¹⁶ He led David down, and there they were, scattered over the countryside, eating, drinking and reveling^(A) because of the great amount of plunder^(B) they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from Judah. ¹⁷ David fought^(C) them from dusk until the evening of the next day, and none of them got away, except four hundred young men who rode off on camels and fled.^{(D) 18} David recovered^(E) everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. ¹⁹ Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back. ²⁰ He took all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock, saying, “This is David’s plunder.”

²¹ Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted^(F) to follow him and who were left behind at the Besor Valley. They came out to meet David and the men with him. As David and his men approached, he asked them how they were. ²² But all the evil men and troublemakers among David’s followers said, “Because they did not go out with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered. However, each man may take his wife and children and go.”

²³ David replied, “No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the Lord has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us. ²⁴ Who will listen to what you say? The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.^(G)” ²⁵ David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to this.

²⁶ When David reached Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah, who were his friends, saying, “Here is a gift^(H) for you from the plunder of the Lord’s enemies.”

³⁰ David took the crown^(A) from their king’s^[a] head, and it was placed on his own head. It weighed a talent^[b] of gold, and it was set with precious stones. David took a great quantity of plunder from the city ³¹ and brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes, and he made them work at brickmaking.^[c] David did this to all the Ammonite^(B) towns. Then he and his entire army returned to Jerusalem.

David’s Officials

²³ Joab^(A) was over Israel’s entire army; Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and Pelethites; ²⁴ Adoniram^[a](B) was in charge of forced labor; Jehoshaphat^(C) son of Ahilud was recorder; ²⁵ Sheva was secretary; Zadok^(D) and Abiathar were priests; ²⁶ and Ira the Jairite^[b] was David’s priest.

¹³ King Solomon conscripted laborers^(A) from all Israel—thirty thousand men. ¹⁴ He sent them off to Lebanon in shifts of ten thousand a month, so that they spent one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram^(B) was in charge of the forced labor.

¹⁵ Here is the account of the forced labor King Solomon conscripted^(A) to build the Lord’s temple, his own palace, the terraces,^[a](B) the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor,^(C) Megiddo and Gezer.^(D)

²⁰ There were still people left from the Amorites, Hittites,^(A) Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites^(B) (these peoples were not Israelites). ²¹ Solomon conscripted the descendants^(C) of all these peoples remaining in the land—whom the Israelites could not exterminate^[a](D)—to serve as slave labor,^(E) as it is to this day. ²² But Solomon did not make slaves^(F) of any of the Israelites; they were his fighting men, his government officials, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and charioteers.

²² Then King Asa issued an order to all Judah—no one was exempt—and they carried away from Ramah^(A) the stones and timber Baasha had been using there. With them King Asa^(B) built up Geba^(C) in Benjamin, and also Mizpah.^(D)

²⁰ Menahem exacted this money from Israel. Every wealthy person had to contribute fifty shekels^[a] of silver to be given to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria withdrew^(A) and stayed in the land no longer.