2 Samuel 20

1 Now a worthless [base, good-for-nothing] man named Sheba [son of Bichri, a Benjamite, from the tribe of Benjamin] son of Bichri, a Benjamite, happened to be there, and he blew the [ram’s horn, trumpet] ram’s horn and shouted: “We have no share [part, portion] in David, no inheritance [interest] in Jesse’s [son, descendant] son. Every man to his tent [home], O [Israel, the people of God] Israel!” word study 2 So all [every single one] the men of Israel deserted [turned away, withdrew from] David to follow [go after, obey] Sheba [a rebel leader] son of Bichri. But the men of Judah stayed [remained loyal, cleaved to] by their king [ruler, monarch] all the way from the Jordan [the river, a boundary] to Jerusalem [the city of peace, the capital]. word study 3 When David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] returned to his palace [royal dwelling place, temple] in Jerusalem [the city of peace], he took the ten concubines [women who lived with a man but were not his wives, namely the ten women his concubines] he had left to care for [keep, watch over, attend to] the palace, and he placed them in a house [dwelling place, family home] under guard [in charge, under watch, in custody]. He provided for them [sustained, supported them], but he no longer slept with them [did not go in unto them, lay no more with them]. They were confined [shut up, enclosed] until the day [point in time, literal 24-hour period] of their death [end of life, mortal termination], living as widows [in a state of widowhood, without a husband]. word study 4 Then the king [ruler, monarch] said to Amasa [general, commander], “Summon [call, assemble, gather] the men [individuals, warriors] of Judah [the tribe, descendants of Judah] to come to me within three [a period of, exactly] days [a 24-hour period, a unit of time], and be [stand, present yourself, remain] here [in this place, present] yourself [personally, as commander].” word study 5 So Amasa [the general, son of Ithra] went to summon [to cry out, assemble] Judah [the tribe, region], but he took longer [delayed, tarried] than the time [appointed meeting, set season] allotted [assigned, designated] him. word study 6 And David [the king of Israel, a man after God’s heart] said to Abishai, “Now [at this time, presently] Sheba [a rebellious Israelite] the son of Bichri will do us more harm [cause greater trouble, inflict more damage] than Absalom [David’s rebellious son]. Take [gather, summon] your lord’s [master’s, David’s] servants and pursue [chase, follow after] him, or [lest, unless] he will find [discover, come upon] fortified [strongly defended, walled] cities and elude [escape, hide from] us [evade our capture]. ” word study 7 So Joab’s men [faithful warriors], along with the Cherethites [foreign bodyguards], the Pelethites [messengers or couriers], and all [every single one] the mighty men [strong warriors, champions], marched out [went forth, departed] of Jerusalem [the city of peace] in pursuit [to chase, follow after] of Sheba [a rebellious Israelite] son [descendant, offspring] of Bichri [an Israelite living during the United Monarchy]. word study 8 And while they [the men, specifically] were at the great [large, impressive] stone [rock, monument] in Gibeon [a Levitical city], Amasa [the general, Absalom’s army leader] joined them. Now Joab [Jehovah is father, David’s nephew] was dressed in military [war] attire [uniform, garment], with a dagger [sword, cutting instrument] strapped to his belt [girdle, loin-covering]. And as he stepped forward [went forth, moved], he slipped the dagger [sword, knife] from its sheath [scabbard, cover]. word study 9 “Are you [in peace, experiencing wellness] well, my [close relative or friend] brother?” Joab [Jehovah is father, a prominent Israelite] asked Amasa [burden, a general in Absalom’s army]. And with his right [the right hand or side; the south] hand Joab grabbed Amasa by the [indicating age or wisdom] beard to [show affection or greeting] kiss him. word study 10 Amasa [not being vigilant, off guard] was not on guard against the dagger [sword, cutting instrument] in Joab’s hand, and Joab stabbed him in the stomach [belly, abdomen] and spilled out his intestines [internal organs, bowels] on the ground [land, earth]. And Joab did not need to strike him again [repeat the blow], for Amasa was dead [had died, met his end]. Then Joab and his brother [male sibling, close relative] Abishai pursued [chased after, followed with hostile intent] Sheba son of Bichri. word study 11 One of Joab’s young men [a youth, from infancy to adolescence] stood near Amasa and said, “Whoever [he that, any person] favors [to delight in, be pleased with] Joab, and whoever [he that, any person] is for [loyal to, supports] David, let him follow [go after, pursue] Joab [Jehovah is father, the prominent Israelite]!” word study 12 But Amasa [wallowing, rolling] wallowed in his blood [life force] in the middle [center, midst] of the road [highway, public way], and when the man [individual, person] saw [perceived, observed] that all [every, the whole] the troops [people, army] were stopping [standing still, halting] there, he dragged [carried, removed] the body [corpse, lifeless form] off the road [highway, public way] into a field [open land, countryside] and threw [cast, laid] a garment [cloth, covering] over it [upon him, to conceal]. word study 13 As soon as Amasa’s body [lifeless, removed from the scene] was removed [taken away, thrust aside] from the road [highway, public way], all [every single one] the men went on with Joab [following his lead, under his command] to pursue [chase after, follow with hostile intent] Sheba [a rebel] son of Bichri [a Benjaminite, an Israelite]. word study 14 Sheba passed through [traversed, crossed over] all the tribes [clans, families] of Israel [the descendants of Jacob] to Abel-beth-maacah [a city in northern Israel, house of pressure] and through the entire region [all the areas, every part] of the Berites [Bichrites, the chosen men], who gathered together [assembled, came together in unity] and followed him [went after, pursued]. word study 15 And Joab’s troops [army, warriors] came and besieged [surrounded, laid siege to] Sheba in Abel-beth-maacah [a city in northern Israel, house of pressure] and built [constructed, formed] a siege ramp [mound, bank] against the outer rampart [strong wall, fortress] of the city. As all [every, the entire] the troops [people, army] with Joab [Jehovah is father, King David’s general] were battering [attacking, pounding] the wall [barrier, protection] to topple [fall, throw down] it, word study 16 a wise [intelligent, discerning] woman called out [cried, shouted] from the city [town, settlement], “Listen [hear, pay attention]! Listen [hear, obey]! Please [I pray, kindly] tell Joab [Jehovah is father, King David’s nephew] to come here [near, approach] so that I may speak [communicate, converse] with him [toward, to].” word study 17 When he had come near [drew close, approached] to her, the woman [handmaid, female servant] asked, “Are you [is this you] Joab [Jehovah is father, a leader]?” “I am [it is I, I myself],” he replied. “Listen [hear, give attention] to the words [things, matters] of your servant [handmaid, one who serves],” she said. “I am listening [hear, pay attention],” he answered. word study 18 Then the woman said, “Long ago [in old time, from the very first] they used to say [speak, communicate], ‘Seek counsel [ask, inquire] at Abel [a city in northern Israel, a place of wisdom],’ and that is how [so, thus] disputes [matters, conflicts] were settled [finished, completed, brought to an end]. word study 19 I am among the peaceable [faithful and trustworthy, having a state of safety] and faithful [loyal and dependable, supporting the covenant] in Israel, but you are trying to destroy [seeking to overthrow and annihilate] a city [a town with a wall or a watchman] that is a mother [a maternal figure, a nurturing presence] in Israel. Why would you swallow up [completely devour and destroy] the LORD’s [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] inheritance [a possession passed down, a family heirloom]?” word study 20 “Far be it [God forbid, a strong expression of disapproval]!” Joab [Jehovah is father, a prominent Israelite] declared [said, spoke, or commanded]. “Far be it from me [I utterly reject the idea] to swallow up [to consume or destroy completely] or destroy [to ruin or bring to nothing]! word study 21 That is not the case. But a man [individual, person] named Sheba [a place in Palestine, doubly fruitful] son of Bichri [an Israelite, father of Sheba], from the hill country [mountainous region, highlands] of Ephraim [doubly fruitful, a tribe of Israel], has lifted up [raised, exalted] his hand [an open hand; strength, a side or share] against the king [ruler, monarch], against David [beloved, king of Israel]. Deliver [give, hand over] him alone [by himself, solo], and I will depart [go away, leave] from the city [town, urban area].” “Look [behold, see],” the woman [female, wife] replied, “his head [the topmost part of the body] will be thrown [cast, tossed] to you over the wall [barrier, fence].” word study 22 Then the woman [with her wise counsel, in her wisdom] went to all [every single one, the entire population] the people with her wise counsel, and they cut off [severed, beheaded] the head [the topmost part of the body] of Sheba [a rebel] son of Bichri and threw [cast, flung] it to [toward, in the direction of] Joab. So he blew [sounded, trumpeted] the ram’s horn [a signal for retreat, a trumpet made from a ram’s horn] and his men dispersed [scattered, retreated] from the city [the town, the fortified settlement], each to his own [individual, personal] home [tent, dwelling place]. And Joab returned [came back, turned back] to the king [the ruler, the monarch] in Jerusalem [the city of peace, the capital city]. word study 23 Now Joab [commander, leader] was over the whole [entire, all-inclusive] army [host, military force] of Israel [God’s chosen people]; Benaiah [Jehovah has built] son of Jehoiada [Jehovah knows] was over the Cherethites [foreign bodyguards, executioners] and Pelethites [messengers, couriers]; word study 24 Adoram [overseeing the tribute, in charge of forced labor] was in charge of the forced labor [taskworkers, men subject to labor as a form of tax]; Jehoshaphat [a recorder of the king’s decisions] son of Ahilud [a faithful servant, an Israelite living during King David’s time] was the recorder [remembering and marking the king’s actions, to recall and document]; word study 25 Sheva [the official secretary, scribe] was the scribe [one who records or inscribes information]; Zadok [the righteous priest] and Abiathar [faithful follower of David] were priests [spiritual leaders, mediators between God and people]; word study 26 and Ira the Jairite [a descendant of Jair] was David’s [king of Israel, a leader of God’s people] priest [a spiritual leader, one who serves God and leads others in worship]. word study