2 Samuel 20

1 And it happened that there was, in that place, a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a man of Benjamin. And he sounded the trumpet, and he said: “There is no portion for us in David, nor any inheritance in the son of Jesse. Return to your own tents, O Israel.”

And there hath been called there a man of worthlessness, and his name [is] Sheba, son of Bichri, a Benjamite, and he bloweth with a trumpet, and saith, 'We have no portion in David, and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse; each to his tents, O Israel.'

2 And all of Israel separated from David, and they were following Sheba, the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah clung to their king, from the Jordan as far as Jerusalem.

And every man of Israel goeth up from after David, after Sheba son of Bichri, and the men of Judah have cleaved to their king, from the Jordan even unto Jerusalem.

3 And when the king had entered his house at Jerusalem, he took the ten women concubines, whom he had left behind to care for the house, and he put them into custody, allowing them provisions. But he did not enter to them. Instead, they were enclosed, even until the day of their deaths, living as widows.

And David cometh in unto his house at Jerusalem, and the king taketh the ten women-concubines — whom he had left to keep the house, and putteth them in a house of ward, and sustaineth them, and unto them he hath not gone in, and they are shut up unto the day of their death, in widowhood living.

4 Then the king said to Amasa, “Summon to me all the men of Judah on the third day, and you shall be present also.”

And the king saith unto Amasa, 'Call for me the men of Judah [in] three days, and thou, stand here,'

5 Therefore, Amasa went away, so that he might summon Judah. But he delayed beyond the agreed time that the king had appointed to him.

and Amasa goeth to call Judah, and tarrieth beyond the appointed time that he had appointed him;

6 And David said to Abishai: “Now Sheba, the son of Bichri, will afflict us more so than Absalom did. Therefore, take the servants of your lord, and pursue him, otherwise he may find fortified cities, and escape from us.”

and David saith unto Abishai, 'Now doth Sheba son of Bichri do evil to us more than Absalom; thou, take the servants of thy lord, and pursue after him, lest he have found for himself fenced cities, and delivered himself [from] our eye.'

7 And so, the men of Joab departed with him, along with the Cherethites and the Pelethites. And all the able-bodied men went out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba, the son of Bichri.

And the men of Joab go out after him, and the Cherethite, and the Pelethite, and all the mighty men, and they go out from Jerusalem to pursue after Sheba son of Bichri;

8 And when they were beside the great stone, which is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Now Joab was wearing a close-fitting coat of equal length with his garment. And over these, he was girded with a sword hanging down to his thigh, in a scabbard which was made so that the sword could be removed with the least motion, and then strike.

they [are] near the great stone that [is] in Gibeon, and Amasa hath gone before them, and Joab [is] girded; his long robe he hath put on him, and upon it a girdle — a sword [is] fastened upon his loins in its sheath; and he hath gone out, and it falleth.

9 Then Joab said to Amasa, “Be well, my brother.” And he held Amasa by the chin with his right hand, as if to kiss him.

And Joab saith to Amasa, 'Art thou [in] peace, my brother?' and the right hand of Joab layeth hold on the beard of Amasa to give a kiss to him;

10 But Amasa did not notice the sword that Joab had. And he struck him in the side, and his intestines poured out to the ground. And he did not inflict a second wound, and he died. Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba, the son of Bichri.

and Amasa hath not been watchful of the sword that [is] in the hand of Joab, and he smiteth him with it unto the fifth [rib], and sheddeth out his bowels to the earth, and he hath not repeated [it] to him, and he dieth; and Joab and Abishai his brother have pursued after Sheba son of Bichri.

11 Meanwhile, certain men, from the company of Joab, when they had stopped beside the dead body of Amasa, said: “Behold, the one who wished to be in the place of Joab, the companion of David.”

And a man hath stood by him, of the young men of Joab, and saith, 'He who hath delight in Joab, and he who [is] for David — after Joab!'

12 Now Amasa was covered with blood, and was lying in the middle of the road. A certain man saw this, with all the people standing nearby to look at him, and he removed Amasa from the road into a field. And he covered him with a garment, so that those passing by would not stop because of him.

And Amasa is rolling himself in blood, in the midst of the highway, and the man seeth that all the people have stood still, and he bringeth round Amasa out of the highway to the field, and casteth over him a garment, when he hath seen that every one who hath come by him — hath stood still.

13 Then, when he had been removed from the road, all the men continued on, following Joab in the pursuit of Sheba, the son of Bichri.

When he hath been removed out of the highway, every man hath passed on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba son of Bichri.

14 Now he had passed through all the tribes of Israel into Abel and Bethmaacah. And all the elect men had gathered together to him.

And he passeth over through all the tribes of Israel to Abel, and to Beth-Maachah, and to all the Berites, and they are assembled, and go in also after him,

15 And so, they went and besieged him at Abel and Bethmaacah. And they surrounded the city with siege works, and the city was blockaded. Then the entire crowd who were with Joab strove to destroy the walls.

and they go in and lay siege against him, in Abel of Beth-Maachah, and cast up a mount against the city, and it standeth in a trench, and all the people who are [are] with Joab are destroying, to cause the wall to fall.

16 And a wise woman exclaimed from the city: “Listen, listen, and say to Joab: Draw near, and I will speak with you.”

And a wise woman calleth out of the city, 'Hear, hear; say, I pray you, unto Joab, Come near hither, and I speak unto thee.'

17 And when he had drawn near to her, she said to him, “Are you Joab?” And he responded, “I am.” And she spoke in this way to him, “Listen to the words of your handmaid.” He responded, “I am listening.”

And he cometh near unto her, and the woman saith, 'Art thou Joab?' and he saith, 'I [am].' And she saith to him, 'Hear the words of thy handmaid;' and he saith, 'I am hearing.'

18 And again she spoke: “A word was said in the old proverb, ‘Those who would inquire, let them inquire in Abel.’ And so they would reach a conclusion.

and she speaketh, saying, 'They spake often in former times, saying, Let them diligently ask at Abel, and so they finished.

19 Am I not the one who responds with the truth in Israel? And yet you are seeking to overthrow the city, and to overturn a mother in Israel! Why would you cast down the inheritance of the Lord?”

I [am] of the peaceable — faithful ones of Israel; thou art seeking to destroy a city, and a mother in Israel; why dost thou swallow up the inheritance of Jehovah?

20 And responding, Joab said: “May this be far, may this be far from me! May I not cast down, and may I not demolish.

And Joab answereth and saith, 'Far be it — far be it from me; I do not swallow up nor destroy.

21 The matter is not as you said. Rather, a man from mount Ephraim, Sheba, the son of Bichri, by name, has lifted up his hand against king David. Deliver him alone, and we will withdraw from the city.” And the woman said to Joab, “Behold, his head will be thrown down to you from the wall.’

The matter [is] not so; for a man of the hill-country of Ephraim — Sheba son of Bichri his name — hath lifted up his hand against the king, against David; give ye up him by himself, and I go away from the city.' And the woman saith unto Joab, 'Lo, his head is cast unto thee over the wall.'

22 Therefore, she entered to all the people, and she spoke to them wisely. And they cut off the head of Sheba, the son of Bichri, and they threw it down to Joab. And he sounded the trumpet, and they withdrew from the city, each one to his own tent. But Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king.

And the woman cometh unto all the people in her wisdom, and they cut off the head of Sheba son of Bichri, and cast [it] unto Joab, and he bloweth with a trumpet, and they are scattered from the city, each to his tents, and Joab hath turned back to Jerusalem unto the king.

23 Thus Joab was over the entire army of Israel. And Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was over the Cerethites and Phelethites.

And Joab [is] over all the host of Israel, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada [is] over the Cherethite, and over the Pelethite,

24 Yet truly, Adoram was over the tributes. And Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, was the keeper of records.

and Adoram [is] over the tribute, and Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud [is] the remembrancer,

25 Now Sheva was the scribe. And truly Zadok and Abiathar were the priests.

and Sheva [is] scribe, and Zadok and Abiathar [are] priests,

26 But Ira, the Jairite, was the priest of David.

and also, Ira the Jairite hath been minister to David.