2 Samuel 20

1 Now there happened to be there a base fellow, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite; and he blew the horn, and said: 'We have no portion in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse; every man to his tents, O Israel.'

There was a man there [at Gilgal] named Sheba. He was a man who always caused trouble. He was from the tribe of Benjamin and was the son of Bichri. He blew a trumpet and called out, “We have nothing to do with [DOU] David, that son of Jesse! So, men of Israel, let’s go to our homes!”

2 So all the men of Israel went up from following David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri; but the men of Judah did cleave unto their king, from the Jordan even to Jerusalem.

So all the men from the other Israeli tribes deserted David and went with Sheba, but the men of Judah stayed with David. They wanted him to be their king, and went with him from near the Jordan [River] up to Jerusalem.

3 And David came to his house at Jerusalem; and the king took the ten women his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in ward, and provided them with sustenance, but went not in unto them. So they were shut up unto the day of their death, in widowhood, with their husband alive.

When David arrived at the palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten slave wives whom he had left there to take care of the palace and put them in another house. He put a guard at that house, and he provided for them what they needed, but he never had sexual relations [EUP] with them again. So they remained shut up in their house until they died. It was as though they were widows.

4 Then said the king to Amasa: 'Call me the men of Judah together within three days, and be thou here present.'

[One day] the king said to Amasa, “Summon the soldiers of Judah to come here within three days, and you be here also.”

5 So Amasa went to call the men of Judah together; but he tarried longer than the set time which he had appointed him.

So Amasa went to summon them, but he did not return within the time that David told him to.

6 And David said to Abishai: 'Now will Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom; take thou thy lord's servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fortified cities, and escape out of our sight.'

So David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba will harm us more than Absalom did. So you take my soldiers and pursue him. If you do not do that, he and his soldiers may occupy/capture some of the (fortified towns/towns that have walls around them), and escape from us. [IDM]”

7 And there went out after him Joab's men, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men; and they went out of Jerusalem, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.

So Abishai [and Joab] and the king’s bodyguards and the other soldiers left Jerusalem, to pursue Sheba.

8 When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. And Joab was girded with his apparel of war that he had put on, and thereon was a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins in the sheath thereof; and as he went forth it fell out.

When they arrived at the huge rock in [the] Gibeah [region], Amasa met them. Joab was wearing a soldier’s uniform. He had a dagger/long knife fastened to his belt. When he came close [to Amasa, he allowed] the dagger [to] fall on the ground.

9 And Joab said to Amasa: 'Is it well with thee, my brother?' And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him.

Joab said to Amasa, “Are things going well with you, my friend?” Then Joab grabbed Amasa’s beard with his right hand, in order to kiss him.

10 But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's hand; so he smote him therewith in the groin, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again; and he died. And Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri.

But Amasa did not see that Joab was holding [another] dagger in his [other] hand. And Joab stabbed it into Amasa’s belly, and his insides spilled out onto the ground. Amasa died [immediately]; Joab did not need to stab him again. Then Joab and his brother Abishai continued to pursue Sheba.

11 And there stood by him one of Joab's young men, and said: 'He that favoureth Joab, and he that is for David let him follow Joab.'

One of Joab’s soldiers stood alongside Amasa’s body and called out, “Everyone who wants Joab [to be our commander] and who wants David [to be our king], go with Joab!”

12 And Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the midst of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he carried Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a garment over him, when he saw that every one that came by him stood still.

Amasa’s body was lying on the road. It was covered with blood. The soldier of Joab [who had called out] saw that many others of Joab’s soldiers were stopping [to see it], so he dragged Amasa’s body off the road into a field, and threw a cloth/blanket over the body.

13 When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.

After the body had been taken off the road, all the soldiers went with Joab to pursue Sheba.

14 And he went through all the tribes of Israel unto Abel, and to Beth-maacah, and all the Berites; and they were gathered together, and went in also after him.

Sheba went through all the tribes of Israel, and arrived at Abel-Beth-Maacah [town in the northern part of Israel]. There, all the members of [his father] Bichri’s clan gathered, and went with Sheba into the town.

15 And they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-maacah, and they cast up a mound against the city, and it stood in the moat; and all the people that were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down.

The soldiers who were with Joab [found out that Sheba had gone there, so they] went there and surrounded the town. They built a dirt ramp up against the town wall. They also pounded against the wall [with heavy poles], to cause it to collapse.

16 Then cried a wise woman out of the city: 'Hear, hear; say, I pray you, unto Joab: Come near hither, that I may speak with thee.'

Then a wise woman who was in that town [stood on the top of the wall and] shouted down, “Listen to me! Tell Joab to come here, because I want to talk to him!”

17 And he came near unto her; and the woman said: 'Art thou Joab?' And he answered: 'I am.' Then she said unto him: 'Hear the words of thy handmaid.' And he answered: 'I do hear.'

So [after they told Joab], he came there, and the woman said, “Are you Joab?” He replied, “Yes, I am.” She said to him, “Listen to what I say.” He replied, “I am listening.”

18 Then she spoke, saying: 'They were wont to speak in old time, saying: They shall surely ask counsel at Abel; and so they ended the matter.

She said, “Long ago people used to say, ‘Go to Abel [town] to get good advice about your problems.’ And that is what people did.

19 We are of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel; seekest thou to destroy a city and a mother in Israel? why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the LORD?'

We are peaceful and loyal Israelis. Our people here are important and respected [IDM]. So (why are you trying to destroy a town that belongs to Yahweh?/you should not be trying to destroy a town that belongs to Yahweh.)” [RHQ]

20 And Joab answered and said: 'Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.

Job replied, “I would certainly never want to ruin or destroy your town!

21 The matter is not so; but a man of the hill-country of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, hath lifted up his hand against the king, even against David; deliver him only, and I will depart from the city.' And the woman said unto Joab: 'Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall.'

That is not what we want to do. But Bichri’s son Sheba, a man from the hilly area in the tribe of Ephraim, is rebelling against King David. Put this man into our hands, and then we will (go away from/not attack) this town.” The woman replied to Joab, “Okay, what we will do is, we will [cut off] his head [and] throw it over the wall to you.”

22 Then the woman went unto all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. And he blew the horn, and they were dispersed from the city, every man to his tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem unto the king.

Then this wise woman went to the elders of the town and told them what she had said to Joab. So they cut off Sheba’s head and threw it over the wall to Joab. Then Joab blew his trumpet [to signal that the battle was ended], and all his soldiers left the town and returned to their homes. And Joab returned to Jerusalem and told the king [what had happened].

23 Now Joab was over all the host of Israel; and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites;

Joab was the commander of the entire Israeli army. Jehoiada’s son Benaiah was the commander of David’s bodyguards;

24 and Adoram was over the levy; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder;

Adoram supervised the men who were forced to work [for the king]; Ahilud’s son Jehoshaphat was the man who reported [to the people everything that David decided];

25 and Sheva was scribe; and Zadok and Abiathar were priests;

Sheva was the official secretary; Zadok and Abiathar were the priests;

26 and Ira also the Jairite was chief minister unto David.

and Ira from Jair [town] was also one of David’s priests.