Now ^aa worthless man happened to be there whose name was Sheba, the son of ^bBichri, a Benjaminite; and he blew the trumpet and said,“^cWe have no share in David,Nor do we have an inheritance in ^dthe son of Jesse;^eEvery man to his tents, Israel!” 2 So all the men of Israel ¹withdrew from following David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri; but the men of Judah ²remained loyal to their king, from the Jordan even to Jerusalem.

3 Then David came to his house in Jerusalem, and ^athe king took the ten women, the concubines whom he had left behind to take care of the house, and put them in custody and provided them with food, but did not ¹have relations with them. So they were locked up until the day of their death, living as widows.

4 Now the king said to ^aAmasa, “Summon the men of Judah for me within three days, and be present here yourself.” 5 So Amasa went to summon the men of Judah, but he was ^adelayed longer than the set time which he had designated for him. 6 And David said to ^aAbishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom; ^btake your lord’s servants and pursue him, so that he does not find for himself fortified cities and escape from our sight.” 7 So Joab’s men went out after him, ^aalong with the Cherethites, the Pelethites, and all the warriors; and they left Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri. 8 When they were at the large stone which is in ^aGibeon, Amasa came ¹to meet them. Now Joab was dressed in his military attire, and over it he had a belt with a sword in its sheath strapped on at his waist; and as he went forward, it fell out. 9 And Joab said to Amasa, “Is it going well for you, my brother?” And ^aJoab took hold of Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him.

10 But Amasa was not on guard against the sword which was in Joab’s hand, so ^ahe struck him in the belly with it and spilled out his intestines on the ground, and did not strike him again, and he died. Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba the son of Bichri. 11 Now one of Joab’s young men stood by him and said, “Whoever favors Joab and whoever is for David, ^afollow Joab!” 12 But Amasa was wallowing in his own blood in the middle of the road. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he removed Amasa from the road to the field and threw a garment over him when he saw that everyone who came by him stood still.

13 As soon as he was removed from the road, all the men went on after Joab to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.

14 Now he went on through all the tribes of Israel to Abel, that is, Beth-maacah, and all the Berites; and they assembled and went after him as well. 15 And they came and besieged him in ^aAbel Beth-maacah, and ^bthey ¹built 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. 16 Then ^aa wise woman called out from the city, “Listen, listen! Please tell Joab, ‘Come here that I may speak with you.’” 17 So he approached her, and the woman said, “Are you Joab?” And he answered, “I am.” Then she said to him, “Listen to the words of your slave.” And he said, “I am listening.” 18 Then she spoke, saying, “In the past they used to say, ‘They will undoubtedly ask advice at Abel,’ and that is how they ended a dispute. 19 I am one of those who are ready for peace and faithful in Israel. ^aYou are trying to destroy a city, even a mother in Israel. Why would you swallow up ^bthe inheritance of the LORD?” 20 Joab replied, “Far be it, far be it from me that I would consume or destroy! 21 Such is not the case. But a man from ^athe hill country of Ephraim, ^bSheba the son of Bichri by name, has raised his hand against King David. Only turn him over, and I will depart from the city.” And the woman said to Joab, “Behold, his head will be thrown to you over the wall.” 22 Then the woman ^awisely came to all the people. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri and threw it to Joab. So ^bhe blew the trumpet, and they were dispersed from the city, each to his tent. Joab also returned to the king at Jerusalem.

23 ^aNow Joab was in command of the entire army of Israel, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; 24 and Adoram was over the forced labor, and ^aJehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the secretary; 25 and Sheva was scribe, and Zadok and ^aAbiathar were priests; 26 Ira the Jairite also was a priest to David.

There happened to be there ^1aa worthless and wicked man named Sheba the son of ^bBichri, a Benjamite. He blew a trumpet to call Israel to revolt and said,“^cWe have no portion in DavidAnd no inheritance in ^dthe son of Jesse,^eEvery man to his tents, O Israel!” 2 So all the men of Israel deserted David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri; but the men of Judah stayed faithfully with their king, from the Jordan to Jerusalem.

3 Then David came to his house (palace) at Jerusalem, and ^athe king took the ten women, his ¹concubines whom he had left to take care of the house, and placed them under guard and provided for them, but did not go in to them. So they were confined, and lived as widows until the day of their death.

4 Now the king said to ^aAmasa the commander of his army, “Summon the fighting men of Judah to me within three days, and be present here yourself.” 5 So Amasa went to summon the fighting men of Judah, but he ^adelayed longer than the time which David had set for him. 6 And David said to ^aAbishai his nephew, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom did. ^bTake your lord’s servants and pursue him, so that he does not find fortified cities for himself and ¹escape from our sight.” 7 So Joab’s men went after him, along with David’s bodyguards ^athe Cherethites and Pelethites and all the warriors; they went out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri. 8 When they were at the great stone in ^aGibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Now Joab was wearing his military uniform, and over it he had a belt with a sheathed sword strapped around his hips; and as he went forward, ¹it fell out. 9 Joab said to Amasa, “Is it going well with you, my ¹brother?” And with his right hand ^aJoab took hold of Amasa by the beard as if to kiss him in greeting.

10 But Amasa who had replaced Joab as David’s commander was off guard and not attentive to the sword in Joab’s hand. So Joab ^astruck Amasa in the abdomen with the sword, spilling his intestines to the ground. Without another blow Amasa died. Then Joab and Abishai his brother pursued Sheba the son of Bichri. 11 Now one of Joab’s young men stood by him and said, “Whoever favors Joab and is for David, ^alet him follow Joab!” 12 But Amasa was wallowing in his blood in the middle of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people who came by stopped to look, he moved Amasa from the highway into the field and threw a garment over him when he saw that everyone who came by Amasa stopped.

13 When the body of Amasa was removed from the highway, everyone followed after Joab to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.

14 Now Joab went through all the tribes of Israel to Abel, even Beth-maacah, and all the Berites; and they assembled and also went after Sheba. 15 And ¹the army of Joab came and besieged Sheba in ^aAbel Beth-maacah, and ^bthey built up an ²assault 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. 16 Then ^aa wise woman cried out from the city, “Hear, hear! Tell Joab, ‘Come here so that I may speak to you.’” 17 So when he approached her, the woman asked, “Are you Joab?” He answered, “I am.” Then she said to him, “Listen to the words of your maidservant.” He answered, “I am listening.” 18 Then she said, “In the past people used to say, ‘They will certainly ask advice at Abel,’ and so they settled the dispute. 19 I am one of the peaceable and faithful in Israel. ^aYou are seeking to destroy a city, and a mother in Israel. Why would you swallow up (devour) ^bthe inheritance of the LORD?” 20 Joab answered, “Far be it, far be it from me that I would swallow up or destroy! 21 That is not true. But a man of ^athe hill country of Ephraim, ^bSheba the son of Bichri by name, has lifted up his hand in rebellion against King David. Only hand him over, and I will leave the city.” And the woman said to Joab, “Behold, his head shall be thrown to you over the wall.” 22 Then the woman in her ^awisdom went to all the people to inform them of the agreement. And they beheaded Sheba the son of Bichri and threw his head down to Joab. So ^bhe blew the trumpet signaling the end of the attack, and they dispersed from the city, every man to his own tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem to David the king. Eccl 9:13-16

23 ^aNow Joab was commander over the entire army of Israel; Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was commander over the Cherethites and Pelethites the king’s bodyguards; 24 Adoram was over the forced labor; ^aJehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 25 Sheva was the scribe; and Zadok and ^aAbiathar were priests; 26 also Ira the Jairite was a priest to David.