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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>2 Samuel 20 NLT</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-LR4HSKRP2H"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-LR4HSKRP2H'); </script><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/2_samuel/20.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/2_samuel/20-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">NLT</a> > 2 Samuel 20</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../2_samuel/19.htm" title="2 Samuel 19">◄</a> 2 Samuel 20 <a href="../2_samuel/21.htm" title="2 Samuel 21">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New Living Translation</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/nlt/esv/2_samuel/20.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></td></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="hdg">The Revolt of Sheba</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/20-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>There happened to be a troublemaker there named Sheba son of Bicri, a man from the tribe of Benjamin. Sheba blew a ram’s horn and began to chant: </p><p class="b"/><p class="line1">“Down with the dynasty of David!</p><p class="line2">We have no interest in the son of Jesse.</p><p class="line1">Come on, you men of Israel,</p><p class="line2">back to your homes!”</p><p class="b"/><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/20-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>So all the men of Israel deserted David and followed Sheba son of Bicri. But the men of Judah stayed with their king and escorted him from the Jordan River to Jerusalem.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/20-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>When David came to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to look after the palace and placed them in seclusion. Their needs were provided for, but he no longer slept with them. So each of them lived like a widow until she died.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/20-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>Then the king told Amasa, “Mobilize the army of Judah within three days, and report back at that time.” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/20-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>So Amasa went out to notify Judah, but it took him longer than the time he had been given.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/20-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>Then David said to Abishai, “Sheba son of Bicri is going to hurt us more than Absalom did. Quick, take my troops and chase after him before he gets into a fortified town where we can’t reach him.”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/20-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>So Abishai and Joab,<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">a</span></a> together with the king’s bodyguard<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">b</span></a> and all the mighty warriors, set out from Jerusalem to go after Sheba. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/20-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>As they arrived at the great stone in Gibeon, Amasa met them. Joab was wearing his military tunic with a dagger strapped to his belt. As he stepped forward to greet Amasa, he slipped the dagger from its sheath.<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">c</span></a></p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/20-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>“How are you, my cousin?” Joab said and took him by the beard with his right hand as though to kiss him. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/20-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>Amasa didn’t notice the dagger in his left hand, and Joab stabbed him in the stomach with it so that his insides gushed out onto the ground. Joab did not need to strike again, and Amasa soon died. Joab and his brother Abishai left him lying there and continued after Sheba.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/20-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>One of Joab’s young men shouted to Amasa’s troops, “If you are for Joab and David, come and follow Joab.” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/20-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>But Amasa lay in his blood in the middle of the road, and Joab’s man saw that everyone was stopping to stare at him. So he pulled him off the road into a field and threw a cloak over him. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/20-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>With Amasa’s body out of the way, everyone went on with Joab to capture Sheba son of Bicri.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/20-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>Meanwhile, Sheba traveled through all the tribes of Israel and eventually came to the town of Abel-beth-maacah. All the members of his own clan, the Bicrites,<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">d</span></a> assembled for battle and followed him into the town. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/20-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>When Joab’s forces arrived, they attacked Abel-beth-maacah. They built a siege ramp against the town’s fortifications and began battering down the wall. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/20-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>But a wise woman in the town called out to Joab, “Listen to me, Joab. Come over here so I can talk to you.” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/20-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>As he approached, the woman asked, “Are you Joab?”</p><p class="reg">“I am,” he replied.</p><p class="reg">So she said, “Listen carefully to your servant.”</p><p class="reg">“I’m listening,” he said.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/20-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>Then she continued, “There used to be a saying, ‘If you want to settle an argument, ask advice at the town of Abel.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/20-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>I am one who is peace loving and faithful in Israel. But you are destroying an important town in Israel.<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">e</span></a> Why do you want to devour what belongs to the LORD?”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/20-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>And Joab replied, “Believe me, I don’t want to devour or destroy your town! <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/20-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>That’s not my purpose. All I want is a man named Sheba son of Bicri from the hill country of Ephraim, who has revolted against King David. If you hand over this one man to me, I will leave the town in peace.”</p><p class="reg">“All right,” the woman replied, “we will throw his head over the wall to you.” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/20-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>Then the woman went to all the people with her wise advice, and they cut off Sheba’s head and threw it out to Joab. So he blew the ram’s horn and called his troops back from the attack. They all returned to their homes, and Joab returned to the king at Jerusalem.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/20-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>Now Joab was the commander of the army of Israel. Benaiah son of Jehoiada was captain of the king’s bodyguard. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/20-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>Adoniram<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">f</span></a> was in charge of forced labor. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the royal historian. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/20-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>Sheva was the court secretary. Zadok and Abiathar were the priests. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/20-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>And Ira, a descendant of Jair, was David’s personal priest.</p><A name="footnotes"></a><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="fn">a</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">20:7a </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">So Joab’s men.</span><br><span class="fn">b</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">20:7b </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">the Kerethites and Pelethites;</span><span class="ft"> also in 20:23.</span><br><span class="fn">c</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">20:8 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">As he stepped forward, it fell out.</span><br><span class="fn">d</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">20:14 </span><span class="ft">As in Greek and Latin versions; Hebrew reads </span><span class="it">All the Berites.</span><br><span class="fn">e</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">20:19 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">a town that is a mother in Israel.</span><br><span class="fn">f</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">20:24 </span><span class="ft">As in Greek version (see also 1 Kgs 4:6; 5:14); Hebrew reads </span><span class="it">Adoram.</span><br></span></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><em>Holy Bible</em>, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. 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