Day 183 of 365

¹There happened to be there a base fellow, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew the trumpet, and said, "We have no portion in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to his tents, Israel!"

²So all the men of Israel went up from following David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri; but the men of Judah joined with their king, from the Jordan even to Jerusalem.

³David came to his house at Jerusalem; and the king took the ten women his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in custody, and provided them with sustenance, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up to the day of their death, living in widowhood.

⁴Then the king said to Amasa, "Call me the men of Judah together within three days, and be here present."

⁵So Amasa went to call the men of Judah together; but he stayed longer than the set time which he had appointed him.

⁶David said to Abishai, "Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom did. Take your lord's servants, and pursue after him, lest he get himself fortified cities, and escape out of our sight."

⁷There went out after him Joab's men, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men; and they went out of Jerusalem, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.

⁸When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Joab was clothed in his apparel of war that he had put on, and on it was a sash with a sword fastened on his waist in its sheath; and as he went forth it fell out.

⁹Joab said to Amasa, "Is it well with you, my brother?" Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him.

¹⁰But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's hand. So he struck him with it in the body, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and did not strike him again; and he died. Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri.

¹¹There stood by him one of Joab's young men, and said, "He who favors Joab, and he who is for David, let him follow Joab!"

¹²Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the midst of the highway. When the man saw that all the people stood still, he carried Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a garment over him, when he saw that everyone who came by him stood still.

¹³When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.

¹⁴He went through all the tribes of Israel to Abel, and to Beth Maacah, and all the Berites: and they were gathered together, and went also after him.

¹⁵They came and besieged him in Abel of Beth Maacah, and they cast up a mound against the city, and it stood against the rampart; and all the people who were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down.

¹⁶Then a wise woman cried out of the city, "Hear, hear! Please say to Joab, 'Come near here, that I may speak with you.'"

¹⁷He came near to her; and the woman said, "Are you Joab?" He answered, "I am." Then she said to him, "Hear the words of your handmaid." He answered, "I do hear."

¹⁸Then she spoke, saying, "They were used to say in old times, 'They shall surely ask counsel at Abel;' and so they settled it.

¹⁹I am among those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel. You seek to destroy a city and a mother in Israel. Why will you swallow up the inheritance of the Lord?"

²⁰Joab answered, "Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.

²¹The matter is not so. But a man of the hill country of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has lifted up his hand against the king, even against David. Deliver him only, and I will depart from the city." The woman said to Joab, "Behold, his head shall be thrown to you over the wall."

²²Then the woman went to all the people in her wisdom. They cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. He blew the trumpet, and they were dispersed from the city, every man to his tent. Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king.

²³Now Joab was over all the army of Israel; and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites;

²⁴and Adoram was over the men subject to forced labor; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder;

²⁵and Sheva was scribe; and Zadok and Abiathar were priests;

²⁶and also Ira the Jairite was chief minister to David.

¹There was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David sought the face of the Lord. The Lord said, "It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he put to death the Gibeonites."

²The king called the Gibeonites, and said to them (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn to them: and Saul sought to kill them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah);

³and David said to the Gibeonites, "What shall I do for you? And with what shall I make atonement, that you may bless the inheritance of the Lord?"

⁴The Gibeonites said to him, "It is no 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." He said, "Whatever you say, that will I do for you."

⁵They said to the king, "The man who consumed us, and who devised against us, that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the borders of Israel,

⁶let seven men of his sons be delivered to us, and we will hang them up to the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the Lord." The king said, "I will give them."

⁷But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the Lord's oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.

⁸But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite.

⁹He delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the mountain before the Lord, and all seven of them fell together. They were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, at the beginning of barley harvest.

¹⁰Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water was poured on them from the sky. She allowed neither the birds of the sky to rest on them by day, nor the animals of the field by night.

¹¹It was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done.

¹²David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh Gilead, who had stolen them from the street of Beth Shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, in the day that the Philistines killed Saul in Gilboa;

¹³and he brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son: and they gathered the bones of those who were hanged.

¹⁴They buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin in Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. After that God was entreated for the land.

¹⁵The Philistines had war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines. David grew faint;

¹⁶and Ishbibenob, who was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear was three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being armed with a new sword, thought to have slain David.

¹⁷But Abishai the son of Zeruiah helped him, and struck the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, "You shall go no more out with us to battle, that you do not quench the lamp of Israel."

¹⁸It came to pass after this, that there was again war with the Philistines at Gob: then Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was of the sons of the giant.

¹⁹There was again war with the Philistines at Gob; and Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim the Bethlehemite killed Goliath the Gittite's brother, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.

²⁰There was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant.

²¹When he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David's brother, killed him.

²²These four were born to the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

¹David spoke to the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul:

²and he said, "The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, even mine;

³God, my rock, in him I will take refuge; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge. My savior, you save me from violence.

⁴I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: So shall I be saved from my enemies.

⁵For the waves of death surrounded me. The floods of ungodliness made me afraid.

⁶The cords of Sheol were around me. The snares of death caught me.

⁷In my distress I called on the Lord. Yes, I called to my God. He heard my voice out of his temple. My cry came into his ears.

⁸Then the earth shook and trembled. The foundations of heaven quaked and were shaken, because he was angry.

⁹Smoke went up out of his nostrils. Fire out of his mouth devoured. Coals were kindled by it.

¹⁰He bowed the heavens also, and came down. Thick darkness was under his feet.

¹¹He rode on a cherub, and flew. Yes, he was seen on the wings of the wind.

¹²He made darkness pavilions around himself: gathering of waters, and thick clouds of the skies.

¹³At the brightness before him, coals of fire were kindled.

¹⁴The Lord thundered from heaven. The Most High uttered his voice.

¹⁵He sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and confused them.

¹⁶Then the channels of the sea appeared. The foundations of the world were laid bare by the rebuke of the Lord, At the blast of the breath of his nostrils.

¹⁷He sent from on high and he took me. He drew me out of many waters.

¹⁸He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.

¹⁹They came on me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support.

²⁰He also brought me out into a large place. He delivered me, because he delighted in me.

²¹The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness. He rewarded me according to the cleanness of my hands.

²²For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.

²³For all his ordinances were before me. As for his statutes, I did not depart from them.

²⁴I was also perfect toward him. I kept myself from my iniquity.

²⁵Therefore the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, According to my cleanness in his eyesight.

²⁶With the merciful you will show yourself merciful. With the perfect man you will show yourself perfect.

²⁷With the pure you will show yourself pure. With the crooked you will show yourself shrewd.

²⁸You will save the afflicted people, But your eyes are on the proud, that you may bring them down.

²⁹For you are my lamp, Lord. The Lord will light up my darkness.

³⁰For by you, I run against a troop. By my God, I leap over a wall.

³¹As for God, his way is perfect. The word of the Lord is tested. He is a shield to all those who take refuge in him.

³²For who is God, besides the Lord? Who is a rock, besides our God?

³³God is my strong fortress. He makes my way perfect.

³⁴He makes his feet like hinds' feet, and sets me on my high places.

³⁵He teaches my hands to war, so that my arms bend a bow of brass.

³⁶You have also given me the shield of your salvation. Your gentleness has made me great.

³⁷You have enlarged my steps under me. My feet have not slipped.

³⁸I have pursued my enemies and destroyed them. I did not turn again until they were consumed.

³⁹I have consumed them, and struck them through, so that they can't arise. Yes, they have fallen under my feet.

⁴⁰For you have armed me with strength for the battle. You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.

⁴¹You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me, that I might cut off those who hate me.

⁴²They looked, but there was none to save; even to the Lord, but he did not answer them.

⁴³Then I beat them as small as the dust of the earth. I crushed them as the mire of the streets, and spread them abroad.

⁴⁴You also have delivered me from the strivings of my people. You have kept me to be the head of the nations. A people whom I have not known will serve me.

⁴⁵The foreigners will submit themselves to me. As soon as they hear of me, they will obey me.

⁴⁶The foreigners will fade away, and will come trembling out of their close places.

⁴⁷The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock! Exalted be God, the rock of my salvation,

⁴⁸even the God who executes vengeance for me, who brings down peoples under me,

⁴⁹who brings me away from my enemies. Yes, you lift me up above those who rise up against me. You deliver me from the violent man.

⁵⁰Therefore I will give thanks to you, Lord, among the nations. Will sing praises to your name.

⁵¹He gives great deliverance to his king, and shows loving kindness to his anointed, to David and to his seed, forevermore."

¹Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous! Praise is fitting for the upright.

²Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre. Sing praises to him with the harp of ten strings.

³Sing to him a new song. Play skillfully with a shout of joy!

⁴For the word of the Lord is right. All his work is done in faithfulness.

⁵He loves righteousness and justice. The earth is full of the loving kindness of the Lord.

⁶By the Lord's word, the heavens were made; all their army by the breath of his mouth.

⁷He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap. He lays up the deeps in storehouses.

⁸Let all the earth fear the Lord. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.

⁹For he spoke, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood firm.

¹⁰The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing. He makes the thoughts of the peoples to be of no effect.

¹¹The counsel of the Lord stands fast forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

¹²Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen for his own inheritance.

¹³The Lord looks from heaven. He sees all the sons of men.

¹⁴From the place of his habitation he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth,

¹⁵he who fashions all of their hearts; and he considers all of their works.

¹⁶There is no king saved by the multitude of an army. A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.

¹⁷A horse is a vain thing for safety, neither does he deliver any by his great power.

¹⁸Behold, the Lord's eye is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his loving kindness;

¹⁹to deliver their soul from death, to keep them alive in famine.

²⁰Our soul has waited for the Lord. He is our help and our shield.

²¹For our heart rejoices in him, because we have trusted in his holy name.

²²Let your loving kindness be on us, Lord, since we have hoped in you.

¹The wicked flee when no one pursues; but the righteous are as bold as a lion.

²In rebellion, a land has many rulers, but order is maintained by a man of understanding and knowledge.

³A needy man who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain which leaves no crops.

⁴Those who forsake the Law praise the wicked; but those who keep the Law contend with them.

⁵Evil men do not understand justice; but those who seek the Lord understand it fully.

⁶Better is the poor who walks in his integrity, than he who is perverse in his ways, and he is rich.

⁷Whoever keeps the Law is a wise son; but he who is a companion of gluttons shames his father.

⁸He who increases his wealth by excessive interest gathers it for one who has pity on the poor.

⁹He who turns away his ear from hearing the Law, even his prayer is an abomination.

¹⁰Whoever causes the upright to go astray in an evil way, he will fall into his own trap; but the blameless will inherit good.

¹¹The rich man is wise in his own eyes; but the poor who has understanding sees through him.

¹²When the righteous triumph, there is great glory; but when the wicked rise, men hide themselves.

¹³He who conceals his sins doesn't prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

¹⁴Blessed is the man who always fears; but one who hardens his heart falls into trouble.

¹⁵As a roaring lion or a charging bear, so is a wicked ruler over helpless people.

¹⁶A tyrannical ruler lacks judgment. One who hates ill-gotten gain will have long days.

¹⁷A man who is tormented by life blood will be a fugitive until death; no one will support him.

¹⁸Whoever walks blamelessly is kept safe; but one with perverse ways will fall suddenly.

¹⁹One who works his land will have an abundance of food; but one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty.

²⁰A faithful man is rich with blessings; but one who is eager to be rich will not go unpunished.

²¹To show partiality is not good; yet a man will do wrong for a piece of bread.

²²A stingy man hurries after riches, and doesn't know that poverty waits for him.

²³One who rebukes a man will afterward find more favor than one who flatters with the tongue.

²⁴Whoever robs his father or his mother, and says, "It's not wrong." He is a partner with a destroyer.

²⁵One who is greedy stirs up strife; but one who trusts in the Lord will prosper.

²⁶One who trusts in himself is a fool; but one who walks in wisdom is kept safe.

²⁷One who gives to the poor has no lack; but one who closes his eyes will have many curses.

²⁸When the wicked rise, men hide themselves; but when they perish, the righteous thrive.