2 Samuel 20

1 And there happened to be a worthless man, whose name was Sheba', the son of Bichri, a Benjamite; and he blew the cornet, and said, We have no part in David, nor have we any 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 every man of Israel went off from David, following Sheba' the son of Bichri; but the men of Judah adhered 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, the concubines, whom he had left to guard the house, and put them in a guard-house, and provided for them, but went not in unto them. So they were confined until the day of their death, living in widowhood.

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 'Amassa, Call together for me the men of Judah within three days, and thou present thyself here [then].

[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 'Amassa went to call Judah together; but he remained out 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] Abshalom: take thou the servants of thy Lord, and pursue after him, lest he succeed in reaching fortified cities, and withdraw himself from our eyes.

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 Kerethites, and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men: and they went forth 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 They were close by the great stone which is at Gib'on, as 'Amassa came before them. And Joab was girded with his coat, his [usual] garment, and upon it the girdle of the sword which was fastened upon his loins in its sheath; 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 'Amassa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab's right hand took hold of 'Amassa's beard 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 And 'Amassa did not guard himself against the sword that was in Joab's hand: so he smote him therewith in the fifth rib and shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again; and he died. But 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 one man of Joab's people remained standing by him, and said, He that favoreth Joab, and he that is for David, 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 'Amassa was wallowing in his blood in the midst of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he put 'Amassa aside out of the highway into the field, and threw 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, every man passed 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 this one passed through all the tribes of Israel unto Abel, which is of Beth-ma'achah, and all the Berim: and they assembled themselves together, and went 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-ma'achah, and they cast up a trench against the city, and it stood enclosed by the troops: and all the people that were with Joab were battering to throw down the wall.

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 called a wise woman out of the city, Hear, hear: say, I pray you, unto Joab, Come near as far as 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 when he was come near unto her, the woman said, Art thou Joab? And he said, I am. Then said she unto him, Hear the words of thy hand-maid. And he said, 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 said she, thus, They ought surely first to have spoken, saying, “Let them ask at least in Abel:” and so would they have come to an end.

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 I am one of the peaceful and faithful [cities] in Israel; thou seekest to overthrow a city and a metropolis in Israel: why wilt thou destroy 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 destroy or ruin.

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

21 The matter is not so; but a man from the mountains of Ephraim, Sheba' the son of Bichri is his name, hath lifted up his hand against the king, against David: give him up alone, and I will withdraw from the city. And the woman said unto Joab, Behold, his head shall be cast down 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 And the woman came unto all the people with her wisdom; and they cut off the head of Sheba' the son of Bichri, and cast it down to Joab: and he blew the cornet, and they scattered themselves from the city, every man to his tents. 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 army of Israel; and Benayah the son of Yehoyada' was over the Kerethites 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 tribute; and Jehoshaphat the son of Achilud was 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 Ebyathar were priests;

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

26 And 'Ira also the Yairite was an officer of state unto David.

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