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¹There happened to be there a worthless and wicked man named Sheba the son of Bichri, a Benjamite. He blew a trumpet [to call Israel to revolt] and said, "We have no portion in David And no inheritance in the son of Jesse, Every man to his tents, O Israel!"

²So 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.

³Then David came to his house (palace) at Jerusalem, and the king took the ten women, his concubines 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.

⁴Now the king said to Amasa [the commander of his army], "Summon the [fighting] men of Judah to me within three days, and be present here yourself."

⁵So Amasa went to summon [the fighting men of] Judah, but he delayed longer than the time which David had set for him.

⁶And David said to Abishai [his nephew], "Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom did. Take your lord's servants and pursue him, so that he does not find fortified cities for himself and escape from our sight."

⁷So Joab's men went after him, along with [David's bodyguards] the Cherethites and Pelethites and all the warriors; they went out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.

⁸When they were at the great stone in Gibeon, 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, it fell out.

⁹Joab said to Amasa, "Is it going well with you, my brother?" And with his right hand Joab took hold of Amasa by the beard [as if] to kiss him [in greeting].

¹⁰But Amasa [who had replaced Joab as David's commander] was off guard and not attentive to the sword in Joab's hand. So Joab struck 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.

¹¹Now one of Joab's young men stood by him and said, "Whoever favors Joab and is for David, let him follow Joab!"

¹²But 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.

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

¹⁴Now 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.

¹⁵And 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.

¹⁶Then a wise woman cried out from the city, "Hear, hear! Tell Joab, 'Come here so that I may speak to you.'"

¹⁷So 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."

¹⁸Then she said, "In the past people used to say, 'They will certainly ask advice at Abel,' and so they settled the dispute.

¹⁹I am one of the peaceable and faithful in Israel. You are seeking to destroy a city, and a mother in Israel. Why would you swallow up (devour) the inheritance of the LORD?"

²⁰Joab answered, "Far be it, far be it from me that I would swallow up or destroy!

²¹That is not true. But a man of the hill country of Ephraim, Sheba 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."

²²Then the woman in her wisdom 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 he 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.

²³Now 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];

²⁴Adoram was over the forced labor; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder;

²⁵Sheva was the scribe; and Zadok and Abiathar were priests;

²⁶also Ira the Jairite was a priest to David.

¹There was famine in the days of David for three consecutive years; and David sought the presence (face) of the LORD [asking the reason]. The LORD replied, "It is because of Saul and his bloody house, because he put the Gibeonites to death."

²So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them (now the Gibeonites were not of the sons (descendants) of Israel but of the remnant (survivors) of the Amorites. The Israelites had sworn [an oath] to [spare] them, but Saul in his zeal for the sons of Israel and Judah had sought to strike down the Gibeonites).

³So David said to the Gibeonites, "What should I do for you? How can I make it good so that you will bless the Lord's inheritance (Israel)?"

⁴The Gibeonites said to him, "We will not accept silver or gold belonging to Saul or his household (descendants); nor is it for us to put any man to death in Israel." David said, "I will do for you whatever you say."

⁵So they said to the king, "The man who consumed us and planned to exterminate us from remaining in any territory of Israel,

⁶let seven men [chosen] from his sons (descendants) be given to us and we will hang them before the LORD [that is, put them on display, impaled with broken legs and arms] in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen one of the LORD." And the king said, "I will give them."

⁷But the king spared Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the Lord's oath that was between David and Saul's son Jonathan.

⁸So the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth, and the five sons of Merab the daughter of Saul, whom she had borne to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite.

⁹He handed them over to the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the hill before the LORD, and the seven died together. They were put to death in the first days of the grain harvest, the beginning of the barley harvest [in the spring].

¹⁰Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest [in the spring] until [the autumn] rain fell on them; and she allowed neither the birds of the sky to rest on their bodies by day, nor the beasts of the field [to feed on them] by night.

¹¹David was told what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done.

¹²Then David went and took the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the open square of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them on the day when the Philistines had killed Saul in Gilboa.

¹³He brought up the bones of Saul and of Jonathan his son from there, and they gathered the bones of those who had been hanged [with their arms and legs broken].

¹⁴They buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin in Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father; and they did all that the king commanded. After that, God was moved by prayer for the land.

¹⁵Now the Philistines were at war again with Israel. David went down with his servants, and as they fought against the Philistines, David became weary.

¹⁶Then Ishbi-benob, who was among the descendants of the giant, the weight of whose spear was three hundred shekels (six pounds) of bronze, was armed with a new sword, and he intended to kill David.

¹⁷But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to David's aid, and struck and killed the Philistine. Then David's men swore to him, "You shall not go out again with us to battle, so that you do not extinguish the lamp of Israel."

¹⁸After this, there was war again with the Philistines at Gob (Gezer). At that time Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph (Sippai), who was among the descendants of the giant.

¹⁹There was war with the Philistines again at Gob, and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, a Bethlehemite, killed Goliath the Gittite, whose spear shaft was like a weaver's beam.

²⁰There was war at Gath again, 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; he also was a descendant of the giants.

²¹And when he taunted and defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David's brother, killed him.

²²These four [warriors] were descended from the giant in Gath, and they fell by the hands of David and his servants.

¹David spoke the words of this song to the LORD when the LORD rescued him from the hands of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

²He said: "The LORD is my rock and my fortress [on the mountain] and my rescuer;

³My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, My Savior—You save me from violence.

⁴"I call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies.

⁵"For the waves of death encompassed me; The torrents of destruction overwhelmed and terrified me.

⁶"The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.

⁷"In my distress I called upon the LORD; I cried out to my God, And from His temple [in the heavens] He heard my voice; My cry for help came into His ears.

⁸"Then the earth shook and quaked, The foundations of the heavens trembled And were shaken, because He was angry.

⁹"Smoke went up out of His nostrils, And devouring fire from His mouth; Coals were kindled by it.

¹⁰"He bowed the heavens also, and came down With thick darkness under His feet.

¹¹"He rode on a cherub and flew; He appeared upon the wings of the wind.

¹²"He made darkness canopies around Him, A mass of waters, thick clouds of the skies.

¹³"Out of the brightness before Him Coals of fire were set aflame.

¹⁴"The LORD thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice.

¹⁵"He sent out arrows and scattered them; Lightning, and confused them.

¹⁶"The channels of the sea appeared, The foundations of the world were uncovered At the rebuke of the LORD, At the blast of the breath of His nostrils.

¹⁷"He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of great waters.

¹⁸"He rescued me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.

¹⁹"They came upon me in the day of my calamity, But the LORD was my support.

²⁰"He also brought me out to an open place; He rescued me because He delighted in me.

²¹"The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has rewarded me.

²²"For I have kept the ways of the LORD, And have not acted wickedly against my God.

²³"For all His judgments (legal decisions) were before me, And from His statutes I did not turn aside.

²⁴"I was also blameless before Him, And kept myself from wrongdoing.

²⁵"Therefore the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, According to my cleanness in His sight.

²⁶"With the loving and loyal You show Yourself loving and loyal, With the blameless You show Yourself blameless.

²⁷"With the pure You show Yourself pure, With the perverted You show Yourself astute.

²⁸"And You save the afflicted people; But Your eyes are on the haughty whom You abase (humiliate).

²⁹"For You, O LORD, are my lamp; The LORD illumines and dispels my darkness.

³⁰"For by You I can run upon a troop; By my God I can leap over a wall.

³¹"As for God, His way is blameless and perfect; The word of the LORD is tested. He is a shield to all those who take refuge and trust in Him.

³²"For who is God, besides the LORD? And who is a rock, besides our God?

³³"God is my strong fortress; He sets the blameless in His way.

³⁴"He makes my feet like the doe's feet [firm and swift]; He sets me [secure and confident] on my high places.

³⁵"He trains my hands for war, So that my arms can bend (pull back) a bow of bronze.

³⁶"You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, And Your help and gentleness make me great.

³⁷"You enlarge my steps under me, And my feet have not slipped.

³⁸"I pursued my enemies and destroyed them, And I did not turn back until they were consumed (eliminated).

³⁹"I consumed them and shattered them, so that they did not rise; They fell under my feet.

⁴⁰"For You have surrounded me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me those who stood against me.

⁴¹"You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me [in retreat], And I destroyed those who hated me.

⁴²"They looked, but there was no savior for them— Even to the LORD [they looked], but He did not answer them.

⁴³"Then I beat them as [small as] the dust of the earth; I crushed and stamped them as the mire (dirt, mud) of the streets.

⁴⁴"You also have rescued me from strife with my [own] people; You have kept me as the head of the nations. People whom I have not known served me.

⁴⁵"Foreigners pretend obedience to me; As soon as they hear [me], they obey me.

⁴⁶"Foreigners lose heart; They come trembling out of their strongholds.

⁴⁷"The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock, And exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation.

⁴⁸"It is God who executes vengeance for me, And brings down [and disciplines] the peoples under me,

⁴⁹Who also brings me out from my enemies. You even lift me above those who rise up against me; You rescue me from the violent man.

⁵⁰"For this I will give thanks and praise You, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing praises to Your name.

⁵¹"He is a tower of salvation and great deliverance to His king, And shows lovingkindness to His anointed, To David and his offspring forever."