijalo ngekwe zwatapiwa ndi Yahwe. Bakatitjengeta bakathama kuti tikunde ikwata tjakabe tjatinginilila. 24 Apa ndiani unowoteedza tjamunoleba kene? Gobe le nthu wakasala akalinda thundu lolizana ne nthu wakayenda ku ngwa. Bose banowokobana nge ndizanyo.” 25 Kudwa mu zhuba ilelo Dafite kakuthama kukabe nlayo ne yendiso mu Iziraela kuswikila nasi.
26 Kwakati Dafite eswika ku Zikilagi, katumilila zwimwe zwe zwakatapiwa ku bazwalani babe, batungamili be Juda kabadwa kati, “Ndamupa tjipo etje, kudwa muna zwakatapiwa mu zwita zwa Yahwe.” 27 Etumilila kuna bakabe bali ku Bhetele ne Ramoti ne Negebu ne Jatiri, 28 ne kuna bakabe bali ku Aroeru ne Sifumothe ne Eshitemoa, 29 ne ku Rakali ne kuna bakabe bali mu mizi ye Bajeramiyeli ne Bakeni, 30 ne kuna bakabe bali ku Horima ne Bhori Ashani ne Athaki 31 ne ku Heburoni ne kuna bakabe bali ku magalo wose kwakabe Dafite ne bathu babe besoyendaboko.
David Rescues His Soldiers' Families
1 It took David and his men three days to reach Ziklag. But while they had been away, the Amalekites had been raiding in the desert around there. They had attacked Ziklag, burned it to the ground, 2 and had taken away the women and children. 3 When David and his men came to Ziklag, they saw the burned-out ruins and learned that their families had been taken captive. 4 They started crying and kept it up until they were too weak to cry any more. 5 David's two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail, had been taken captive with everyone else.
6 David was desperate. His soldiers were so upset over what had happened to their sons and daughters that they were thinking about stoning David to death. But he felt the Lord God giving him strength, 7 and he said to the priest, “Abiathar, let's ask God what to do.”
Abiathar brought everything he needed to get answers from God, and he went over to David. 8 Then David asked the Lord, “Should I go after the people who raided our town? Can I catch up with them?”
“Go after them,” the Lord answered. “You will catch up with them, and you will rescue your families.”
9-10 David led his 600 men to Besor Gorge, but 200 of them were too tired to go across. So they stayed behind, while David and the other 400 men crossed the gorge.
11 Some of David's men found an Egyptian out in a field and took him to David. They gave the Egyptian some bread, and he ate it. Then they gave him a drink of water, 12 some dried figs, and two handfuls of raisins. This was the first time in three days he had tasted food or water. Now he felt much better.
13 “Who is your master?” David asked. “And where do you come from?”
“I'm from Egypt,” the young man answered. “I'm the servant of an Amalekite, but he left me here three days ago because I was sick. 14 We had attacked some towns in the desert where the Cherethites live, in the area that belongs to Judah, and in the desert where the Caleb clan lives. And we burned down Ziklag.”
15 “Will you take me to those Amalekites?” David asked.
“Yes, I will, if you promise with God as a witness that you won't kill me or hand me over to my master.”
16 He led David to the Amalekites. They were eating and drinking everywhere, celebrating because of what they had taken from Philistia and Judah. 17 David attacked just before sunrise the next day and fought until sunset. Four hundred Amalekites rode away on camels, but they were the only ones who escaped.
18 David rescued his two wives and everyone else the Amalekites had taken from Ziklag. 19 No one was missing—young or old, sons or daughters. David brought back everything that had been stolen, 20 including their livestock.
David also took the sheep and cattle that the Amalekites had with them, but he kept these separate from the others. Everyone agreed that these would be David's reward.
21 On the way back, David went to the 200 men he had left at Besor Gorge, because they had been too tired to keep up with him. They came toward David and the people who were with him. When David was close enough, he greeted the 200 men and asked how they were doing.
22 Some of David's men were good-for-nothings, and they said, “Those men didn't go with us to the battle, so they don't get any of the things we took back from the Amalekites. Let them take their wives and children and go!”
23 But David said:
My friends, don't be so greedy with what the Lord has given us! The Lord protected us and gave us victory over the people who attacked. 24 Who would pay attention to you, anyway? Soldiers who stay behind to guard the camp get as much as those who go into battle.
25 David made this a law for Israel, and it has been the same ever since.
26 David went back to Ziklag with everything they had taken from the Amalekites. He sent some of these things as gifts to his friends who were leaders of Judah, and he told them, “We took these things from the Lord's enemies. Please accept them as a gift.”
27-31 This is a list of the towns where David sent gifts: Bethel, Ramoth in the Southern Desert, Jattir, Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, Racal, the towns belonging to the Jerahmeelites and the Kenites, Hormah, Bor-Ashan, Athach, and Hebron. He also sent gifts to the other towns where he and his men had traveled.