2 Samuel 20:1-22
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.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 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 20:1-22
International Standard Version
Sheba’s Rebellion
20 Right about then, Bichri’s son Sheba, an ungodly man[a] from the tribe of Benjamin, sounded a battle trumpet and announced:
We’ve never been a part of David!
We’ll never gain anything from Jesse’s son!
It’s every man to his tent, Israel!
2 So all of the other Israeli soldiers[b] abandoned David to follow Bichri’s son Sheba, while the army of Judah remained with the king all the way from the Jordan River[c] to Jerusalem.
3 When David arrived at his palace in Jerusalem, the king took the ten mistresses[d] whom he had left behind to keep the palace in order and placed them in a separate house, providing for them under the care of a protective guard. He never visited them again, so they were under care until they died, living as if their husbands had died.
4 Meanwhile, David ordered Amasa, “Muster the army of Judah here within three days, and be here yourself!”
5 But when Amasa went out to muster the army of[e] Judah, he delayed to act within the time allotted to him. 6 So David told Abishai, “Now Bichri’s son Sheba is about to do more damage than did Absalom. So take my personal guards and go after them. Otherwise, he’ll run to one of the fortified cities and escape from us.” 7 So Joab’s men, the special forces[f] and mercenaries,[g] and all of David’s elite forces left Jerusalem in pursuit of Bichri’s son Sheba.
Joab Murders Amasa
8 When they arrived at the great stone that is in Gibeon, Amasa came out to meet them. Joab was dressed in a soldier’s uniform, over which was a belt that fastened a sword sheath to his thigh. As he walked forward, the sword was exposed. 9 Joab asked Amasa, “Is everything going well with you, my brother?” As Joab took Amasa by his beard to greet him, 10 Amasa did not notice the sword that Joab was holding in his hand. Joab stabbed him in the abdomen, spilling his intestines to the ground in a single stroke and killing him. After this, Joab and his brother pursued Bichri’s son Sheba.
11 One of Joab’s soldiers stood by Amasa while he lay dying[h] and announced, “Whoever is in favor of Joab and David, let him follow Joab.” 12 While Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the middle of the highway, everybody who passed by was stopping to stare at him, so when the soldier saw that all of the army was stopping, he carried Amasa off the highway into a nearby field and covered him with a garment. 13 After Amasa[i] had been removed from the highway, the rest of the army followed Joab in pursuit of Bichri’s son Sheba.
Sheba Dies at Abel of Beth-maacah
14 Meanwhile, Sheba traveled throughout the tribes of Israel in the direction of Abel and Beth-maacah, and all of the descendants of Beri[j] gathered together and followed him inside. 15 All of the men who had accompanied Joab arrived and besieged Sheba in Abel of Beth-maacah. They threw up a siege ramp against the city rampart and began to batter the wall to demolish it. 16 Just then a wise woman called out from the city. “Attention!” she said, “Go tell Joab ‘Come here! I want to talk to you!’” 17 Joab came over and the woman asked him, “Are you Joab?”
“I am,” he answered.
So she told him, “Listen to what your servant has to say!”
“I’m listening,” he replied.
18 So she said, “In days past, people used to settle a dispute by saying ‘Let’s ask for advice at Abel!’ 19 I’m one of the peaceful and faithful citizens of Israel. You’re trying to destroy a city that’s a mother in Israel. Why are you devouring the heritage of the Lord?”
20 But Joab replied, “No way! No way! I’m not here to devour or destroy! 21 That’s a lie! But there is a man from the Ephraim hill country—he’s known as Bichri’s son Sheba—who has rebelled against King David. Turn him over and I’ll withdraw from the city!”
So the woman replied, “Watch this! His head will be thrown to you over the city wall.” 22 Then the woman wisely went back to her people. They cut off the head of Bichri’s son Sheba and threw it out to Joab, so Joab sounded his battle trumpet and they withdrew from the city. Everybody went back home and Joab returned to the king at Jerusalem.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Samuel 20:1 Lit. a son of Belial
- 2 Samuel 20:2 I.e. the ten tribes apparently mentioned in 2Sam 19:43; the Heb. lacks other
- 2 Samuel 20:2 The Heb. lacks River
- 2 Samuel 20:3 Lit. concubines; i.e. secondary wives
- 2 Samuel 20:5 The Heb. lacks the army of
- 2 Samuel 20:7 Lit. Cherethites; i.e. elite body guards
- 2 Samuel 20:7 Lit. Pelethites; i.e. special couriers
- 2 Samuel 20:11 The Heb. lacks while he lay dying
- 2 Samuel 20:13 it. he
- 2 Samuel 20:14 So MT; some ancient versions read descendants of Bichri
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