| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 1There happened to be a troublemaker there named Sheba son of Bicri, a man from the tribe of Benjamin. Sheba blew a ram’s horn and began to chant: “Down with the dynasty of David! We have no interest in the son of Jesse. Come on, you men of Israel, back to your homes!” | 1Now a wicked man named Sheba son of Bicri, a Benjaminite, happened to be there. He blew the trumpet and said, "We have no share in David; we have no inheritance in this son of Jesse! Every man go home, O Israel!" |
| 2So all the men of Israel deserted David and followed Sheba son of Bicri. But the men of Judah stayed with their king and escorted him from the Jordan River to Jerusalem. | 2So all the men of Israel deserted David and followed Sheba son of Bicri. But the men of Judah stuck by their king all the way from the Jordan River to Jerusalem. |
| 3When David came to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to look after the palace and placed them in seclusion. Their needs were provided for, but he no longer slept with them. So each of them lived like a widow until she died. | 3Then David went to his palace in Jerusalem. The king took the ten concubines he had left to care for the palace and placed them under confinement. Though he provided for their needs, he did not have sexual relations with them. They remained in confinement until the day they died, living out the rest of their lives as widows. |
| 4Then the king told Amasa, “Mobilize the army of Judah within three days, and report back at that time.” | 4Then the king said to Amasa, "Call the men of Judah together for me in three days, and you be present here with them too." |
| 5So Amasa went out to notify Judah, but it took him longer than the time he had been given. | 5So Amasa went out to call Judah together. But in doing so he took longer than the time that the king had allotted him. |
| 6Then David said to Abishai, “Sheba son of Bicri is going to hurt us more than Absalom did. Quick, take my troops and chase after him before he gets into a fortified town where we can’t reach him.” | 6Then David said to Abishai, "Now Sheba son of Bicri will cause greater disaster for us than Absalom did! Take your lord's servants and pursue him. Otherwise he will secure fortified cities for himself and get away from us." |
| 7So Abishai and Joab, together with the king’s bodyguard and all the mighty warriors, set out from Jerusalem to go after Sheba. | 7So Joab's men, accompanied by the Kerethites, the Pelethites, and all the warriors, left Jerusalem to pursue Sheba son of Bicri. |
| 8As they arrived at the great stone in Gibeon, Amasa met them. Joab was wearing his military tunic with a dagger strapped to his belt. As he stepped forward to greet Amasa, he slipped the dagger from its sheath. | 8When they were near the big rock that is in Gibeon, Amasa came to them. Now Joab was dressed in military attire and had a dagger in its sheath belted to his waist. When he advanced, it fell out. |
| 9“How are you, my cousin?” Joab said and took him by the beard with his right hand as though to kiss him. | 9Joab said to Amasa, "How are you, my brother?" With his right hand Joab took hold of Amasa's beard as if to greet him with a kiss. |
| 10Amasa didn’t notice the dagger in his left hand, and Joab stabbed him in the stomach with it so that his insides gushed out onto the ground. Joab did not need to strike again, and Amasa soon died. Joab and his brother Abishai left him lying there and continued after Sheba. | 10Amasa did not protect himself from the knife in Joab's other hand, and Joab stabbed him in the abdomen, causing Amasa's intestines to spill out on the ground. There was no need to stab him again; the first blow was fatal. Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba son of Bicri. |
| 11One of Joab’s young men shouted to Amasa’s troops, “If you are for Joab and David, come and follow Joab.” | 11One of Joab's soldiers who stood over Amasa said, "Whoever is for Joab and whoever is for David, follow Joab!" |
| 12But Amasa lay in his blood in the middle of the road, and Joab’s man saw that everyone was stopping to stare at him. So he pulled him off the road into a field and threw a cloak over him. | 12Amasa was squirming in his own blood in the middle of the path, and this man had noticed that all the soldiers stopped. Having noticed that everyone who came across Amasa stopped, the man pulled him away from the path and into the field and threw a garment over him. |
| 13With Amasa’s body out of the way, everyone went on with Joab to capture Sheba son of Bicri. | 13Once he had removed Amasa from the path, everyone followed Joab to pursue Sheba son of Bicri. |
| 14Meanwhile, Sheba traveled through all the tribes of Israel and eventually came to the town of Abel-beth-maacah. All the members of his own clan, the Bicrites, assembled for battle and followed him into the town. | 14Sheba traveled through all the tribes of Israel to Abel of Beth Maacah and all the Berite region. When they had assembled, they too joined him. |
| 15When 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. | 15So 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, |
| 16But a wise woman in the town called out to Joab, “Listen to me, Joab. Come over here so I can talk to you.” | 16a wise woman called out from the city, "Listen up! Listen up! Tell Joab, 'Come near so that I may speak to you.'" |
| 17As he approached, the woman asked, “Are you Joab?” “I am,” he replied. So she said, “Listen carefully to your servant.” “I’m listening,” he said. | 17When he approached her, the woman asked, "Are you Joab?" He replied, "I am." She said to him, "Listen to the words of your servant." He said, "Go ahead. I'm listening." |
| 18Then she continued, “There used to be a saying, ‘If you want to settle an argument, ask advice at the town of Abel.’ | 18She said, "In the past they would always say, 'Let them inquire in Abel,' and that is how they settled things. |
| 19I am one who is peace loving and faithful in Israel. But you are destroying an important town in Israel. Why do you want to devour what belongs to the LORD?” | 19I represent the peaceful and the faithful in Israel. You are attempting to destroy an important city in Israel. Why should you swallow up the LORD's inheritance?" |
| 20And Joab replied, “Believe me, I don’t want to devour or destroy your town! | 20Joab answered, "Get serious! I don't want to swallow up or destroy anything! |
| 21That’s not my purpose. All I want is a man named Sheba son of Bicri from the hill country of Ephraim, who has revolted against King David. If you hand over this one man to me, I will leave the town in peace.” “All right,” the woman replied, “we will throw his head over the wall to you.” | 21That's not the way things are. There is a man from the hill country of Ephraim named Sheba son of Bicri. He has rebelled against King David. Give me just this one man, and I will leave the city." The woman said to Joab, "This very minute his head will be thrown over the wall to you!" |
| 22Then the woman went to all the people with her wise advice, and they cut off Sheba’s head and threw it out to Joab. So he blew the ram’s horn and called his troops back from the attack. They all returned to their homes, and Joab returned to the king at Jerusalem. | 22Then the woman went to all the people with her wise advice and they cut off Sheba's head and threw it out to Joab. Joab blew the trumpet, and his men dispersed from the city, each going to his own home. Joab returned to the king in Jerusalem. |
| 23Now Joab was the commander of the army of Israel. Benaiah son of Jehoiada was captain of the king’s bodyguard. | 23Now Joab was the general in command of all the army of Israel. Benaiah the son of Jehoida was over the Kerethites and the Perethites. |
| 24Adoniram was in charge of forced labor. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the royal historian. | 24Adoniram was supervisor of the work crews. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the secretary. |
| 25Sheva was the court secretary. Zadok and Abiathar were the priests. | 25Sheva was the scribe, and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests. |
| 26And Ira, a descendant of Jair, was David’s personal priest. | 26Ira the Jairite was David's personal priest. |
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