Βασιλειῶν Βʹ 20
1 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
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 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
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 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
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 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεὺς πρὸς Αμεσσαϊ βόησόν μοι τὸν ἄνδρα Ιουδα τρεῖς ἡμέρας σὺ δὲ αὐτοῦ στῆθι
[One day] the king said to Amasa, “Summon the soldiers of Judah to come here within three days, and you be here also.”
5 καὶ ἐπορεύθη Αμεσσαϊ τοῦ βοῆσαι τὸν Ιουδαν καὶ ἐχρόνισεν ἀπὸ τοῦ καιροῦ οὗ ἐτάξατο αὐτῷ Δαυιδ
So Amasa went to summon them, but he did not return within the time that David told him to.
6 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
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 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
So Abishai [and Joab] and the king’s bodyguards and the other soldiers left Jerusalem, to pursue Sheba.
8 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
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 καὶ εἶπεν Ιωαβ τῷ Αμεσσαϊ εἰ ὑγιαίνεις σύ ἀδελφέ καὶ ἐκράτησεν ἡ χεὶρ ἡ δεξιὰ Ιωαβ τοῦ πώγωνος Αμεσσαϊ τοῦ καταφιλῆσαι αὐτόν
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 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
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 καὶ ἀνὴρ ἔστη ἐπ’ αὐτὸν τῶν παιδαρίων Ιωαβ καὶ εἶπεν τίς ὁ βουλόμενος Ιωαβ καὶ τίς τοῦ Δαυιδ ὀπίσω Ιωαβ
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 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
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 ἡνίκα δὲ ἔφθασεν ἐκ τῆς τρίβου παρῆλθεν πᾶς ἀνὴρ Ισραηλ ὀπίσω Ιωαβ τοῦ διῶξαι ὀπίσω Σαβεε υἱοῦ Βοχορι
After the body had been taken off the road, all the soldiers went with Joab to pursue Sheba.
14 καὶ διῆλθεν ἐν πάσαις φυλαῖς Ισραηλ εἰς Αβελ καὶ εἰς Βαιθμαχα καὶ πάντες ἐν Χαρρι καὶ ἐξεκκλησιάσθησαν καὶ ἦλθον κατόπισθεν αὐτοῦ
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 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
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 καὶ ἐβόησεν γυνὴ σοφὴ ἐκ τοῦ τείχους καὶ εἶπεν ἀκούσατε ἀκούσατε εἴπατε δὴ πρὸς Ιωαβ ἔγγισον ἕως ὧδε καὶ λαλήσω πρὸς αὐτόν
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 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
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 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
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 ἐγώ εἰμι εἰρηνικὰ τῶν στηριγμάτων Ισραηλ σὺ δὲ ζητεῖς θανατῶσαι πόλιν καὶ μητρόπολιν ἐν Ισραηλ ἵνα τί καταποντίζεις κληρονομίαν κυρίου
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 καὶ ἀπεκρίθη Ιωαβ καὶ εἶπεν ἵλεώς μοι ἵλεώς μοι εἰ καταποντιῶ καὶ εἰ διαφθερῶ
Job replied, “I would certainly never want to ruin or destroy your town!
21 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
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 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
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 καὶ Ιωαβ πρὸς πάσῃ τῇ δυνάμει Ισραηλ καὶ Βαναιας υἱὸς Ιωδαε ἐπὶ τοῦ Χερεθθι καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ Φελεθθι
Joab was the commander of the entire Israeli army. Jehoiada’s son Benaiah was the commander of David’s bodyguards;
24 καὶ Αδωνιραμ ἐπὶ τοῦ φόρου καὶ Ιωσαφατ υἱὸς Αχιλουθ ἀναμιμνῄσκων
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 καὶ Σουσα γραμματεύς καὶ Σαδωκ καὶ Αβιαθαρ ἱερεῖς
Sheva was the official secretary; Zadok and Abiathar were the priests;
26 καί γε Ιρας ὁ Ιαριν ἦν ἱερεὺς τοῦ Δαυιδ
and Ira from Jair [town] was also one of David’s priests.
