Sheba’s Rebellion 1 UST There was a man there at Gilgal whose name was Sheba. He was the son of Bichri. He was a man who often caused trouble. He came from the tribe of Benjamin. He blew a ram’ s horn and called out,“David, that son of Jesse, does not belong to us at all! So, my fellow Israelites, let us return to our homes!” BSB BSB: Now a worthless man named Sheba son of Bichri, a Benjamite, happened to be there, and he blew the ram’s horn and shouted: “We have no share in David, no inheritance in Jesse’s son. Every man to his tent, O Israel!”
2 UST Then the leaders of the Israelite tribes decided not to escort David back to Jerusalem. Instead, they did what Sheba had said{ and returned to their homes}. But the leaders of the tribe of Judah remained with David. They still wanted him to be their king. So they escorted him from near the Jordan River back to the city of Jerusalem. BSB BSB: So all the men of Israel deserted David to follow Sheba son of Bichri. But the men of Judah stayed by their king all the way from the Jordan to Jerusalem.
3 UST When David arrived at the palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten secondary wives whom he had left there to take care of the palace and put them in another residence where someone guarded them. David provided what they needed, but he never had sexual relations with them again. It was as if they were widows, even though their husband was still alive. They had to stay in that residence until they died. BSB BSB: When David returned to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to take care of the palace, and he placed them in a house under guard. He provided for them, but he no longer slept with them. They were confined until the day of their death, living as widows.
4 UST Then King David told Amasa,“Summon the soldiers of the tribe of Judah to come here by the day after tomorrow. You must be here also{, ready to lead them into battle}.” BSB BSB: Then the king said to Amasa, “Summon the men of Judah to come to me within three days, and be here yourself.”
5 UST So Amasa went to summon the Judean soldiers. But he did not return within the time that David had specified. BSB BSB: So Amasa went to summon Judah, but he took longer than the time allotted him.
6 UST Then David told Abishai,“{ If we do not capture him quickly,} Sheba son of Bichri will hurt us even more than Absalom did. So I want you to take the soldiers who are already here with me and go to capture him. If you do not do that, we will no longer know where he is going. That would allow him and his soldiers to go into cities that have walls{ and then it would be difficult to defeat them}.” BSB BSB: And David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom. Take your lord’s servants and pursue him, or he will find fortified cities and elude us.”
7 UST So Abishai led those soldiers out of Jerusalem to pursue Sheba. They included Joab’ s personal guard, the king’ s elite bodyguards, and the men who had been David’ s army when he was in Gath. BSB BSB: So Joab’s men, along with the Cherethites, the Pelethites, and all the mighty men, marched out of Jerusalem in pursuit of Sheba son of Bichri.
8 UST When they arrived at the large rock that is in the region of Gibeah, Amasa met them{, leading a large army of Judean soldiers}. Joab was wearing armor for battle, and he had fastened a{ short} sword in its sheath to his belt. He approached Amasa, and as he did, he made the sword fall out of its sheath into his hand. BSB BSB: And while they were at the great stone in Gibeon, Amasa joined them. Now Joab was dressed in military attire, with a dagger strapped to his belt. And as he stepped forward, he slipped the dagger from its sheath.
9 UST Joab said to Amasa,“Hello, cousin! Are you doing well?” Then Joab grabbed Amasa’ s beard with his right hand so that he could kiss him{ on the cheek as a friendly greeting}. BSB BSB: “Are you well, my brother?” Joab asked Amasa. And with his right hand Joab grabbed Amasa by the beard to kiss him.
10 UST Amasa did not think that Joab would hurt him with the sword he was holding in his hand. But Joab thrust it into Amasa’ s belly, and his insides spilled out onto the ground. Amasa eventually died from this wound. Joab did not stab him again. Then Joab and his brother Abishai{ and the soldiers they were leading} left and continued to pursue Sheba. BSB BSB: Amasa was not on guard against the dagger in Joab’s hand, and Joab stabbed him in the stomach and spilled out his intestines on the ground. And Joab did not need to strike him again, for Amasa was dead. Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba son of Bichri.
11 UST One of the young men who carried Joab’ s weapons stayed next to Amasa’ s body. He called out{ to the Judean soldiers},“Everyone who wants Joab to be our commander and who wants David to be our king, go with Joab{ to capture Sheba}!” BSB BSB: One of Joab’s young men stood near Amasa and said, “Whoever favors Joab, and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab!”
12 UST Amasa{ had fallen onto the road, and} he was rocking back and forth and bleeding severely{ as he lay slowly dying}. Joab’ s soldier saw that the Judean soldiers were all stopping when they came to where Amasa was. So he dragged him off the road into a field and threw a cloth over him. BSB BSB: But Amasa wallowed in his blood in the middle of the road, and when the man saw that all the troops were stopping there, he dragged the body off the road into a field and threw a garment over it.
13 UST After that soldier took Amasa’ s body off the road, the other soldiers continued on and went with Joab to pursue Sheba. BSB BSB: As soon as Amasa’s body was removed from the road, all the men went on with Joab to pursue Sheba son of Bichri.
14 UST Sheba fled north through the whole length of the territory of Israel and finally came to the city of Abel Beth Maacah. The soldiers of the Berites had formed their army and had also come north with Sheba as their commander. BSB BSB: Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel-beth-maacah and through the entire region of the Berites, who gathered together and followed him.
15 UST Joab and the soldiers he was commanding{ found out that Sheba had gone there, so they} went there and surrounded the city. They built a dirt ramp up against the outer wall of the city. Then they started battering the wall to try to make it collapse. BSB BSB: And Joab’s troops came and besieged Sheba in Abel-beth-maacah and built a siege ramp against the outer rampart of the city. As all the troops with Joab were battering the wall to topple it,
16 UST But a wise woman who lived in that city{ stood on the top of the wall and} shouted,“Listen to me! Please ask Joab to come here, because I want to talk to him!” BSB BSB: a wise woman called out from the city, “Listen! Listen! Please tell Joab to come here so that I may speak with him.”
17 UST So{ they told Joab and} he came there, and the woman asked,“Are you Joab?” He replied,“Yes, I am.” She said to him,“Please listen to what I say.” He replied,“I am listening.” BSB BSB: When he had come near to her, the woman asked, “Are you Joab?” “I am,” he replied. “Listen to the words of your servant,” she said. “I am listening,” he answered.
18 UST She said,“For a long time people have said,‘When people have problems, they ought to ask the people who live in the city of Abel what they should do.’ By getting good advice here, they have solved their problems. BSB BSB: Then the woman said, “Long ago they used to say, ‘Seek counsel at Abel,’ and that is how disputes were settled.
19 UST We who live in this city are peaceful and loyal Israelites. But you are trying to destroy our city. Many towns and villages in this area depend on us. You should not be trying to destroy a community that belongs to Yahweh!” BSB BSB: I am among the peaceable and faithful in Israel, but you are trying to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why would you swallow up the LORD’s inheritance?”
20 UST Joab replied,“I certainly do not want to destroy your city at all! BSB BSB: “Far be it!” Joab declared. “Far be it from me to swallow up or destroy!
21 UST That is not what we want to do. But Sheba son of Bichri, a man from the hilly area where the people of the tribe of Ephraim live, is rebelling against King David. If you surrender only him to us, then we will go away from this city.” The woman replied to Joab,“We agree. We will cut off his head and throw it over the wall to you.” BSB BSB: That is not the case. But a man named Sheba son of Bichri, from the hill country of Ephraim, has lifted up his hand against the king, against David. Deliver him alone, and I will depart from the city.” “Look,” the woman replied, “his head will be thrown to you over the wall.”
22 UST Then this woman went to the leaders of the city and told them what she had said to Joab.{ They agreed, and} they cut off Sheba’ s head and threw it over the wall to Joab. Then Joab blew his ram’ s horn{ to signal that his soldiers should stop fighting}. They left that city and returned to their homes. Joab returned to Jerusalem and told King David what had happened. BSB BSB: Then the woman went to all the people with her wise counsel, and they cut off the head of Sheba son of Bichri and threw it to Joab. So he blew the ram’s horn and his men dispersed from the city, each to his own home. And Joab returned to the king in Jerusalem.
23 UST { After David became king again,} Joab was the commander of the entire Israelite army. Benaiah son of Jehoiada was the commander of David’ s elite corps of bodyguards. BSB BSB: Now Joab was over the whole army of Israel; Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and Pelethites;
24 UST Adoniram supervised the men whom the king forced to work for him. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the man who reported to the people everything that David decided. BSB BSB: Adoram was in charge of the forced labor; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder;
25 UST Sheva was the official secretary. Zadok and Abiathar were the priests. BSB BSB: Sheva was the scribe; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
26 UST And Ira from the city of Jair was David’ s advisor. BSB BSB: and Ira the Jairite was David’s priest.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.