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, burnt 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 burnt out ruins and learnt 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 six hundred men to Besor Gorge, but two hundred of them were too tired to go across. So they stayed behind, while David and the other four hundred men crossed the gorge.