2 Samuel 20:15
New International Version
All the troops with Joab came and besieged Sheba in Abel Beth Maakah. They built a siege ramp up to the city, and it stood against the outer fortifications. While they were battering the wall to bring it down,

New Living Translation
When Joab’s forces arrived, they attacked Abel-beth-maacah. They built a siege ramp against the town’s fortifications and began battering down the wall.

English Standard Version
And all the men who were with Joab came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-maacah. They cast up a mound against the city, and it stood against the rampart, and they were battering the wall to throw it down.

Berean Standard Bible
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,

King James Bible
And they came and besieged him in Abel of Bethmaachah, and they cast up a bank against the city, and it stood in the trench: and all the people that were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down.

New King James Version
Then they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth Maachah; and they cast up a siege mound against the city, and it stood by the rampart. And all the people who were with Joab battered the wall to throw it down.

New American Standard Bible
And they came and besieged him in Abel Beth-maacah, and they 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.

NASB 1995
They came and besieged him in Abel Beth-maacah, and they 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 topple the wall.

NASB 1977
And they came and besieged him in Abel Beth-maacah, and they cast up a mound against the city, and it stood by the rampart; and all the people who were with Joab were wreaking destruction in order to topple the wall.

Legacy Standard Bible
So they came and besieged him in Abel Beth-maacah, and they 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.

Amplified Bible
And the army of Joab came and besieged Sheba in Abel Beth-maacah, and they 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 to make the wall fall.

Christian Standard Bible
Joab’s troops came and besieged Sheba in Abel of Beth-maacah. They built a siege ramp against the outer wall of the city. While all the troops with Joab were battering the wall to make it collapse,

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Joab’s troops came and besieged Sheba in Abel of Beth-maacah. They built an assault ramp against the outer wall of the city. While all the troops with Joab were battering the wall to make it collapse,

American Standard Version
And they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-maacah, and they cast up a mound against the city, and it stood against the rampart; and all the people that were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And they entered and they camped against him in Abel and in Bayth Maaka, and they set ambushes against the city, and it stood in distress, and all the people that were with Yuab were provoked to throw down the wall

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And they came and besieged him in Abel and Phermacha: and they raised a mound against the city and it stood close to the wall; and all the people with Joab proposed to throw down the wall.

Contemporary English Version
Joab and his troops came and surrounded Abel, so that no one could go in or come out. They made a dirt ramp up to the town wall and then started to use a battering ram to knock the wall down.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And they came, and besieged him in Abela, and in Bethmaacha, and they cast up works round the city, and the city was besieged: and all the people that were with Joab, laboured to throw down the walls.

English Revised Version
And they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-maacah, and they cast up a mount against the city, and it stood against the rampart: and all the people that were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Joab's army came and attacked him in Abel (Beth Maacah). They put up a dirt ramp against the city, and it stood level with the outer wall. All the troops with Joab were trying to destroy the wall and tear it down.

Good News Translation
Joab's men heard that Sheba was there, and so they went and besieged the city. They built ramps of earth against the outer wall and also began to dig under the wall to make it fall down.

International Standard Version
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.

JPS Tanakh 1917
And they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-maacah, and they cast up a mound against the city, and it stood in the moat; and all the people that were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down.

Literal Standard Version
and they go in and lay siege against him, in Abel of Beth-Maachah, and cast up a mound against the city, and it stands in a trench, and all the people who are [are] with Joab are destroying, to cause the wall to fall.

Majority Standard Bible
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,

New American Bible
So all Joab’s troops came and besieged him in Abel Beth-maacah. They built up a mound against the city, so that it stood against the rampart, and were battering the wall to knock it down.

NET Bible
So Joab's men came and laid siege against him in Abel of Beth Maacah. They prepared a siege ramp outside the city which stood against its outer rampart. As all of Joab's soldiers were trying to break through the wall so that it would collapse,

New Revised Standard Version
Joab’s forces came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-maacah; they threw up a siege ramp against the city, and it stood against the rampart. Joab’s forces were battering the wall to break it down.

New Heart English Bible
They came and besieged him in Abel of Beth Maacah, and they built a siege ramp against the city, and it stood against the outer wall; and all the people who were with Joab battered the wall, to bring it down.

Webster's Bible Translation
And they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-maachah, and they cast up a bank against the city, and it stood in the trench: and all the people that were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down.

World English Bible
They came and besieged him in Abel of Beth Maacah, and they cast up a mound against the city, and it stood against the rampart; and all the people who were with Joab battered the wall to throw it down.

Young's Literal Translation
and they go in and lay siege against him, in Abel of Beth-Maachah, and cast up a mount against the city, and it standeth in a trench, and all the people who are are with Joab are destroying, to cause the wall to fall.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Sheba's Rebellion
14Sheba 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. 15And 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, 16a wise woman called out from the city, “Listen! Listen! Please tell Joab to come here so that I may speak with him.”…

Cross References
2 Samuel 20:14
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.

1 Kings 15:20
And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, conquering Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and the whole land of Naphtali, including the region of Chinnereth.

2 Kings 15:29
In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and he took the people as captives to Assyria.

2 Kings 19:32
So this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: 'He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow into it. He will not come before it with a shield or build up a siege ramp against it.

Ezekiel 4:2
Then lay siege against it: Construct a siege wall, build a ramp to it, set up camps against it, and place battering rams around it on all sides.


Treasury of Scripture

And they came and besieged him in Abel of Bethmaachah, and they cast up a bank against the city, and it stood in the trench: and all the people that were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down.

cast up

2 Kings 19:32
Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it.

Jeremiah 32:24
Behold the mounts, they are come unto the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans, that fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence: and what thou hast spoken is come to pass; and, behold, thou seest it.

Jeremiah 33:4
For thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which are thrown down by the mounts, and by the sword;

a bank So LXX.

battered, etc.

Jump to Previous
Abel Bank Battered Besieged Best Beth Beth-Maacah Bethmaachah Beth-Maachah Built Cast City Destruction Earthwork Joab Jo'ab Joab's Maacah Moat Mound Order Outer Ramp Rampart Sheba Siege Stood Throw Trench Wall
Jump to Next
Abel Bank Battered Besieged Best Beth Beth-Maacah Bethmaachah Beth-Maachah Built Cast City Destruction Earthwork Joab Jo'ab Joab's Maacah Moat Mound Order Outer Ramp Rampart Sheba Siege Stood Throw Trench Wall
2 Samuel 20
1. By occasion of the quarrel, Sheba rebels in Israel
3. David's ten concubines are put in confinement for life
4. Amasa, made captain over Judah, is slain by Joab
14. Joab pursues Sheba to Abel
16. A wise woman saves the city by Sheba's head
23. David's officers














(15)Abel of Beth-maachah.--Omit the preposition "of." (See 2Samuel 20:14.)

Stood in the trench.--The "trench" is the space between the wall of the city and the lower outer wall. When the besiegers had succeeded in planting the mounds for their battering engines in this space they had already gained an important advantage.

Verse 15. - It stood in the trench. This is a literal translation, and yet gives a wrong sense. The Hebrew "stood" means "rose up to," "stood level with;" and the "trench" is what in modern fortifications is called "the glacis," and includes the outer wall of defence. The Revised Version renders, "it stood against the rampart." The usual way of capturing cities in ancient times was to cast up a bank or mound of earth against them (Isaiah 29:3; Isaiah 37:33; Jeremiah 6:6); and Joab's work had advanced so far as to be level with the outer line of defence. The name of the city in the Hebrew is not Abel of Beth-Maachah, but Abel-beth-Maachah. Battered. This is a word taken from Roman warfare. The Hebrew says, "And all the people that were with Joab were destroying the wall to make it fall," most probably by undermining it. Ewald even asserts that this is the meaning of the verb, and translates, "were digging pits under the wall." The Revised Version adopts this for the margin, where it gives "undermined." The Septuagint and Chaldee have a different and probable reading, "And all Joab's people were devising (contriving) means to throw down the wall." This would be the next operation after the mound had been carried up to a level with it.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
And Joab’s troops came
וַיָּבֹ֜אוּ (way·yā·ḇō·’ū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

and besieged
וַיָּצֻ֣רוּ (way·yā·ṣu·rū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 6696: To confine, bind, besiege

[Sheba]
עָלָ֗יו (‘ā·lāw)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

in Abel-Beth-Maacah
בְּאָבֵ֙לָה֙ (bə·’ā·ḇê·lāh)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 59: Abel -- 'meadow', two places in Palestine

and built
וַיִּשְׁפְּכ֤וּ (way·yiš·pə·ḵū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 8210: To spill forth, to expend, to sprawl out

a siege ramp
סֹֽלְלָה֙ (sō·lə·lāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5550: A military mound, rampart of besiegers

against the outer rampart
בַּחֵ֑ל (ba·ḥêl)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2426: An army, an intrenchment

of the city.
הָעִ֔יר (hā·‘îr)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5892: Excitement

As all
וְכָל־ (wə·ḵāl)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

the troops
הָעָם֙ (hā·‘ām)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5971: A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flock

with
אֶת־ (’eṯ-)
Preposition
Strong's 854: Nearness, near, with, by, at, among

Joab
יוֹאָ֔ב (yō·w·’āḇ)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3097: Joab -- 'the LORD is father', three Israelites

were battering
מַשְׁחִיתִ֖ם (maš·ḥî·ṯim)
Verb - Hifil - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 7843: Perhaps to go to ruin

the wall
הַחוֹמָֽה׃ (ha·ḥō·w·māh)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 2346: A wall of protection

to topple it,
לְהַפִּ֥יל (lə·hap·pîl)
Preposition-l | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct
Strong's 5307: To fall, lie


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OT History: 2 Samuel 20:15 They came and besieged him in Abel (2Sa iiSam 2 Sam ii sam)
2 Samuel 20:14
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