Second Book of Samuel 20

¹ Now there happened to be a scoundrel there called Sheba son of Bichri, a Benjaminite, who sounded the trumpet and cried: ‘We have no share in David, we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to his tents, Israel!’

² At this all the men of Israel deserted David and followed Sheba son of Bichri. But the men of Judah stayed with their king on his way from Jordan to Jerusalem.

³ So David came to his palace at Jerusalem. He took the ten concubines he had left to look after the palace and put them under guard. He provided for their upkeep but never went to them again; they were shut away until the day they died, widows, as it were, of a living man.

⁴ The king said to Amasa, ‘Summon the men of Judah to me, and be here yourself within three days’.

⁵ Amasa went to summon Judah, but he delayed beyond the time David had fixed.

⁶ David then said to Abishai, ‘Sheba son of Bichri is more dangerous to us than ever Absalom was, so take your master’s guards and be after him, or he may reach fortified towns and elude us’.

⁷ Behind Abishai marched Joab, the Cherethites, the Pelethites and all the champions, marching from Jerusalem in pursuit of Sheba son of Bichri.

⁸ They were near the great stone at Gibeon when Amasa came face to face with them. Joab was wearing his uniform, over which he had buckled on a sword hanging from his waist in its scabbard; the sword came out and fell.

⁹ Joab said to Amasa, ‘Are you well, my brother?’ And with his right hand he took Amasa by the beard to kiss him.

¹⁰ Amasa paid no attention to the sword Joab was holding, and Joab struck him with it in the belly and spilled his entrails on the ground. He did not need to strike a second blow; and so Amasa died. Joab and Abishai hurried on in pursuit of Sheba son of Bichri.

¹¹ One of Joab’s soldiers stood on guard beside Amasa. ‘Whoever is on Joab’s side,’ he said ‘whoever is for David, let him follow Joab.’

¹² Meanwhile Amasa lay in the middle of the road in pools of his blood. Seeing that everyone was stopping, the man dragged Amasa off the road into the field and threw a cloak over him, because he saw that everyone stopped on reaching him.

¹³ When Amasa had been taken off the road, the men all went on their way, following Joab in pursuit of Sheba son of Bichri. The rebellion ends

¹⁴ The latter went all through the tribes of Israel as far as Abel of Beth-maacah and all the Bichrites. . . . They mustered and went in after him.

¹⁵ Besieging him in Abel of Beth-maacah, they threw up earthworks against the city.

¹⁶ As all the troops who were with Joab were sapping the wall to bring it down, a quick-witted woman stood on the outer wall and shouted from the town, ‘Listen! Listen! Say to Joab, “Come here, I want to speak to you”.’

¹⁷ He came forward, and the woman said, ‘Are you Joab?’ ‘I am’ he answered. She said to him, ‘Listen to what your servant says’. ‘I am listening’ he replied.

¹⁸ Then she spoke. ‘In olden days’ she said ‘they used to say, “Let them ask in Abel and in Dan if all is over 20:19 with what Israel’s faithful ones have laid down”. Yet you are trying to destroy a town, yes a mother city, in Israel. Why do you wish to devour the heritage of Yahweh?’

²⁰ ‘Far, far be it from me’ Joab said. ‘I neither wish to devour nor to destroy.

²¹ This is not the issue; but a man of the highlands of Ephraim called Sheba son of Bichri has revolted against the king, against David. Hand that one man over and I will raise the siege of the town.’ ‘Very well,’ the woman said to Joab ‘his head shall be thrown over the wall to you.’

²² The woman went back into the town and spoke to all the people as her intelligence dictated. They cut off the head of Sheba son of Bichri and threw it down to Joab. He had the trumpet sounded and they withdrew from the town, each man to his tents. Joab himself returned to the king in Jerusalem. David’s officials

²³ Joab commanded the whole army; Benaiah son of Jehoiada commanded the Cherethites and Pelethites;

²⁴ Adoram was in charge of forced labour; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder;

²⁵ Sheva, secretary; Zadok and Abiathar, priests. 20:26 Ira the Jairite was also a priest of David.