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 there happened to be there a worthless fellow, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his 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.

So every man of Israel withdrew from following David, followed Sheba the son of Bichri: but the men of Judah held fast to their king, from Jordan even to 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 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 custody, and fed them, but went not in to them. So they were shut up to the day of their death, living in widowhood.

4 And the king says to Amasa, “Call the men of Judah for me [within] three days, and you, stand here,”

Then said the king to Amasa, Assemble to me the men of Judah within three days, and be thou here present.

5 and Amasa goes to call Judah, and tarries beyond the appointed time that he had appointed him;

So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah: but he tarried longer than the set time which he had appointed 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 shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom: take thou thy lord’s servants, and pursue him, lest he get for himself fortified cities, and escape 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 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.

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.

When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa went before them. And Joab’s garment that he had put on was girded to him, and upon it a belt with a sword fastened upon his loins in its sheath; and as he went forth it fell out.

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;

And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand 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 took no heed to the sword that was in Joab’s hand: so he smote him in the fifth rib, and shed out his inward parts to the ground, and struck him not again; and he died. So Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after 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!”

And one of Joab’s men stood by him, and said, He that favoureth Joab, and he that is for David, let him go after Joab.

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.

And Amasa wallowed in blood in the midst of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he removed Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a cloth upon him, when he saw that every one that came by him stood still.

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

When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue after 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,

And he went through all the tribes of Israel to Abel, and to Bethmaachah, and all the Berites: and they were gathered together, and went also after 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 they came and besieged him in Abel of Bethmaachah, and they cast up a bank against the city, and it stood in the trench: and all the people that were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down.

16 And a wise woman calls out of the city, “Hear! Hear! Please say to Joab, Come near here, and I speak to you.”

Then cried a wise woman out of the city, Hear, hear; say, I pray you, to Joab, Come here, that I may speak with thee.

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 was come near to her, the woman said, Art thou Joab? And he answered, I am he. Then she said to him, Hear the words of thy handmaid. And he answered, I do hear.

18 And she speaks, saying, “They spoke often in former times, saying, Let them diligently inquire at Abel, and so they finished.

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

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?”

I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why wilt thou swallow up 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 Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.

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 so: but a man of mount 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 to Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over 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.

Then the woman went to all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and cast it out to Joab. And he blew a trumpet, and they retired from the city, every man to his tent. And 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,

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

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

And Adoram was over the forced labour: and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder:

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

And Sheva was scribe: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests:

26 and also, Ira the Jairite has been minister to David.

And Ira also the Jairite was a chief ruler of David.