1. As soon as David and his men arrived at Ziklag on the third day, they saw that the Amalekites had attacked Ziklag. The Amalekites invaded the Negev area, attacked Ziklag, and burned the city.
2. They took all the women in Ziklag, both young and old, as prisoners. They didn’t kill anyone; they only took them as prisoners.
3. When David and his men came to Ziklag, they found the city burning. Their wives, sons, and daughters were all gone. The Amalekites had taken them.
4. David and the other men in his army cried loudly until they were too weak to cry anymore.
5. The Amalekites had taken David’s two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, who had been the wife of Nabal from Carmel.
6. All the men in the army were sad and angry because their sons and daughters were taken as prisoners. The men were talking about killing David with stones. This upset David very much, but he found strength in the Lord his God.
7. David said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod.” So Abiathar brought it.
8. Then David prayed to the Lord. “Should I chase the people who took our families? Will I catch them?” The Lord answered, “Chase them. You will catch them, and you will save your families.”
9-10. David took the 600 men with him and went to Besor Ravine. About 200 of his men stayed there because they were too weak and tired to continue. But David and the other 400 men continued to chase the Amalekites.