2 Samuel 20:4-13

New American Standard Bible

⁴Now the king said to ^(A)Amasa, “Summon the men of Judah for me within three days, and be present here yourself.” ⁵So Amasa went to summon the men of Judah, but he was ^(B)delayed longer than the set time which he had designated for him. ⁶And David said to ^(C)Abishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom; ^(D)take your lord’s servants and pursue him, so that he does not find for himself fortified cities and escape from our sight.” ⁷So Joab’s men went out after him, ^(E)along with the Cherethites, the Pelethites, and all the warriors; and they left Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri. ⁸When they were at the large stone which is in ^(F)Gibeon, Amasa came ^[a]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. ⁹And Joab said to Amasa, “Is it going well for you, my brother?” And ^(G)Joab took hold of Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him.

Amasa Murdered

¹⁰But Amasa was not on guard against the sword which was in Joab’s hand, so ^(H)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. ¹¹Now one of Joab’s young men stood by him and said, “Whoever favors Joab and whoever is for David, ^(I)follow Joab!” ¹²But 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.