The Death of Nadab and Abihu

10 Now ^(A)Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, ^(B)each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered ^(C)unauthorized^[a] fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. ² And fire ^(D)came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. ³ Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Among ^(E)those who are near me ^(F)I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” ^(G)And Aaron held his peace.

⁴ And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of ^(H)Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come near; carry your brothers away from the front of the sanctuary and out of the camp.” ⁵ So they came near and carried them in their coats out of the camp, as Moses had said. ⁶ And Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar his sons, ^(I)“Do not let the hair of your heads hang loose, and do not tear your clothes, lest you die, and ^(J)wrath come upon all the congregation; but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning that the Lord has kindled. ^7 (K)And do not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting, lest you die, ^(L)for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you.” And they did according to the word of Moses.

⁸ And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, ^9 (M)“Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. ¹⁰ You are to ^(N)distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, ¹¹ and ^(O)you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them by Moses.”

¹² Moses spoke to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his surviving sons: “Take the ^(P)grain offering that is left of the Lord's food offerings, and eat it unleavened beside the altar, for ^(Q)it is most holy. ¹³ You shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your due and your sons' due, from the Lord's food offerings, for ^(R)so I am commanded. ¹⁴ But the ^(S)breast that is waved and the thigh that is contributed you shall eat in a clean place, you and your sons and your daughters with you, for they are given as your due and your sons' due from the sacrifices of the peace offerings of the people of Israel. ^15 (T)The thigh that is contributed and the breast that is waved they shall bring with the food offerings of the fat pieces to wave for a wave offering before the Lord, and it shall be yours and your sons' with you as a due forever, as the Lord has commanded.”

¹⁶ Now Moses diligently inquired about ^(U)the goat of the sin offering, and behold, it was burned up! And he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the surviving sons of Aaron, saying, ^17 (V)“Why have you not eaten the sin offering in the place of the sanctuary, since ^(W)it is a thing most holy and has been given to you that you may bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord? ¹⁸ Behold, ^(X)its blood was not brought into the inner part of the sanctuary. You certainly ought to have eaten it in the sanctuary, ^(Y)as I commanded.” ¹⁹ And Aaron said to Moses, “Behold, ^(Z)today they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, and yet such things as these have happened to me! If I had eaten the sin offering today, ^(AA)would the Lord have approved?” ²⁰ And when Moses heard that, he approved.

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

A Psalm for ^(A)giving thanks.

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.