The Rebellion of Sheba

20 And there happened to be there a 1rebel, whose name was Sheba the son of Bichri, a Benjamite. And he blew a trumpet, and said:

a“We have no share in David,

Nor do we have inheritance in the son of Jesse;

bEvery man to his tents, O Israel!”

2 So every man of Israel deserted David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the cmen of Judah, from the Jordan as far as Jerusalem, remained loyal to their king.

3 Now David came to his house at Jerusalem. And the king took the ten women, dhis concubines whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in seclusion and supported them, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up to the day of their death, living in widowhood.

4 And the king said to Amasa, e“Assemble the men of Judah for me within three days, and be present here yourself.” 5 So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah. But he delayed longer than the set time which David had appointed him. 6 And David said to fAbishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom. Take gyour lord’s servants and pursue him, lest he find for himself fortified cities, and escape us.” 7 So Joab’s men, with the hCherethites, the Pelethites, and iall the mighty men, went out after him. And they went out of Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri. 8 When they were at the large stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa came before them. Now Joab was dressed in battle armor; on it was a belt with a sword fastened in its sheath at his hips; and as he was going forward, it fell out. 9 Then Joab said to Amasa, “Are you in health, my brother?” jAnd Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. 10 But Amasa did not notice the sword that was in Joab’s hand. And khe struck him with it lin the stomach, and his entrails poured out on the ground; and he did not strike him again. Thus he died.

Then Joab and Abishai his brother pursued Sheba the son of Bichri. 11 Meanwhile one of Joab’s men stood near Amasa, and said, “Whoever favors Joab and whoever is for David—follow Joab!” 12 But Amasa wallowed in his blood in the middle of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he moved Amasa from the highway to the field and threw a garment over him, when he saw that everyone who came upon him halted. 13 When he was removed from the highway, all the people went on after Joab to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.

14 And he went through all the tribes of Israel to mAbel and Beth Maachah and all the Berites. So they were gathered together and also went after 2Sheba. 15 Then they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth Maachah; and they ncast 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.

16 Then a wise woman cried out from the city, “Hear, hear! Please say to Joab, ‘Come nearby, that I may speak with you.’ ” 17 When he had come near to her, the woman said, “Are you Joab?”

He answered, “I am.”

Then she said to him, “Hear the words of your maidservant.”

And he answered, “I am listening.”

18 So she spoke, saying, “They used to talk in former times, saying, ‘They shall surely seek guidance at Abel,’ and so they would end disputes. 19 I am among the peaceable and faithful in Israel. You seek to destroy a city and a mother in Israel. Why would you swallow up othe inheritance of the Lord?”

20 And Joab answered and said, “Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy! 21 That is not so. But a man from the mountains of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has raised his hand against the king, against David. Deliver him only, and I will depart from the city.”

So the woman said to Joab, “Watch, his head will be thrown to you over the wall.” 22 Then the woman pin her wisdom went to all the people. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. Then he blew a trumpet, and they withdrew from the city, every man to his tent. So Joab returned to the king at Jerusalem.

David’s Government Officers

23 And qJoab was over all the army of Israel; Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; 24 Adoram was rin charge of revenue; sJehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 25 Sheva was scribe; tZadok and Abiathar were the priests; 26 uand Ira the Jairite was 3a chief minister under David.

David Avenges the Gibeonites

21 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David ainquired of the Lord. And the Lord answered, “It is because of Saul and his 1bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites.” 2 So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but bof the remnant of the Amorites; the children of Israel had sworn protection to them, but Saul had sought to kill them cin his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah.

3 Therefore David said to the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? And with what shall I make atonement, that you may bless dthe inheritance of the Lord?”

4 And the Gibeonites said to him, “We will have no silver or gold from Saul or from his house, nor shall you kill any man in Israel for us.”

So he said, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.”

5 Then they answered the king, “As for the man who consumed us and plotted against us, that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the territories of Israel, 6 let seven men of his descendants be delivered eto us, and we will hang them before the Lord fin Gibeah of Saul, gwhom the Lord chose.”

And the king said, “I will give them.”

7 But the king spared hMephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of ithe Lord’s oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. 8 So the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of jRizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, and the five sons of 2Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she 3brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite; 9 and he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the hill kbefore the Lord. So they fell, all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest.

10 Now lRizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, mfrom the beginning of harvest until the late rains poured on them from heaven. And she did not allow the birds of the air to rest on them by day nor the beasts of the field by night.

11 And David was told what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done. 12 Then David went and took the bones of Saul, and the bones of Jonathan his son, from the men of nJabesh Gilead who had stolen them from the street of 4Beth Shan, where the oPhilistines had hung them up, after the Philistines had struck down Saul in Gilboa. 13 So he brought up the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from there; and they gathered the bones of those who had been hanged. 14 They buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin in pZelah, in the tomb of Kish his father. So they performed all that the king commanded. And after that qGod heeded the prayer for the land.

Philistine Giants Destroyed

15 When the Philistines were at war again with Israel, David and his servants with him went down and fought against the Philistines; and David grew faint. 16 Then Ishbi-Benob, who was one of the sons of 5the rgiant, the weight of whose bronze spear was three hundred shekels, who was bearing a new sword, thought he could kill David. 17 But sAbishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid, and struck the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, t“You shall go out no more with us to battle, lest you quench the ulamp of Israel.”

18 vNow it happened afterward that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob. Then wSibbechai the Hushathite killed 6Saph, who was one of the sons of 7the giant. 19 Again there was war at Gob with the Philistines, where xElhanan the son of 8Jaare-Oregim the Bethlehemite killed ythe brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.

20 Yet again zthere was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; and he also was born to 9the giant. 21 So when he adefied Israel, Jonathan the son of 1Shimea, David’s brother, killed him.

22 bThese four were born to 2the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

Praise for God’s Deliverance

22 Then David aspoke to the Lord the words of this song, on the day when the Lord had bdelivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. 2 And he csaid:

d“The Lord is my rock and my efortress and my deliverer;

3 The God of my strength, fin whom I will trust;

My gshield and the hhorn 1of my salvation,

My istronghold and my jrefuge;

My Savior, You save me from violence.

4 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;

So shall I be saved from my enemies.

5 “When the waves of death surrounded me,

The floods of ungodliness 2made me afraid.

6 The ksorrows of Sheol surrounded me;

The snares of death confronted me.

7 In my distress lI called upon the Lord,

And cried out to my God;

He mheard my voice from His temple,

And my cry entered His ears.

8 “Then nthe earth shook and trembled;

oThe foundations of 3heaven quaked and were shaken,

Because He was angry.

9 Smoke went up from His nostrils,

And devouring pfire from His mouth;

Coals were kindled by it.

10 He qbowed the heavens also, and came down

With rdarkness under His feet.

11 He rode upon a cherub, and flew;

And He 4was seen supon the wings of the wind.

12 He made tdarkness canopies around Him,

Dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.

13 From the brightness before Him

Coals of fire were kindled.

14 “The Lord uthundered from heaven,

And the Most High uttered His voice.

15 He sent out varrows and scattered them;

Lightning bolts, and He vanquished them.

16 Then the channels of the sea wwere seen,

The foundations of the world were uncovered,

At the xrebuke of the Lord,

At the blast of the breath of His nostrils.

17 “He ysent from above, He took me,

He drew me out of many waters.

18 He delivered me from my strong enemy,

From those who hated me;

For they were too strong for me.

19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,

But the Lord was my zsupport.

20 aHe also brought me out into a broad place;

He delivered me because He bdelighted in me.

21 “The cLord rewarded me according to my righteousness;

According to the dcleanness of my hands

He has recompensed me.

22 For I have ekept the ways of the Lord,

And have not wickedly departed from my God.

23 For all His fjudgments were before me;

And as for His statutes, I did not depart from them.

24 I was also gblameless before Him,

And I kept myself from my iniquity.

25 Therefore hthe Lord has 5recompensed me according to my righteousness,

According to 6my cleanness in His eyes.

26 “With ithe merciful You will show Yourself merciful;

With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;

27 With the pure You will show Yourself pure;

And jwith the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.

28 You will save the khumble 7people;

But Your eyes are on lthe haughty, that You may bring them down.

29 “For You are my mlamp, O Lord;

The Lord shall enlighten my darkness.

30 For by You I can run against a troop;

By my God I can leap over a nwall.

31 As for God, oHis way is perfect;

pThe word of the Lord is proven;

He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

32 “For qwho is God, except the Lord?

And who is a rock, except our God?

33 8God is my rstrength and power,

And He smakes 9my way tperfect.

34 He makes 1my feet ulike the feet of deer,

And vsets me on my high places.

35 He teaches my hands 2to make war,

So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

36 “You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;

Your gentleness has made me great.

37 You wenlarged my path under me;

So my feet did not slip.

38 “I have pursued my enemies and destroyed them;

Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed.

39 And I have destroyed them and wounded them,

So that they could not rise;

They have fallen xunder my feet.

40 For You have yarmed me with strength for the battle;

You have 3subdued under me zthose who rose against me.

41 You have also 4given me the anecks of my enemies,

So that I destroyed those who hated me.

42 They looked, but there was none to save;

Even bto the Lord, but He did not answer them.

43 Then I beat them as fine cas the dust of the earth;

I trod them dlike dirt in the streets,

And I 5spread them out.

44 “You ehave also delivered me from the 6strivings of my people;

You have kept me as the fhead of the nations.

gA people I have not known shall serve me.

45 The foreigners submit to me;

As soon as they hear, they obey me.

46 The foreigners fade away,

And 7come frightened hfrom their hideouts.

47 “The Lord lives!

Blessed be my Rock!

Let God be exalted,

The iRock of my salvation!

48 It is God who avenges me,

And jsubdues the peoples under me;

49 He delivers me from my enemies.

You also lift me up above those who rise against me;

You have delivered me from the kviolent man.

50 Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among lthe Gentiles,

And sing praises to Your mname.

51 “He nis the tower of salvation to His king,

And shows mercy to His oanointed,

To David and phis descendants forevermore.”