2 Samuel 20
1 A rabble-rouser called Sheba, son of Bichri, from the tribe of Benjamin, happened to be there. He blew the ram's horn and shouted: “We have no interest in David, no commitment to Jesse's son. Israelites, let's all go home!”
καὶ ἐκεῖ ἐπικαλούμενος υἱὸς παράνομος καὶ ὄνομα αὐτῷ Σαβεε υἱὸς Βοχορι ἀνὴρ ὁ Ιεμενι καὶ ἐσάλπισεν ἐν τῇ κερατίνῃ καὶ εἶπεν οὐκ ἔστιν ἡμῖν μερὶς ἐν Δαυιδ οὐδὲ κληρονομία ἡμῖν ἐν τῷ υἱῷ Ιεσσαι ἀνὴρ εἰς τὰ σκηνώματά σου Ισραηλ
2 So all the men of Israel abandoned David to follow Sheba, son of Bichri. But the men of Judah accompanied their king all the way from the Jordan to Jerusalem.
καὶ ἀνέβη πᾶς ἀνὴρ Ισραηλ ἀπὸ ὄπισθεν Δαυιδ ὀπίσω Σαβεε υἱοῦ Βοχορι καὶ ἀνὴρ Ιουδα ἐκολλήθη τῷ βασιλεῖ αὐτῶν ἀπὸ τοῦ Ιορδάνου καὶ ἕως Ιερουσαλημ
3 When David returned to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to look after the palace and put them in a house under guard. He took care of their needs but he didn't sleep with them. They were imprisoned until they died, living like widows.
καὶ εἰσῆλθεν Δαυιδ εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ εἰς Ιερουσαλημ καὶ ἔλαβεν ὁ βασιλεὺς τὰς δέκα γυναῖκας τὰς παλλακὰς αὐτοῦ ἃς ἀφῆκεν φυλάσσειν τὸν οἶκον καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτὰς ἐν οἴκῳ φυλακῆς καὶ διέθρεψεν αὐτὰς καὶ πρὸς αὐτὰς οὐκ εἰσῆλθεν καὶ ἦσαν συνεχόμεναι ἕως ἡμέρας θανάτου αὐτῶν χῆραι ζῶσαι
4 Then the king ordered Amasa, “Call up the army of Judah. Have them come to me within three days, and you come too.”
καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεὺς πρὸς Αμεσσαϊ βόησόν μοι τὸν ἄνδρα Ιουδα τρεῖς ἡμέρας σὺ δὲ αὐτοῦ στῆθι
5 Amasa called up the army of Judah, but he took longer than the time he was given.
καὶ ἐπορεύθη Αμεσσαϊ τοῦ βοῆσαι τὸν Ιουδαν καὶ ἐχρόνισεν ἀπὸ τοῦ καιροῦ οὗ ἐτάξατο αὐτῷ Δαυιδ
6 David then spoke to Abishai, saying, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri is going to cause us more trouble than Absalom did. Take the king's men and chase him down, or he will take over fortified towns and get away from us.”
καὶ εἶπεν Δαυιδ πρὸς Αβεσσα νῦν κακοποιήσει ἡμᾶς Σαβεε υἱὸς Βοχορι ὑπὲρ Αβεσσαλωμ καὶ νῦν σὺ λαβὲ μετὰ σεαυτοῦ τοὺς παῖδας τοῦ κυρίου σου καὶ καταδίωξον ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ μήποτε ἑαυτῷ εὕρῃ πόλεις ὀχυρὰς καὶ σκιάσει τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἡμῶν
7 So Joab's men, along with the Cherethites, the Pelethites, and all the experienced fighters, marched out of Jerusalem to chase down Sheba, son of Bichri.
καὶ ἐξῆλθον ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ οἱ ἄνδρες Ιωαβ καὶ ὁ Χερεθθι καὶ ὁ Φελεθθι καὶ πάντες οἱ δυνατοὶ καὶ ἐξῆλθαν ἐξ Ιερουσαλημ διῶξαι ὀπίσω Σαβεε υἱοῦ Βοχορι
8 While they were at the large rock in Gibeon, Amasa caught up with them. Joab was dressed for battle. Over his clothes was a belt around his waist with a dagger in its sheath. As he moved forward, it fell out.
καὶ αὐτοὶ παρὰ τῷ λίθῳ τῷ μεγάλῳ τῷ ἐν Γαβαων καὶ Αμεσσαϊ εἰσῆλθεν ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῶν καὶ Ιωαβ περιεζωσμένος μανδύαν τὸ ἔνδυμα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐπ’ αὐτῷ περιεζωσμένος μάχαιραν ἐζευγμένην ἐπὶ τῆς ὀσφύος αὐτοῦ ἐν κολεῷ αὐτῆς καὶ ἡ μάχαιρα ἐξῆλθεν καὶ ἔπεσεν
9 “How are you doing, my brother?” Joab asked Amasa. Joab held Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him.
καὶ εἶπεν Ιωαβ τῷ Αμεσσαϊ εἰ ὑγιαίνεις σύ ἀδελφέ καὶ ἐκράτησεν ἡ χεὶρ ἡ δεξιὰ Ιωαβ τοῦ πώγωνος Αμεσσαϊ τοῦ καταφιλῆσαι αὐτόν
10 Amasa wasn't prepared for the dagger in Joab's left hand. Joab stabbed him in the belly and his intestines poured out onto the ground. Joab didn't need to stab him twice, because Amasa was already dead. Then Joab and his brother Abishai set off in pursuit of Sheba.
καὶ Αμεσσαϊ οὐκ ἐφυλάξατο τὴν μάχαιραν τὴν ἐν τῇ χειρὶ Ιωαβ καὶ ἔπαισεν αὐτὸν ἐν αὐτῇ Ιωαβ εἰς τὴν ψόαν καὶ ἐξεχύθη ἡ κοιλία αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν γῆν καὶ οὐκ ἐδευτέρωσεν αὐτῷ καὶ ἀπέθανεν καὶ Ιωαβ καὶ Αβεσσα ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ ἐδίωξεν ὀπίσω Σαβεε υἱοῦ Βοχορι
11 One of Joab's men stood beside Amasa and called out, “If you're on Joab's side, and if you are on David's side, then follow Joab!”
καὶ ἀνὴρ ἔστη ἐπ’ αὐτὸν τῶν παιδαρίων Ιωαβ καὶ εἶπεν τίς ὁ βουλόμενος Ιωαβ καὶ τίς τοῦ Δαυιδ ὀπίσω Ιωαβ
12 But Amasa was there, lying in his blood in the middle of the main road. When the man saw that everybody was stopping to look, he pulled the body off the road into a field and threw a cloth over it.
καὶ Αμεσσαϊ πεφυρμένος ἐν τῷ αἵματι ἐν μέσῳ τῆς τρίβου καὶ εἶδεν ὁ ἀνὴρ ὅτι εἱστήκει πᾶς ὁ λαός καὶ ἀπέστρεψεν τὸν Αμεσσαϊ ἐκ τῆς τρίβου εἰς ἀγρὸν καὶ ἐπέρριψεν ἐπ’ αὐτὸν ἱμάτιον καθότι εἶδεν πάντα τὸν ἐρχόμενον ἐπ’ αὐτὸν ἑστηκότα
13 Once Amasa's body was off the road, all the men followed Joab in pursuit of Sheba.
ἡνίκα δὲ ἔφθασεν ἐκ τῆς τρίβου παρῆλθεν πᾶς ἀνὴρ Ισραηλ ὀπίσω Ιωαβ τοῦ διῶξαι ὀπίσω Σαβεε υἱοῦ Βοχορι
14 In the meantime Sheba had gone around all the tribes of Israel and eventually ended up the town of Abel-beth-maacah. All the Bichrites gathered for battle and followed him into the town.
καὶ διῆλθεν ἐν πάσαις φυλαῖς Ισραηλ εἰς Αβελ καὶ εἰς Βαιθμαχα καὶ πάντες ἐν Χαρρι καὶ ἐξεκκλησιάσθησαν καὶ ἦλθον κατόπισθεν αὐτοῦ
15 Joab's army came and besieged Sheba in Abel-Beth-Maacah. They built a siege ramp against the town's outer wall. While all of Joab's army was battering the wall to knock it down,
καὶ παρεγενήθησαν καὶ ἐπολιόρκουν ἐπ’ αὐτὸν τὴν Αβελ καὶ τὴν Βαιθμαχα καὶ ἐξέχεαν πρόσχωμα πρὸς τὴν πόλιν καὶ ἔστη ἐν τῷ προτειχίσματι καὶ πᾶς ὁ λαὸς ὁ μετὰ Ιωαβ ἐνοοῦσαν καταβαλεῖν τὸ τεῖχος
16 a wise woman from the town called out, “Listen! Please listen! Tell Joab, ‘Come over here so I can speak to you.’”
καὶ ἐβόησεν γυνὴ σοφὴ ἐκ τοῦ τείχους καὶ εἶπεν ἀκούσατε ἀκούσατε εἴπατε δὴ πρὸς Ιωαβ ἔγγισον ἕως ὧδε καὶ λαλήσω πρὸς αὐτόν
17 He went over to her, and the woman asked, “Are you Joab?” “Yes, that's me,” he replied. “Please listen to what I, your servant, have to say,” she said. “I'm listening,” he replied.
καὶ προσήγγισεν πρὸς αὐτήν καὶ εἶπεν ἡ γυνή εἰ σὺ εἶ Ιωαβ ὁ δὲ εἶπεν ἐγώ εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ ἄκουσον τοὺς λόγους τῆς δούλης σου καὶ εἶπεν Ιωαβ ἀκούω ἐγώ εἰμι
18 Then the woman said, “In times gone by people used to say, ‘If you want advice, go to Abel,’ and that's how arguments were settled.
καὶ εἶπεν λέγουσα λόγον ἐλάλησαν ἐν πρώτοις λέγοντες ἠρωτημένος ἠρωτήθη ἐν τῇ Αβελ καὶ ἐν Δαν εἰ ἐξέλιπον ἃ ἔθεντο οἱ πιστοὶ τοῦ Ισραηλ ἐρωτῶντες ἐπερωτήσουσιν ἐν Αβελ καὶ οὕτως εἰ ἐξέλιπον
19 I am one of the peaceful and faithful people of Israel. You're trying to destroy a town that's like a mother in Israel. Why do you want to tear down the Lord's possession?”
ἐγώ εἰμι εἰρηνικὰ τῶν στηριγμάτων Ισραηλ σὺ δὲ ζητεῖς θανατῶσαι πόλιν καὶ μητρόπολιν ἐν Ισραηλ ἵνα τί καταποντίζεις κληρονομίαν κυρίου
20 “Certainly not!” Joab answered. “It's not what I want—to destroy or tear down this town!
καὶ ἀπεκρίθη Ιωαβ καὶ εἶπεν ἵλεώς μοι ἵλεώς μοι εἰ καταποντιῶ καὶ εἰ διαφθερῶ
21 That's not the intention. But a man called Sheba, son of Bichri, from the hill country of Ephraim, has rebelled against the king, against David. Just hand over this one man and I will withdraw from the town.” “Fine,” the woman replied, “his head will be thrown over the wall to you.”
οὐχ οὗτος ὁ λόγος ὅτι ἀνὴρ ἐξ ὄρους Εφραιμ Σαβεε υἱὸς Βοχορι ὄνομα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐπῆρεν τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸν βασιλέα Δαυιδ δότε αὐτόν μοι μόνον καὶ ἀπελεύσομαι ἀπάνωθεν τῆς πόλεως καὶ εἶπεν ἡ γυνὴ πρὸς Ιωαβ ἰδοὺ ἡ κεφαλὴ αὐτοῦ ῥιφήσεται πρὸς σὲ διὰ τοῦ τείχους
22 The woman went and talked with everyone about her wise plan. So they cut off the head of Sheba and threw it to Joab. Then Joab blew the ram's horn to sound the retreat, and all his men left the town and went home. Joab returned to the king in Jerusalem.
καὶ εἰσῆλθεν ἡ γυνὴ πρὸς πάντα τὸν λαὸν καὶ ἐλάλησεν πρὸς πᾶσαν τὴν πόλιν ἐν τῇ σοφίᾳ αὐτῆς καὶ ἀφεῖλεν τὴν κεφαλὴν Σαβεε υἱοῦ Βοχορι καὶ ἔβαλεν πρὸς Ιωαβ καὶ ἐσάλπισεν ἐν κερατίνῃ καὶ διεσπάρησαν ἀπὸ τῆς πόλεως ἀνὴρ εἰς τὰ σκηνώματα αὐτοῦ καὶ Ιωαβ ἀπέστρεψεν εἰς Ιερουσαλημ πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα
23 Joab commanded the whole army of Israel. Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, was in charge of the Cherethites and Pelethites.
καὶ Ιωαβ πρὸς πάσῃ τῇ δυνάμει Ισραηλ καὶ Βαναιας υἱὸς Ιωδαε ἐπὶ τοῦ Χερεθθι καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ Φελεθθι
24 Adoniram was in charge of the labor force. Jehoshaphat, son of Ahilud, kept the official records.
καὶ Αδωνιραμ ἐπὶ τοῦ φόρου καὶ Ιωσαφατ υἱὸς Αχιλουθ ἀναμιμνῄσκων
25 Sheva was the secretary. Zadok and Abiathar were the priests,
καὶ Σουσα γραμματεύς καὶ Σαδωκ καὶ Αβιαθαρ ἱερεῖς
26 and Ira the Jairite was David's priest.
καί γε Ιρας ὁ Ιαριν ἦν ἱερεὺς τοῦ Δαυιδ
