2 Samuel 20-24

English Standard Version

The Rebellion of Sheba

20 Now there happened to be there ^(A)a worthless man, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite. And he blew the trumpet and said,

² So all the men of Israel withdrew from David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah followed their king steadfastly from the Jordan to Jerusalem.

³ And David came to his house at Jerusalem. And the king took ^(D)the ten concubines whom he had left to care for the house and put them in a house under guard and provided for them, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up until the day of their death, living as if in widowhood.

⁴ Then the king said to ^(E)Amasa, “Call the men of Judah together to me within three days, and be here yourself.” ⁵ So Amasa went to summon Judah, but he delayed beyond the set time that had been appointed him. ⁶ And David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom. Take ^(F)your lord's servants and pursue him, lest he get himself to fortified cities and escape from us.”^{[a] 7} And there went out after him Joab's men and the ^(G)Cherethites and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men. They went out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri. ⁸ When they were at the great stone that is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Now Joab was wearing a soldier's garment, and over it was a belt with a sword in its sheath fastened on his thigh, and as he went forward it fell out. ⁹ And Joab said to Amasa, “Is it well with you, my brother?” And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand ^(H)to kiss him. ¹⁰ But Amasa did not observe the sword that was in Joab's hand. ^(I)So Joab struck him with it ^(J)in the stomach and spilled his entrails to the ground without striking a second blow, and he died.

Then Joab and Abishai his brother pursued Sheba the son of Bichri. ¹¹ And one of Joab's young men took his stand by Amasa and said, “Whoever favors Joab, and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab.” ¹² And Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the highway. And anyone who came by, seeing him, stopped. And when the man saw that all the people stopped, he carried Amasa out of the highway into the field and threw a garment over him. ¹³ When he was taken out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.

¹⁴ And Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to ^(K)Abel of ^(L)Beth-maacah,^[b] and all ^(M)the Bichrites^[c] assembled and followed him in. ¹⁵ And all the men who were with Joab came and besieged him in ^(N)Abel of Beth-maacah. ^(O)They cast up a mound against the city, and it stood against the rampart, and they were battering the wall to throw it down. ¹⁶ Then a wise woman called from the city, “Listen! Listen! Tell Joab, ‘Come here, that I may speak to you.’” ¹⁷ And he came near her, and the woman said, “Are you Joab?” He answered, “I am.” Then she said to him, “Listen to the words of your servant.” And he answered, “I am listening.” ¹⁸ Then she said, “They used to say in former times, ‘Let them but ask counsel at ^(P)Abel,’ and so they settled a matter. ¹⁹ I am one of those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel. You seek to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why will you ^(Q)swallow up ^(R)the heritage of the Lord?” ²⁰ Joab answered, “Far be it from me, far be it, that I should ^(S)swallow up or destroy! ²¹ That is not true. But a man of ^(T)the hill country of Ephraim, called Sheba the son of Bichri, has lifted up his hand against King David. Give up him alone, and I will withdraw from the city.” And the woman said to Joab, “Behold, his head shall be thrown to you over the wall.” ²² Then the woman went to all the people ^(U)in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri and threw it out to Joab. So he blew the trumpet, and they dispersed from the city, ^(V)every man to his home. And Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king.

^23 (W)Now Joab was in command of all the army of Israel; and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was in command of the Cherethites and the Pelethites; ²⁴ and ^(X)Adoram was in charge of the forced labor; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder; ²⁵ and Sheva was secretary; and ^(Y)Zadok and Abiathar were priests; ²⁶ and ^(Z)Ira the Jairite was also David's priest.

David Avenges the Gibeonites

21 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. And David ^(AA)sought the face of the Lord. And the Lord said, “There is bloodguilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.” ² So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the people of Israel but ^(AB)of the remnant of the Amorites. Although the people of Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul had sought to strike them down in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah. ³ And David said to the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? And how shall I make atonement, that you may bless ^(AC)the heritage of the Lord?” ⁴ The Gibeonites said to him, “It is not a matter of silver or gold between us and Saul or his house; neither is it for us to put any man to death in Israel.” And he said, “What do you say that I shall do for you?” ⁵ They said to the king, “The man who consumed us and planned to destroy us, so that we should have no place in all the territory of Israel, ⁶ let seven of his sons be given to us, so that we may hang them before the Lord at ^(AD)Gibeah of Saul, ^(AE)the chosen of the Lord.” And the king said, “I will give them.”

⁷ But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul's son Jonathan, because of ^(AF)the oath of the Lord that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. ⁸ The king took the two sons of ^(AG)Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Merab^[d] the daughter of Saul, whom ^(AH)she bore to ^(AI)Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite; ⁹ and he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the mountain before the Lord, and the seven of them perished together. They were put to death in the first days of harvest, ^(AJ)at the beginning of barley harvest.

^10 (AK)Then Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until rain fell upon them from the heavens. And she did not allow the birds of the air to come upon them by day, or the beasts of the field by night. ¹¹ When David was told what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done, ¹² David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan from the men of Jabesh-gilead, ^(AL)who had stolen them from the public square of ^(AM)Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, on the day the Philistines killed Saul on Gilboa. ¹³ And he brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan; and they gathered the bones of those who were hanged. ¹⁴ And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin in ^(AN)Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father. And they did all that the king commanded. And after that ^(AO)God responded to the plea for the land.

War with the Philistines

¹⁵ There was war again between the Philistines and Israel, and David went down together with his servants, and they fought against the Philistines. And David grew weary. ¹⁶ And Ishbi-benob, one of the descendants ^(AP)of the giants, whose spear weighed three hundred shekels^[e] of bronze, and who was armed with a new sword, thought to kill David. ¹⁷ But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David's men swore to him, ^(AQ)“You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench ^(AR)the lamp of Israel.”

^18 (AS)After this there was again war with the Philistines at Gob. Then ^(AT)Sibbecai ^(AU)the Hushathite struck down Saph, who was one of the descendants ^(AV)of the giants. ¹⁹ And there was again war with the Philistines at Gob, and ^(AW)Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, the Bethlehemite, struck down Goliath the Gittite, ^(AX)the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.^{[f] 20} And there was again 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 descended ^(AY)from the giants. ²¹ And when ^(AZ)he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David's brother, struck him down. ²² These four were descended ^(BA)from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

David's Song of Deliverance

22 And David spoke ^(BB)to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. ^2 (BC)He said,

The Last Words of David

23 Now these are the last words of David:

David's Mighty Men

^8 (DY)These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: ^(DZ)Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite; he was chief of the three.^[u] He wielded his spear^[v] against eight hundred whom he killed at one time.

⁹ And next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar the son of ^(EA)Dodo, son of ^(EB)Ahohi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel withdrew. ¹⁰ He rose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clung to the sword. And the Lord brought about a great victory that day, and the men returned after him only to strip the slain.

¹¹ And next to him was Shammah, the son of Agee the ^(EC)Hararite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi,^[w] where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the men fled from the Philistines. ¹² But he took his stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and struck down the Philistines, and the Lord worked a great victory.

¹³ And three of the thirty chief men went down and came about harvest time to David at the ^(ED)cave of Adullam, when a band of Philistines was encamped ^(EE)in the Valley of Rephaim. ¹⁴ David was then ^(EF)in the stronghold, and ^(EG)the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. ¹⁵ And David said longingly, “Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” ¹⁶ Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and carried and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it. He poured it out to the Lord ¹⁷ and said, “Far be it from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Shall I drink ^(EH)the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.

¹⁸ Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the thirty.^[x] And he wielded his spear against three hundred men^[y] and killed them and won a name beside the three. ¹⁹ He was the most renowned of the thirty^[z] and became their commander, but he did not attain to ^(EI)the three.

²⁰ And ^(EJ)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man^[aa] of ^(EK)Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two ariels^[ab] of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. ²¹ And he struck down an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but Benaiah went down to him with a staff and snatched the spear out of the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear. ²² These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and won a name beside the three mighty men. ²³ He was renowned among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David set him over his bodyguard.

^24 (EL)Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, ^25 (EM)Shammah of Harod, Elika of Harod, ²⁶ Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh ^(EN)of Tekoa, ²⁷ Abiezer ^(EO)of Anathoth, Mebunnai ^(EP)the Hushathite, ²⁸ Zalmon ^(EQ)the Ahohite, Maharai ^(ER)of Netophah, ²⁹ Heleb the son of Baanah ^(ES)of Netophah, Ittai the son of Ribai of ^(ET)Gibeah of the people of Benjamin, ³⁰ Benaiah ^(EU)of Pirathon, Hiddai of the brooks of ^(EV)Gaash, ³¹ Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth of ^(EW)Bahurim, ³² Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan, ^33 (EX)Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite, ³⁴ Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai ^(EY)of Maacah, ^(EZ)Eliam the son of ^(FA)Ahithophel the Gilonite, ³⁵ Hezro^{[ac] (FB)}of Carmel, Paarai the Arbite, ³⁶ Igal the son of Nathan ^(FC)of Zobah, Bani the Gadite, ³⁷ Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai ^(FD)of Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah, ^38 (FE)Ira the ^(FF)Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, ^39 (FG)Uriah the Hittite: thirty-seven in all.

David's Census

24 ^(FH)(FI)Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, ^(FJ)“Go, number Israel and Judah.” ² So the king said to Joab, the commander of the army,^[ad] who was with him, “Go through all the tribes of Israel, ^(FK)from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, that I may know the number of the people.” ³ But Joab said to the king, ^(FL)“May the Lord your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king still see it, but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?” ⁴ But the king's word prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king to number the people of Israel. ⁵ They crossed the Jordan and began from ^(FM)Aroer,^[ae] and from the city that is in the middle of the ^(FN)valley, toward Gad and on to ^(FO)Jazer. ⁶ Then they came to Gilead, and to Kadesh in the land of the Hittites;^[af] and they came to Dan, and from Dan^[ag] they went around to ^(FP)Sidon, ⁷ and came to the fortress of Tyre and to all the cities of the ^(FQ)Hivites and ^(FR)Canaanites; and they went out to the Negeb of Judah at Beersheba. ⁸ So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. ⁹ And Joab gave the sum of the numbering of the people to the king: in Israel there were 800,000 valiant men ^(FS)who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were 500,000.

The Lord's Judgment of David's Sin

¹⁰ But ^(FT)David's heart struck him after he had numbered the people. And David said to the Lord, ^(FU)“I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Lord, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have done ^(FV)very foolishly.” ¹¹ And when David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to ^(FW)the prophet Gad, David's ^(FX)seer, saying, ¹² “Go and say to David, ‘Thus says the Lord, Three things I offer^[ah] you. Choose one of them, that I may do it to you.’” ¹³ So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall ^(FY)three^[ai] years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days' pestilence in your land? Now consider, and decide what answer I shall return to him who sent me.” ¹⁴ Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hand of the Lord, ^(FZ)for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man.”

^15 (GA)So the Lord sent a pestilence on Israel from the morning until the appointed time. And there died of the people from ^(GB)Dan to Beersheba 70,000 men. ¹⁶ And when ^(GC)the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem ^(GD)to destroy it, ^(GE)the Lord relented from the calamity and said to the angel ^(GF)who was working destruction among the people, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” And ^(GG)the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of ^(GH)Araunah the Jebusite. ¹⁷ Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, “Behold, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand be against me and against my father's house.”

David Builds an Altar

¹⁸ And Gad came that day to David and said to him, “Go up, raise an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of ^(GI)Araunah the Jebusite.” ¹⁹ So David went up at Gad's word, as the Lord commanded. ²⁰ And when Araunah looked down, he saw the king and his servants coming on toward him. And Araunah went out and paid homage to the king with his face to the ground. ²¹ And Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to the Lord, that the plague ^(GJ)may be averted from the people.” ²² Then Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him. Here are the oxen for the burnt offering and the ^(GK)threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. ²³ All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God ^(GL)accept you.” ²⁴ But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels^[aj] of silver. ²⁵ And David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. ^(GM)So the Lord responded to the plea for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel.