¹⁴ Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel Beth Maakah and through the entire region of the Bikrites,^[a](A) who gathered together and followed him. ¹⁵ All the troops with Joab came and besieged Sheba in Abel Beth Maakah.^(B) They built a siege ramp^(C) up to the city, and it stood against the outer fortifications. While they were battering the wall to bring it down, ¹⁶ a wise woman^(D) called from the city, “Listen! Listen! Tell Joab to come here so I can speak to him.” ¹⁷ He went toward her, and she asked, “Are you Joab?”

“I am,” he answered.

She said, “Listen to what your servant has to say.”

“I’m listening,” he said.

¹⁸ She continued, “Long ago they used to say, ‘Get your answer at Abel,’ and that settled it. ¹⁹ We are the peaceful^(E) and faithful in Israel. You are trying to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why do you want to swallow up the Lord’s inheritance?”^(F)

²⁰ “Far be it from me!” Joab replied, “Far be it from me to swallow up or destroy! ²¹ That is not the case. A man named Sheba son of Bikri, from the hill country of Ephraim, has lifted up his hand against the king, against David. Hand over this one man, and I’ll withdraw from the city.”

The woman said to Joab, “His head^(G) will be thrown to you from the wall.”

²² Then the woman went to all the people with her wise advice,^(H) and they cut off the head of Sheba son of Bikri and threw it to Joab. So he sounded the trumpet, and his men dispersed from the city, each returning to his home. And Joab went back to the king in Jerusalem.

David’s Officials

²³ Joab^(I) was over Israel’s entire army; Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and Pelethites; ²⁴ Adoniram^[b](J) was in charge of forced labor; Jehoshaphat^(K) son of Ahilud was recorder; ²⁵ Sheva was secretary; Zadok^(L) and Abiathar were priests; ²⁶ and Ira the Jairite^[c] was David’s priest.

The Gibeonites Avenged

21 During the reign of David, there was a famine^(M) for three successive years; so David sought^(N) the face of the Lord. The Lord said, “It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death.”

² The king summoned the Gibeonites^(O) and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not a part of Israel but were survivors of the Amorites; the Israelites had sworn to spare them, but Saul in his zeal for Israel and Judah had tried to annihilate them.) ³ David asked the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? How shall I make atonement so that you will bless the Lord’s inheritance?”^(P)

⁴ The Gibeonites answered him, “We have no right to demand silver or gold from Saul or his family, nor do we have the right to put anyone in Israel to death.”^(Q)

“What do you want me to do for you?” David asked.

⁵ They answered the king, “As for the man who destroyed us and plotted against us so that we have been decimated and have no place anywhere in Israel, ⁶ let seven of his male descendants be given to us to be killed and their bodies exposed^(R) before the Lord at Gibeah of Saul—the Lord’s chosen^(S) one.”

So the king said, “I will give them to you.”

⁷ The king spared Mephibosheth^(T) son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the oath^(U) before the Lord between David and Jonathan son of Saul. ⁸ But the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Aiah’s daughter Rizpah,^(V) whom she had borne to Saul, together with the five sons of Saul’s daughter Merab,^[d] whom she had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite.^{(W) 9} He handed them over to the Gibeonites, who killed them and exposed their bodies on a hill before the Lord. All seven of them fell together; they were put to death^(X) during the first days of the harvest, just as the barley harvest was beginning.^(Y)

¹⁰ Rizpah daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on a rock. From the beginning of the harvest till the rain poured down from the heavens on the bodies, she did not let the birds touch them by day or the wild animals by night.^{(Z) 11} When David was told what Aiah’s daughter Rizpah, Saul’s concubine, had done, ¹² he went and took the bones of Saul^(AA) and his son Jonathan from the citizens of Jabesh Gilead.^(AB) (They had stolen their bodies from the public square at Beth Shan,^(AC) where the Philistines had hung^(AD) them after they struck Saul down on Gilboa.)^{(AE) 13} David brought the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from there, and the bones of those who had been killed and exposed were gathered up.

¹⁴ They buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish, at Zela^(AF) in Benjamin, and did everything the king commanded. After that,^(AG) God answered prayer^(AH) in behalf of the land.^(AI)

Wars Against the Philistines^(AJ)

¹⁵ Once again there was a battle between the Philistines^(AK) and Israel. David went down with his men to fight against the Philistines, and he became exhausted. ¹⁶ And Ishbi-Benob, one of the descendants of Rapha, whose bronze spearhead weighed three hundred shekels^[e] and who was armed with a new sword, said he would kill David. ¹⁷ But Abishai^(AL) son of Zeruiah came to David’s rescue; he struck the Philistine down and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, saying, “Never again will you go out with us to battle, so that the lamp^(AM) of Israel will not be extinguished.^(AN)”

¹⁸ In the course of time, there was another battle with the Philistines, at Gob. At that time Sibbekai^(AO) the Hushathite killed Saph, one of the descendants of Rapha.

¹⁹ In another battle with the Philistines at Gob, Elhanan son of Jair^[f] the Bethlehemite killed the brother of^[g] Goliath the Gittite,^(AP) who had a spear with a shaft like a weaver’s rod.^(AQ)

²⁰ In still another battle, which took place at Gath, there was a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot—twenty-four in all. He also was descended from Rapha. ²¹ When he taunted^(AR) Israel, Jonathan son of Shimeah,^(AS) David’s brother, killed him.

²² These four were descendants of Rapha in Gath, and they fell at the hands of David and his men.