2 Samuel 20–21

Sheba Leads a Revolt

20Now a man of wickedness was found there whose name was Sheba the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite. He blew the horn and said, “There is no share for us in David, and there is no inheritance for us in the son of Jesse; each to his tents, O Israel!” ²Then all the men of Israel went up from following after David, following instead after Sheba the son of Bicri, but the men of Judah stuck to their king from the Jordan up to Jerusalem. ³David went up to his house in Jerusalem, then the king took the ten concubines whom he had left to look after the house, and he put them under confinement.^a However, he provided for them, but he did not sleep with them.^b So they were confined until the day of their death, like a lifetime of widowhood.

Joab Assassinates Amasa

⁴Then the king said to Amasa, “Summon for me the men of Judah within three days, and be here yourself.”^{c 5}So Amasa went to summon Judah, but he tarried more than the appointed time which he had set for him. ⁶Then David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bicri will do us more harm than Absalom. You take the servants of your lord and pursue after him, lest he find fortified cities for himself and escape from us.” ⁷Then the men of Joab, the Kerethites and the Pelethites, and all the mighty warriors went out after him; they went out from Jerusalem to pursue after Sheba the son of Bicri. ⁸They were near the big rock that is in Gibeon, and Amasa came before them. Joab was dressed in his military clothing,^d with a utility belt on him and a sword strapped to his waist in its scabbard. Now he went out, and it fell out. ⁹Then Joab said to Amasa, “Is it peace, O you my brother?” Then the right hand of Joab took hold of the beard of Amasa as if to kiss him. ¹⁰Now Amasa was not on his guard against the sword that was in Joab’s hand, and he struck him with it into the stomach, and his entrails poured out to the ground. He did not strike him again, and he died. Then Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bicri. ¹¹A young man stood over him, from the young men of Joab, and he said, “Whoever takes delight in Joab and whoever is for David, follow after Joab.” ¹²Now Amasa was wallowing in the blood in the middle of the highway; when the man saw that all the people stood there, he turned Amasa over from the highway into the field, and he threw a garment over him because he had seen that all who had come by him had stopped. ¹³After he was removed from the highway, all the men passed by after Joab to pursue after Sheba the son of Bicri.

Wisdom from a Woman under Siege

¹⁴(He^e had passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel and Beth Maacah; now all of the Berites had been treated badly, so they also followed after him.) ¹⁵And they came and besieged him in Abel Beth Maacah. They threw up a siege ramp against the city, and they stood against the ramparts. And all the army who were with Joab were battering to cause the wall to fall. ¹⁶Then a wise woman from the city called out, “Listen, listen! Please speak to Joab to come near here so that I may speak to you.” ¹⁷Then he came near to her, and the woman asked, “Are you Joab?” And he said, “I am.” Then she said to him, “Listen to the words of your servant.” He said, “I am listening.” ¹⁸Then she said, “In former times, they would always say,^f ‘By all means, let them inquire in Abel,’ and so they settled things. ¹⁹I am one of the faithful representatives of Israel. You are seeking to destroy a city and a mother in Israel. Why do you want to swallow the inheritance of Yahweh?” ²⁰Then Joab answered and said, “Far be it, far be it from me that I should swallow or I should destroy. ²¹That is not the matter. But a man from the mountains of Ephraim, whose name is Sheba the son Bicri, has lifted up his hand against the king, against David. Give only him to us, and I will depart from the city.” The woman said to Joab, “Look, his head is being thrown down to you over the wall.” ²²The woman went to all of the people with her wise plan, so they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bicri and threw it to Joab. Then he blew the horn and dispersed from the city, each to his tent. Then Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king. ²³Now Joab was over all the army of Israel and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Carites and over the Pelethites. ²⁴Adoram was over the forced labor, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder. ²⁵Shiya was secretary, and Zadok and Abiathar were priests. ²⁶Also Ira the Jairite was priest for David.

The Famine Brings Justice

21There was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. And David inquired of Yahweh,^a and Yahweh said, “The bloodguilt is on Saul and on his household, because he killed the Gibeonites.” ²So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not from the Israelites;^b they were from the remainder of the Amorites. Now the Israelites^c had sworn to them,^d but Saul tried to wipe them out in his zeal for the Israelites^e and Judah. ³So David asked the Gibeonites, “What can I do for you, and with what can I make amends that you may bless the inheritance of Yahweh?” ⁴Then the Gibeonites said to him, “It is not a matter for us of^f silver or gold with Saul or with his household. It is not for us to put to death anyone in Israel.” He asked, “What are you saying that I should do for you all?” ⁵Then they said to the king, “The man who consumed us and who plotted against us so that we were destroyed from existing in all of the territory of Israel, ⁶let seven men from his sons be given over to us, and we will execute them before Yahweh in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen one of Yahweh.” Then the king said, “I will give them over.” ⁷But the king spared Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the sworn oath of Yahweh which was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. ⁸So the king took two of the sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, namely Armoni and Mephibosheth, and five of the sons of Michal the daughter of Saul whom she had borne to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite. ⁹He gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they executed them on the mountain in the presence of Yahweh, and the seven fell together. Now they were put to death in the days of the harvest, at the beginning of the harvest of barley.

¹⁰Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took the sackcloth, and she spread it for herself on the rock at the beginning of the harvest until water gushed forth on them from heaven, but she did not allow the birds of heaven to rest on them by day nor the animals of the field by night. ¹¹David was told about what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done. ¹²So David left and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the rulers of Jabesh Gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth Shan, where the Philistines hung them when^g the Philistines killed Saul on Gilboa. ¹³He brought up the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from there, and they gathered the bones of the executed. ¹⁴And they buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the land of Benjamin at Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father. They did all that the king had commanded, and afterward God was entreated for the land.

Battles with the Philistines Recounted

¹⁵There was war again for the Philistines with Israel, and David and his servants with him went down, and they fought the Philistines, and David grew weary. ¹⁶Now Yishbi in Nob, who was among the descendents of Raphah^h (now the weight of his spearhead was three hundredweight of bronze, and he was newly armed), said that he would kill David. ¹⁷But Abishai the son of Zeruiah helped him, and he attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, “You shall not go out with us any longer to the battle, so that you do not quench the lamp of Israel.”

¹⁸It happened afterward that there was again battle at Gob with the Philistines. Then Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph who was among the descendants of the Raphah.

¹⁹There was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob. And Elhanan the son of Jaare-Oregim, the Bethlehemite, killed Goliathⁱ the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like the beam of a weaver.

²⁰Once again there was battle at Gath, and there was a man of great size.^j The fingers of his hand and the toes of his feet were six and six, twenty-four in number. He was also born to the Raphah. ²¹He taunted Israel but Jonathan the son of Shimei, the brother of David, killed him. ²²These four were born for the Raphah in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.