Historical
Joab Tells David to Speak to His Servants
19 Then it was told to Joab, “Behold, (A)the king is weeping and mourns for Absalom.” 2 And the salvation that day was turned to mourning for all the people, for the people heard it said that day, “The king is grieved for his son.” 3 So the people stole away to enter into the city that day, as people who are dishonored steal away when they flee in battle. 4 But as for the king, he (B)wrapped his face up. Then the king cried out with a loud voice, “(C)O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!” 5 Then Joab came into the house to the king and said, “Today you have shamed the faces of all your servants, who today have provided escape for your life and the lives of your sons and daughters, the lives of your wives, and the lives of your concubines, 6 by loving those who hate you, and by hating those who love you. For you have informed all of us today that [a]princes and servants are nothing to you; for I know this day that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, surely then it would be right in your eyes. 7 So now, arise, go out and speak to the heart of your servants, for I swear by Yahweh, if you do not go out, surely (D)not a man will pass the night with you, and this will be of greater evil for you than all the evil that has come upon you from your youth until now.”
David Returns to Jerusalem
8 So the king arose and sat in the gate. And they told all the people, saying, “Behold, the king is (E)sitting in the gate.” Then all the people came before the king.
Now (F)Israel had fled, each to his tent. 9 And it happened that all the people were disputing throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “(G)The king delivered us from the [b]hand of our enemies and (H)provided us escape from the [c]hand of the Philistines, but now (I)he has fled out of the land from Absalom. 10 However, Absalom, whom we anointed over us, has died in battle. So now, why are you silent about having the king return?”
11 Now King David had sent to (J)Zadok and Abiathar the priests, saying, “Speak to the elders of Judah, saying, ‘Why are you the last to have the king return to his house, while the word of all Israel has come to the king, even to his house? 12 You are my brothers; (K)you are my bone and my flesh. Why then should you be the last to have the king return?’ 13 And say to (L)Amasa, ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? (M)May God do so to me, and more also, if you will not be (N)commander of the army before me continually (O)in place of Joab.’” 14 Thus he inclined the hearts of all the men of Judah (P)as one man, so they sent word to the king, saying, “Return, you and all your servants.” 15 The king then returned and came as far as the Jordan. And Judah came to (Q)Gilgal in order to go to meet the king, to cause the king to pass over across the Jordan.
16 Then (R)Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite who was from Bahurim, hurried and came down with the men of Judah to meet King David. 17 Now there were one thousand men of Benjamin with him, with (S)Ziba the young man of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they rushed to the Jordan before the king. 18 Then they kept passing over the ford to cause the king’s household to pass over, and to do what was good in his sight. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king as he was about to pass over the Jordan. 19 So he said to the king, “(T)Let not my lord consider me guilty, nor remember what your servant did wrong on the day when my lord the king went out from Jerusalem, so that the king would [d]take it to heart. 20 For your servant knows that I have sinned; therefore behold, I have come today, (U)the first of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.” 21 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah said, “(V)Should not Shimei be put to death for this, (W)because he cursed the anointed of Yahweh?” 22 David then said, “(X)What have I to do with you, O sons of Zeruiah, that you should this day be an adversary to me? (Y)Should any man be put to death in Israel today? For do I not know that I am king over Israel today?” 23 And the king said to Shimei, “(Z)You shall not die.” Thus the king swore to him.
24 Now (AA)Mephibosheth the [e]son of Saul had come down to meet the king; and (AB)he had not done anything for his feet, nor done anything for his mustache, nor (AC)washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came home in peace. 25 Now it happened when he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said to him, “(AD)Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?” 26 So he answered, “O my lord, the king, my servant deceived me; for your servant said, ‘I will saddle a donkey for myself that I may ride on it and go with the king,’ (AE)because your servant is lame. 27 Moreover, (AF)he has slandered your servant to my lord the king; but my lord the king is (AG)like the angel of God, therefore do what is good in your sight. 28 For (AH)all my father’s household was nothing but men worthy of death before my lord the king; (AI)yet you set your servant among those who ate at your own table. What right do I have yet that I should [f]complain anymore to the king?” 29 So the king said to him, “Why do you still speak of your affairs? I have [g]decided, ‘You and Ziba shall divide the land.’” 30 And Mephibosheth said to the king, “Let him even take it all, since my lord the king has come in peace to his own house.”
31 Now (AJ)Barzillai the Gileadite had come down from Rogelim; and he passed over the Jordan with the king in order to send him off over the Jordan. 32 Now Barzillai was very old, being eighty years old; and he had [h](AK)sustained the king while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very great man. 33 And the king said to Barzillai, “You pass over with me and I will [i]sustain you in Jerusalem with me.” 34 But Barzillai said to the king, “(AL)How long [j]have I yet to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? 35 I am [k]now (AM)eighty years old. Can I know between good and bad? Or can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Or can I hear anymore (AN)the voice of singing men and women? (AO)Why then should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king? 36 Your servant would merely pass over the Jordan with the king. Why should the king compensate me with this reward? 37 Please let your servant return, that I may die in my own city near the grave of my father and my mother. However, here is your servant (AP)Chimham, let him pass over with my lord the king, and do for him what is good in your sight.” 38 So the king answered, “Chimham shall pass over with me, and I will do for him what is good in your sight; and whatever you [l]require of me, I will do for you.” 39 Then all the people passed over the Jordan and the king passed over too. The king then (AQ)kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and he returned to his place.
40 Now the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him; and all the people of Judah and also (AR)half the people of Israel [m]accompanied the king. 41 And behold, all the men of Israel came to the king and said to the king, “(AS)Why had our brothers (AT)the men of Judah stolen you away, and caused the king and his household and all David’s men with him to pass over the Jordan?” 42 Then all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, “Because (AU)the king is a close relative to [n]us. Why then [o]are you angry about this matter? Have we eaten at all at the king’s expense, or has [p]anything been taken for us?” 43 But the men of Israel answered the men of Judah and said, “[q](AV)We have ten parts in the king, therefore [r]we also have more claim on David than you. Why then did you treat us with contempt? Was it not [s]our word first to have [t]our king return?” Yet the words of the men of Judah were harsher than the words of the men of Israel.
Sheba Goes Up Against David
20 Now (AW)a vile fellow happened to be there whose name was Sheba, the son of (AX)Bichri, a Benjamite; and he blew the trumpet and said,
“(AY)We have no portion in David,
Nor do we have inheritance in (AZ)the son of Jesse;
(BA)Every man to his tents, O Israel!”
2 So all the men of Israel went up from following David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri; but the men of Judah clung to their king, from the Jordan even to Jerusalem.
3 Then David came to his house at Jerusalem, and (BB)the king took the ten women, the concubines whom he had left to keep the house, and placed them under guard and provided them with sustenance, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up until the day of their death, living as widows.
4 Then the king said to (BC)Amasa, “Call out the men of Judah for me within three days, and you yourself stand here.” 5 So Amasa went to call out the men of Judah, but he (BD)delayed longer than the set time which he had appointed him. 6 And David said to (BE)Abishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom; (BF)take your lord’s servants and pursue him, lest he find for himself fortified cities and deliver himself from our sight.” 7 So Joab’s men pursued him, (BG)along with the Cherethites and the Pelethites and all the mighty men; and they went out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri. 8 They were at the large stone which is in (BH)Gibeon, and Amasa came [u]to meet them. Now Joab was [v]dressed in his military attire, and over it was a belt with a sword in its sheath fastened at his [w]waist; and as he came out, it fell out. 9 Then Joab said to Amasa, “Is it well with you, my brother?” And (BI)Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him.
Joab Strikes Amasa
10 But Amasa was not on guard against the sword which was in Joab’s hand so (BJ)he struck him in the belly with it and poured out his inward parts on the ground, and did not strike him again, and he died. Then Joab and Abishai his brother pursued Sheba the son of Bichri. 11 Now there stood by him one of Joab’s young men, and said, “Whoever delights in Joab and whoever is for David, (BK)let him follow Joab.” 12 But Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the middle of the highway. And the man saw that all the people stood still. So he [x]removed Amasa from the highway into the field and threw a garment over him when he saw that everyone who came by him stood still.
The Beheading of Sheba
13 As soon as he was removed from the highway, all the men passed on after Joab to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.
14 Now he went through all the tribes of Israel to Abel, even Beth-maacah, and all the Berites; and they were assembled and also came after him. 15 So they came and besieged him in (BL)Abel Beth-maacah, and (BM)they [y]cast up a siege ramp against the city, and it stood by the rampart; and all the people who were with Joab were wreaking destruction in order to cause the wall to fall. 16 Then (BN)a wise woman called from the city, “Hear, hear! Please tell Joab, ‘Draw near that I may speak with you.’” 17 So he drew near to her, and the woman said, “Are you Joab?” And he answered, “I am.” Then she said to him, “Listen to the words of your maidservant.” And he answered, “I am listening.” 18 Then she spoke, saying, “Formerly they used to speak in this way, saying, ‘They will surely ask advice at Abel,’ and thus they ended the dispute. 19 I am of those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel. (BO)You are seeking to put to death a city, even a mother in Israel. Why would you swallow up (BP)the inheritance of Yahweh?” 20 And Joab answered and said, “Far be it, far be it from me that I should swallow up or destroy! 21 Such is not the case. But a man from (BQ)the hill country of Ephraim, (BR)Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has lifted up his hand against King David. Give him over alone, and I will go from the city.” And the woman said to Joab, “Behold, his head will be thrown to you over the wall.” 22 Then the woman came to all the people in her (BS)wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri and threw it to Joab. So (BT)he blew the trumpet, and they were scattered from the city, each to his tent. Joab also returned to the king at Jerusalem.
23 (BU)Now Joab was over the whole 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 (BV)Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder; 25 and Sheva was scribe, and Zadok and (BW)Abiathar were priests; 26 and Ira the Jairite was also a priest to David.
David Gives Saul’s Sons to the Gibeonites
21 And there was (BX)a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and (BY)David sought the presence of Yahweh. And Yahweh said, “It is for Saul and his bloody house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.” 2 So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them (now the Gibeonites were not of the sons of Israel but of the remnant of the Amorites, and (BZ)the sons of Israel [z]made a covenant with them, but Saul had sought to strike them down in his zeal for the sons of Israel and Judah). 3 Thus David said to the Gibeonites, “What should I do for you? And how can I make atonement that you may bless (CA)the inheritance of Yahweh?” 4 Then the Gibeonites said to him, “(CB)We have no concern of silver or gold with Saul or his house, nor is it for us to put any man to death in Israel.” And he said, “I will do for you whatever you say.” 5 So they said to the king, “(CC)The man who consumed us and who planned [aa]to eradicate us from standing within any border of Israel, 6 let seven men from his sons be given to us, and we will [ab]hang them (CD)before Yahweh in Gibeah of Saul, (CE)the chosen of Yahweh.” And the king said, “I will give them.”
7 But the king spared (CF)Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, (CG)because of the oath of Yahweh which was between them, between David and Saul’s son Jonathan. 8 So the king took the two sons of (CH)Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, Armoni and Mephibosheth whom she had borne to Saul, and the five sons of [ac](CI)Merab the daughter of Saul, whom she had borne to Adriel the son of Barzillai the (CJ)Meholathite. 9 Then he gave them into the hand of the Gibeonites, and they [ad]hanged them in the mountain before Yahweh, so that the seven of them fell together; and they were put to death in the first days of harvest at (CK)the beginning of barley harvest.
10 (CL)And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until [ae]it rained on them from the sky; and (CM)she [af]allowed neither the birds of the sky to rest on them by day nor the beasts of the field by night. 11 Then it was told to David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done. 12 So David went and took (CN)the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the open square of (CO)Beth-shan, (CP)where the Philistines had hanged them on the day (CQ)the Philistines struck down Saul in Gilboa. 13 And he brought up the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from there, and they gathered the bones of those who had been [ag]hanged. 14 Then they buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the land of Benjamin in (CR)Zela, in the grave of Kish his father; thus they did all that the king commanded, and afterwards (CS)God was moved by the entreaty for the land.
War with the Philistines
15 And (CT)the Philistines were at war again with Israel, so David went down and his servants with him; and as they fought against the Philistines, David became weary. 16 Then Ishbi-benob, who was (CU)among those born to the [ah]giants, the weight of whose spear was [ai]three hundred shekels of bronze in weight, [aj]was girded with a new sword, and he [ak]intended to strike down David. 17 But (CV)Abishai the son of Zeruiah helped him, and struck the Philistine and put him to death. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, “(CW)You shall not go out again with us to battle, so that you do not extinguish (CX)the lamp of Israel.”
18 (CY)Now it happened afterwards that there was war again with the Philistines at Gob; then (CZ)Sibbecai the Hushathite struck down Saph, who was among those born to the [al]giants. 19 There was war with the Philistines again at Gob, and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite struck down [am]Goliath the Gittite, (DA)the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. 20 Then there was war at Gath again, and there was a man of great stature who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; and he also had been born (DB)to the [an]giants. 21 And he [ao]reproached Israel, so Jonathan the son of Shimei, David’s brother, struck him down. 22 (DC)These four were born to the [ap]giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.
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