The Rebellion of Sheba

20 Now there happened to be there ^(A)a worthless man, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite. And he blew the trumpet and said,

² So all the men of Israel withdrew from David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah followed their king steadfastly from the Jordan to Jerusalem.

³ And David came to his house at Jerusalem. And the king took ^(D)the ten concubines whom he had left to care for the house and put them in a house under guard and provided for them, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up until the day of their death, living as if in widowhood.

⁴ Then the king said to ^(E)Amasa, “Call the men of Judah together to me within three days, and be here yourself.” ⁵ So Amasa went to summon Judah, but he delayed beyond the set time that had been appointed him. ⁶ And David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom. Take ^(F)your lord's servants and pursue him, lest he get himself to fortified cities and escape from us.”^{[a] 7} And there went out after him Joab's men and the ^(G)Cherethites and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men. They went out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri. ⁸ When they were at the great stone that is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Now Joab was wearing a soldier's garment, and over it was a belt with a sword in its sheath fastened on his thigh, and as he went forward it fell out. ⁹ And Joab said to Amasa, “Is it well with you, my brother?” And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand ^(H)to kiss him. ¹⁰ But Amasa did not observe the sword that was in Joab's hand. ^(I)So Joab struck him with it ^(J)in the stomach and spilled his entrails to the ground without striking a second blow, and he died.

Then Joab and Abishai his brother pursued Sheba the son of Bichri. ¹¹ And one of Joab's young men took his stand by Amasa and said, “Whoever favors Joab, and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab.” ¹² And Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the highway. And anyone who came by, seeing him, stopped. And when the man saw that all the people stopped, he carried Amasa out of the highway into the field and threw a garment over him. ¹³ When he was taken out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.

¹⁴ And Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to ^(K)Abel of ^(L)Beth-maacah,^[b] and all ^(M)the Bichrites^[c] assembled and followed him in. ¹⁵ And all the men who were with Joab came and besieged him in ^(N)Abel of Beth-maacah. ^(O)They cast up a mound against the city, and it stood against the rampart, and they were battering the wall to throw it down. ¹⁶ Then a wise woman called from the city, “Listen! Listen! Tell Joab, ‘Come here, that I may speak to you.’” ¹⁷ And he came near her, and the woman said, “Are you Joab?” He answered, “I am.” Then she said to him, “Listen to the words of your servant.” And he answered, “I am listening.” ¹⁸ Then she said, “They used to say in former times, ‘Let them but ask counsel at ^(P)Abel,’ and so they settled a matter. ¹⁹ I am one of those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel. You seek to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why will you ^(Q)swallow up ^(R)the heritage of the Lord?” ²⁰ Joab answered, “Far be it from me, far be it, that I should ^(S)swallow up or destroy! ²¹ That is not true. But a man of ^(T)the hill country of Ephraim, called Sheba the son of Bichri, has lifted up his hand against King David. Give up him alone, and I will withdraw from the city.” And the woman said to Joab, “Behold, his head shall be thrown to you over the wall.” ²² Then the woman went to all the people ^(U)in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri and threw it out to Joab. So he blew the trumpet, and they dispersed from the city, ^(V)every man to his home. And Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king.

^23 (W)Now Joab was in command of all the army of Israel; and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was in command of the Cherethites and the Pelethites; ²⁴ and ^(X)Adoram was in charge of the forced labor; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder; ²⁵ and Sheva was secretary; and ^(Y)Zadok and Abiathar were priests; ²⁶ and ^(Z)Ira the Jairite was also David's priest.

Final Warnings

13 ^(A)This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established ^(B)by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ^2 (C)I warned ^(D)those who sinned before and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that ^(E)if I come again I will not spare them— ³ since you seek proof that Christ ^(F)is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but ^(G)is powerful among you. ⁴ For ^(H)he was crucified in weakness, but ^(I)lives by the power of God. For ^(J)we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you ^(K)we will live with him by the power of God.

⁵ Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. ^(L)Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that ^(M)Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! ⁶ I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. ⁷ But we pray to God that you may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. ⁸ For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. ⁹ For we are glad when ^(N)we are weak and you are strong. Your ^(O)restoration is what we pray for. ¹⁰ For this reason I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come ^(P)I may not have to be ^(Q)severe in my use of ^(R)the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.

Final Greetings

¹¹ Finally, brothers,^[a] rejoice. ^(S)Aim for restoration, comfort one another,^{[b] (T)}agree with one another, ^(U)live in peace; and the God of love and ^(V)peace will be with you. ^12 (W)Greet one another with a holy kiss. ^13 (X)All the saints greet you.

^14 (Y)The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and ^(Z)the love of God and ^(AA)the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.