< 2 Samuel 20 >

1 And there happened to be a man of worthlessness there, and his name [is] Sheba, son of Bichri, a Benjamite, and he blows with a horn and says, “We have no portion in David, and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse; each [goes] to his tents, O Israel.”
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.”
2 And every man of Israel goes up from after David, after Sheba son of Bichri, and the men of Judah have cleaved to their king, from the Jordan even to Jerusalem.
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.
3 And David comes to his house at Jerusalem. And the king takes the ten women-concubines whom he had left to keep the house, and puts them in a house of ward and sustains them, and he has not gone in to them, and they are shut up to the day of their death, living in widowhood.
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.
4 And the king says to Amasa, “Call the men of Judah for me [within] three days, and you, stand here,”
Then the king said to Amasa, “Summon to me all the men of Judah on the third day, and you shall be present also.”
5 and Amasa goes to call Judah, and tarries beyond the appointed time that he had appointed him;
Therefore, Amasa went away, so that he might summon Judah. But he delayed beyond the agreed time that the king had appointed to him.
6 and David says to Abishai, “Now Sheba son of Bichri does evil to us more than Absalom; you, take the servants of your lord, and pursue after him, lest he has found fortified cities for himself, and delivered himself [from] our eye.”
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.”
7 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;
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.
8 they [are] near the great stone that [is] in Gibeon, and Amasa has gone before them, and Joab [is] girded; he has put his long robe on him, and on it a girdle—a sword [is] fastened on his loins in its sheath; and he has gone out, and it falls.
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.
9 And Joab says to Amasa, “Are you [in] peace, my brother?” And the right hand of Joab lays hold on the beard of Amasa to give a kiss to him;
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.
10 and Amasa has not been watchful of the sword that [is] in the hand of Joab, and he strikes him with it to the fifth [rib], and sheds out his bowels to the earth, and he has not repeated [it] to him, and he dies; and Joab and his brother Abishai have pursued after Sheba son of Bichri.
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.
11 And a man has stood by him, of the young men of Joab, and says, “He who has delight in Joab, and he who [is] for David—after Joab!”
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.”
12 And Amasa is rolling himself in blood, in the midst of the highway, and the man sees that all the people have stood still, and he brings around Amasa out of the highway to the field, and casts a garment over him when he has seen that everyone who has come by him has stood still.
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.
13 When he has been removed out of the highway, every man has passed on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba son of Bichri.
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.
14 And he passes over through all the tribes of Israel to Abel, and to Beth-Maachah, and to all the Berites, and they are assembled, and also go in after him,
Now he had passed through all the tribes of Israel into Abel and Bethmaacah. And all the elect men had gathered together to him.
15 and they go in and lay siege against him, in Abel of Beth-Maachah, and cast up a mound against the city, and it stands in a trench, and all the people who are [are] with Joab are destroying, to cause the wall to fall.
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.
16 And a wise woman calls out of the city, “Hear! Hear! Please say to Joab, Come near here, and I speak to you.”
And a wise woman exclaimed from the city: “Listen, listen, and say to Joab: Draw near, and I will speak with you.”
17 And he comes near to her, and the woman says, “Are you Joab?” And he says, “I [am].” And she says to him, “Hear the words of your handmaid”; and he says, “I am hearing.”
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.”
18 And she speaks, saying, “They spoke often in former times, saying, Let them diligently inquire at Abel, and so they finished.
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.
19 I [am] of the peaceable, faithful ones of Israel; you are seeking to destroy a city and mother in Israel; why do you swallow up the inheritance of YHWH?”
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?”
20 And Joab answers and says, “Far be it—far be it from me; I do not swallow up nor destroy.
And responding, Joab said: “May this be far, may this be far from me! May I not cast down, and may I not demolish.
21 The matter [is] not so; for a man of the hill-country of Ephraim—Sheba son of Bichri [is] his name—has lifted up his hand against the king, against David; give him up by himself, and I go away from the city.” And the woman says to Joab, “Behold, his head is cast to you over the wall.”
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.’
22 And the woman comes to all the people in her wisdom, and they cut off the head of Sheba son of Bichri, and cast [it] to Joab, and he blows with a horn, and they are scattered from the city, each [goes] to his tents, and Joab has turned back to Jerusalem to the king.
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.
23 And Joab [is] over all the host of Israel, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada [is] over the Cherethite, and over the Pelethite,
Thus Joab was over the entire army of Israel. And Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was over the Cerethites and Phelethites.
24 and Adoram [is] over the tribute, and Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud [is] the remembrancer,
Yet truly, Adoram was over the tributes. And Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, was the keeper of records.
25 and Sheva [is] scribe, and Zadok and Abiathar [are] priests,
Now Sheva was the scribe. And truly Zadok and Abiathar were the priests.
26 and also, Ira the Jairite has been minister to David.
But Ira, the Jairite, was the priest of David.

< 2 Samuel 20 >