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2 Samuel 20
New American Standard Bible
2 Samuel 20
New American Standard Bible
Sheba’s Revolt
20 Now (A)a worthless man happened to be there whose name was Sheba, the son of (B)Bichri, a Benjaminite; and he blew the trumpet and said,
“(C)We have no share in David,
Nor do we have an inheritance in (D)the son of Jesse;
(E)Every man to his tents, Israel!”
2 So all the men of Israel [a]withdrew from following David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri; but the men of Judah [b]remained loyal to their king, from the Jordan even to Jerusalem.
3 Then David came to his house in Jerusalem, and (F)the king took the ten women, the concubines whom he had left behind to take care of the house, and put them in custody and provided them with food, but did not [c]have relations with them. So they were locked up until the day of their death, living as widows.
4 Now the king said to (G)Amasa, “Summon the men of Judah for me within three days, and be present here yourself.” 5 So Amasa went to summon the men of Judah, but he was (H)delayed longer than the set time which he had designated for him. 6 And David said to (I)Abishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom; (J)take your lord’s servants and pursue him, so that he does not find for himself fortified cities and escape from our sight.” 7 So Joab’s men went out after him, (K)along with the Cherethites, the Pelethites, and all the warriors; and they left Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri. 8 When they were at the large stone which is in (L)Gibeon, Amasa came [d]to meet them. Now Joab was dressed in his military attire, and over it he had a belt with a sword in its sheath strapped on at his waist; and as he went forward, it fell out. 9 And Joab said to Amasa, “Is it going well for you, my brother?” And (M)Joab took hold of Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him.
Amasa Murdered
10 But Amasa was not on guard against the sword which was in Joab’s hand, so (N)he struck him in the belly with it and spilled out his intestines on the ground, and did not strike him again, and he died. Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba the son of Bichri. 11 Now one of Joab’s young men stood by him and said, “Whoever favors Joab and whoever is for David, (O)follow Joab!” 12 But Amasa was wallowing in his own blood in the middle of the road. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he removed Amasa from the road to the field and threw a garment over him when he saw that everyone who came by him stood still.
Revolt Put Down
13 As soon as he was removed from the road, all the men went on after Joab to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.
14 Now he went on through all the tribes of Israel to Abel, that is, Beth-maacah, and all the Berites; and they assembled and went after him as well. 15 And they came and besieged him in (P)Abel Beth-maacah, and (Q)they [e]built up an assault ramp against the city, and it stood against the outer rampart; and all the people who were with Joab were wreaking destruction in order to topple the wall. 16 Then (R)a wise woman called out from the city, “Listen, listen! Please tell Joab, ‘Come here that I may speak with you.’” 17 So he approached her, and the woman said, “Are you Joab?” And he answered, “I am.” Then she said to him, “Listen to the words of your slave.” And he said, “I am listening.” 18 Then she spoke, saying, “In the past they used to say, ‘They will undoubtedly ask advice at Abel,’ and that is how they ended a dispute. 19 I am one of those who are ready for peace and faithful in Israel. (S)You are trying to destroy a city, even a mother in Israel. Why would you swallow up (T)the inheritance of the Lord?” 20 Joab replied, “Far be it, far be it from me that I would consume or destroy! 21 Such is not the case. But a man from (U)the hill country of Ephraim, (V)Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has raised his hand against King David. Only turn him over, and I will depart from the city.” And the woman said to Joab, “Behold, his head will be thrown to you over the wall.” 22 Then the woman (W)wisely came to all the people. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri and threw it to Joab. So (X)he blew the trumpet, and they were dispersed from the city, each to his tent. Joab also returned to the king at Jerusalem.
23 (Y)Now Joab was in command of the entire army of Israel, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; 24 and Adoram was over the forced labor, and (Z)Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the secretary; 25 and Sheva was scribe, and Zadok and (AA)Abiathar were priests; 26 Ira the Jairite also was a priest to David.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 20:2 Lit went up
- 2 Samuel 20:2 Lit clung to
- 2 Samuel 20:3 Lit come in to
- 2 Samuel 20:8 Lit before
- 2 Samuel 20:15 Lit poured out
2 Samuel 20
New International Version
2 Samuel 20
New International Version
Sheba Rebels Against David
20 Now a troublemaker named Sheba son of Bikri, a Benjamite, happened to be there. He sounded the trumpet and shouted,
2 So all the men of Israel deserted David to follow Sheba son of Bikri. But the men of Judah stayed by their king all the way from the Jordan to Jerusalem.
3 When David returned to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines(D) he had left to take care of the palace and put them in a house under guard. He provided for them but had no sexual relations with them. They were kept in confinement till the day of their death, living as widows.
4 Then the king said to Amasa,(E) “Summon the men of Judah to come to me within three days, and be here yourself.” 5 But when Amasa went to summon Judah, he took longer than the time the king had set for him.
6 David said to Abishai,(F) “Now Sheba son of Bikri will do us more harm than Absalom did. Take your master’s men and pursue him, or he will find fortified cities and escape from us.”[a] 7 So Joab’s men and the Kerethites(G) and Pelethites and all the mighty warriors went out under the command of Abishai. They marched out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba son of Bikri.
8 While they were at the great rock in Gibeon,(H) Amasa came to meet them. Joab(I) was wearing his military tunic, and strapped over it at his waist was a belt with a dagger in its sheath. As he stepped forward, it dropped out of its sheath.
9 Joab said to Amasa, “How are you, my brother?” Then Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. 10 Amasa was not on his guard against the dagger(J) in Joab’s(K) hand, and Joab plunged it into his belly, and his intestines spilled out on the ground. Without being stabbed again, Amasa died. Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba son of Bikri.
11 One of Joab’s men stood beside Amasa and said, “Whoever favors Joab, and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab!” 12 Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the middle of the road, and the man saw that all the troops came to a halt(L) there. When he realized that everyone who came up to Amasa stopped, he dragged him from the road into a field and threw a garment over him. 13 After Amasa had been removed from the road, everyone went on with Joab to pursue Sheba son of Bikri.
14 Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel Beth Maakah and through the entire region of the Bikrites,[b](M) who gathered together and followed him. 15 All the troops with Joab came and besieged Sheba in Abel Beth Maakah.(N) They built a siege ramp(O) 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(P) 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(Q) 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?”(R)
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(S) will be thrown to you from the wall.”
22 Then the woman went to all the people with her wise advice,(T) 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(U) was over Israel’s entire army; Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and Pelethites; 24 Adoniram[c](V) was in charge of forced labor; Jehoshaphat(W) son of Ahilud was recorder; 25 Sheva was secretary; Zadok(X) and Abiathar were priests; 26 and Ira the Jairite[d] was David’s priest.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 20:6 Or and do us serious injury
- 2 Samuel 20:14 See Septuagint and Vulgate; Hebrew Berites.
- 2 Samuel 20:24 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 1 Kings 4:6 and 5:14); Hebrew Adoram
- 2 Samuel 20:26 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac (see also 23:38) Ithrite
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