¹ And a man of worthlessness happened to be there, and his name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a man of Benjamin. And he blew the ram's horn and said, We have no part in David, and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. Each man to his tents, O Israel.

² And every man of Israel went up from following David, going after Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah clung to their king, from the Jordan even to Jerusalem.

³ And David came into his house at Jerusalem. And the king took the ten women, the concubines whom he had left to guard the house, and fed them. But he did not go in to them, and they were shut up to the day of their death in widowhood.

⁴ And the king said to Amasa, Call for me the men of Judah within three days; and you stand here.

⁵ And Amasa went to call Judah, but delayed beyond the set time which he had set for him.

⁶ And David said to Abishai, Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do more evil to us than Absalom. You take the servants of your lord and pursue him, that he not find fortified cities for himself, and deliver himself from our eye.

⁷ And the men of Joab went out after him, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men. And they went out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.

⁸ They were near the great stone in Gibeon, and Amasa had gone before them. And Joab was girded with his war coat as his clothing; and over it was a belt with a sword fastened on his loins in its sheath. And as he went out, it fell out.

⁹ And Joab said to Amasa, Is it well with you, my brother? And Joab's right hand took hold of Amasa's beard to give a kiss to him.

¹⁰ And Amasa was not on guard against the sword in Joab's hand. And he struck him with it, to the belly, and poured out his bowels to the ground, and did not strike him again. And he died. And Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba the son of Bichri.

¹¹ And a man stood beside him, of the young men of Joab; and he said, Whoever delights in Joab, and whoever is for David follow after Joab!

¹² And Amasa was wallowing in blood in the middle of the highway. And the man saw that all the people stood still. And he turned away Amasa from the highway to the field, and threw a garment over him, when he saw that all who came beside him stood still.

¹³ When he was taken from the highway, every man passed on after Joab to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.

¹⁴ And he went through all the tribes of Israel to Abel, and to Beth-maachah, and to all the Berites. And they were gathered, and went after him also.

¹⁵ And they went in and lay siege against him in Abel-beth-maachah, and mounded up a siege-mound against the city. And it stood against the outermost wall, and all the people with Joab were undermining, to cause the wall to fall.

¹⁶ And a wise woman called out of the city, Hear! Hear! Please say to Joab, Come near here and I will speak to you.

¹⁷ And he came near to her. And the woman said, Are you Joab? And he said, I am . And she said to him, Hear the words of your handmaid. And he said, I am listening.

¹⁸ And she spoke, saying, They spoke often in days gone by, saying, Surely they will ask at Abel, and so they ended all dispute .

¹⁹ I am of the peaceful, faithful ones of Israel. You are seeking to destroy a city, and a mother in Israel. Why will you swallow up the inheritance of Jehovah?

²⁰ And Joab answered and said, Far be it! Far be it from me that I should swallow up or destroy.

²¹ The case is not such. For a man of the hills of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri is his name, has lifted up his hand against the king, against David. If you will give him up by himself, then I will go away from the city. And the woman said to Joab, Behold, his head will be thrown over the wall to you.

²² And the woman came 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 blew the ram's horn, and they were dispersed from the city, each man to his tents. And Joab went back to Jerusalem to the king.

²³ And Joab was over all the army of Israel, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites.

²⁴ And Adoram was over the forced labor, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder.

²⁵ And Sheva was the scribe, and Zadok and Abiathar the priests.

²⁶ And also Ira the Jairite was a priest to David.