¹And there happened to be a good-for-nothing man there, whose name was Sheba the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite, and he blew the ramshorn, and he said,

“We have no part in David,

And we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.

Each man to his tent, O Israel!”

²And every Israelite went up after Sheba the son of Bichri, turning away from David. But each man of Judah clung to his king, from the Jordan to Jerusalem. ³And David arrived at his house in Jerusalem, and the king took the ten concubine women whom he had left to keep the house, and he put them in a guarded house and sustained them, but he did not go in to them, and they were confined until the day of their death, in lifelong widowhood. ⁴And the king said to Amasa, “Call up the men of Judah for me, within three days, then you present yourself here.” ⁵So Amasa went to call Judah up, but he took longer than the time that David had appointed him. ⁶Then David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom. You take your lord's servants and pursue him so that he does not find fortified cities for himself and elude us.” ⁷So Joab's men and the Cherethites and the Pelethites and all the valiant warriors went out after him, and they departed from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri. ⁸They were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, and Amasa went in front of them. And Joab was girded up; his clothing was his livery, and on him was a girdle for a sword, fastened at his waist in its sheath. But as he went forwards, the sword fell out. ⁹And Joab said to Amasa, “How are you, my brother?” And Joab's right hand took hold of Amasa's beard, so as to kiss him. ¹⁰But Amasa did not advert to the sword which was in Joab's hand, and he struck him with it in the abdomen, and he spilt his innards onto the ground. And Joab did not repeat the strike on him, and he died. Then Joab and Abishai his brother pursued Sheba the son of Bichri. ¹¹And one of Joab's servant-lads was standing in his vicinity, and he said, “Whoever is content with Joab and whoever is for David, follow Joab!” ¹²Then while Amasa was rolling in blood in the middle of the road, the man saw that all the people were stopping, so he moved Amasa from the road to the field, and he threw a garment over him when he saw that everyone coming to him was stopping. ¹³When he had removed him from the road, every man passed by, following Joab, to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri. ¹⁴And he passed through all the tribes of Israel, to Abel and Beth-Maachah, and all the Berites. And they were assembled, and they went after him all the more keenly. ¹⁵And when they arrived and besieged Sheba in Abel in Beth-Maachah, they raised up a rampart against the city, and it stood against the fortification, and all the people who were with Joab worked on breaking up the wall to bring it down. ¹⁶Then a wise woman called out from the city, “Listen, listen. Please say to Joab, ‘Come up here, and I will speak to you.’ ” ¹⁷And he came up to her, and the woman asked, “Are you Joab?” And he said, “I am.” Then she said to him, “Listen to the words of your maidservant.” And he said, “I am listening.” ¹⁸And she spoke and said, “They used to have a saying in the past, and they said, ‘They will set store on asking in Abel’, and that is how they concluded the matter. ¹⁹I am one of those of Israel who are peaceable and faithful. You are attempting to massacre a city – and a metropolis – in Israel. Why should you swallow up the Lord's inheritance?” ²⁰And Joab answered and said, “Far, far be it from me that I should swallow it up or that I should destroy it. ²¹The matter is not like that, but a man from Mount Ephraim – Sheba the son of Bichri is his name – has set himself against the king – against David. Hand just him over, and I will depart from the city.” And the woman said to Joab, “Behold, his head is to be thrown over the wall to you.” ²²Then the woman went to all the people in her wisdom, and they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri and threw it to Joab. And he sounded the ramshorn, and they dispersed from the city – each to his tent – and Joab returned to Jerusalem, to the king. ²³And Joab was in charge of the whole army of Israel, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was in charge of the Cherethites and of the Pelethites. ²⁴And Adoram was in charge of the taxes, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the secretary of state. ²⁵And Sheva was the scribe, and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests. ²⁶And also Ira the Jairite was a priest of David's.