2 Samuel 20 Cross References - BSB

¹ Now a worthless man named Sheba son of Bichri, a Benjamite, happened to be there, and he blew the ram’s horn and shouted: “We have no share in David, no inheritance in Jesse’s son. Every man to his tent, O Israel!” ² So all the men of Israel deserted David to follow Sheba son of Bichri. But the men of Judah stayed by their king all the way from the Jordan to Jerusalem. ³ When David returned to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to care for the palace, and he placed them in a house under guard. He provided for them, but he no longer slept with them. They were confined until the day of their death, living as widows. ⁴ Then the king said to Amasa, “Summon the men of Judah to come to me within three days, and be here yourself.” ⁵ So Amasa went to summon Judah, but he took longer than the time allotted him. ⁶ And David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom. Take your lord’s servants and pursue him, or he will find fortified cities and elude us.” ⁷ So Joab’s men, along with the Cherethites, the Pelethites, and all the mighty men, marched out of Jerusalem in pursuit of Sheba son of Bichri. ⁸ And while they were at the great stone in Gibeon, Amasa joined them. Now Joab was dressed in military attire, with a dagger strapped to his belt. And as he stepped forward, he slipped the dagger from its sheath. ⁹ “Are you well, my brother?” Joab asked Amasa. And with his right hand Joab grabbed Amasa by the beard to kiss him. ¹⁰ Amasa was not on guard against the dagger in Joab’s hand, and Joab stabbed him in the stomach and spilled out his intestines on the ground. And Joab did not need to strike him again, for Amasa was dead. Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba son of Bichri. ¹¹ One of Joab’s young men stood near Amasa and said, “Whoever favors Joab, and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab!” ¹² But Amasa wallowed in his blood in the middle of the road, and when the man saw that all the troops were stopping there, he dragged the body off the road into a field and threw a garment over it. ¹³ As soon as Amasa’s body was removed from the road, all the men went on with Joab to pursue Sheba son of Bichri. ¹⁴ Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel-beth-maacah and through the entire region of the Berites, who gathered together and followed him. ¹⁵ And Joab’s troops came and besieged Sheba in Abel-beth-maacah and built a siege ramp against the outer rampart of the city. As all the troops with Joab were battering the wall to topple it, ¹⁶ a wise woman called out from the city, “Listen! Listen! Please tell Joab to come here so that I may speak with him.” ¹⁷ When he had come near to her, the woman asked, “Are you Joab?” “I am,” he replied. “Listen to the words of your servant,” she said. “I am listening,” he answered. ¹⁸ Then the woman said, “Long ago they used to say, ‘Seek counsel at Abel,’ and that is how disputes were settled. ¹⁹ I am among the peaceable and faithful in Israel, but you are trying to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why would you swallow up the LORD’s inheritance?” ²⁰ “Far be it!” Joab declared. “Far be it from me to swallow up or destroy! ²¹ That is not the case. But a man named Sheba son of Bichri, from the hill country of Ephraim, has lifted up his hand against the king, against David. Deliver him alone, and I will depart from the city.” “Look,” the woman replied, “his head will be thrown to you over the wall.” ²² Then the woman went to all the people with her wise counsel, and they cut off the head of Sheba son of Bichri and threw it to Joab. So he blew the ram’s horn and his men dispersed from the city, each to his own home. And Joab returned to the king in Jerusalem. ²³ Now Joab was over the whole army of Israel; Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and Pelethites; ²⁴ Adoram was in charge of the forced labor; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder; ²⁵ Sheva was the scribe; Zadok and Abiathar were priests; ²⁶ and Ira the Jairite was David’s priest.

¹³ that wicked men have arisen from among you and have led the people of their city astray, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods” (which you have not known),

²⁷ On arriving in Seirah, he blew the ram’s horn throughout the hill country of Ephraim. The Israelites came down with him from the hills, and he became their leader.

²² While they were enjoying themselves, suddenly the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they said to the old man who owned the house, “Bring out the man who came to your house, so we can have relations with him!”

¹² Now the sons of Eli were wicked men; they had no regard for the LORD

⁷ Then Saul said to his servants, “Listen, men of Benjamin! Is the son of Jesse giving all of you fields and vineyards and making you commanders of thousands or hundreds? ⁸ Is that why all of you have conspired against me? Not one of you told me that my own son had made a covenant with the son of Jesse. Not one of you has shown concern for me or revealed to me that my son has stirred up my own servant to lie in wait against me, as is the case today.”

²² but all the wicked and worthless men among those who had gone with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered, except for each man’s wife and children. They may take them and go.”

¹⁰ Then Absalom sent spies throughout the tribes of Israel with this message: “When you hear the sound of the horn, you are to say, ‘Absalom reigns in Hebron!’”

⁴¹ Soon all the men of Israel came to the king and asked, “Why did our brothers, the men of Judah, take you away secretly and bring the king and his household across the Jordan, together with all of David’s men?” ⁴² And all the men of Judah replied to the men of Israel, “We did this because the king is our relative. Why does this anger you? Have we ever eaten at the king’s expense or received anything for ourselves?” ⁴³ “We have ten shares in the king,” answered the men of Israel, “so we have more claim to David than you. Why then do you despise us? Were we not the first to speak of restoring our king?” But the men of Judah pressed even harder than the men of Israel.

⁶ But the worthless are all like thorns raked aside, for they can never be gathered by hand.

¹⁶ When all Israel saw that the king had refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What portion do we have in David, and what inheritance in the son of Jesse? To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, O David!” So the Israelites went home,

⁶ Then King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How do you advise me to respond to these people?” he asked.

¹⁶ When all Israel saw that the king had refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What portion do we have in David, and what inheritance in the son of Jesse? To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, O David!” So all the Israelites went home,

¹³ Arise, O LORD, confront them! Bring them to their knees; deliver me from the wicked by Your sword,

¹⁹ Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all.

²¹ My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not associate with the rebellious. ²² For they will bring sudden destruction. Who knows what ruin they can bring?

⁸ do not bring hastily to court. Otherwise, what will you do in the end when your neighbor puts you to shame?

²¹ Like charcoal for embers and wood for fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.

¹² Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. O LORD, You have appointed them to execute judgment; O Rock, You have established them for correction. ¹³ Your eyes are too pure to look upon evil, and You cannot tolerate wrongdoing. So why do You tolerate the faithless? Why are You silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?

¹⁴ But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’

²⁷ And these enemies of mine who were unwilling for me to rule over them, bring them here and slay them in front of me.’”

¹⁵ So the king returned, and when he arrived at the Jordan, the men of Judah came to Gilgal to meet him and escort him across the Jordan.

⁴⁰ Then the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham crossed over with him. All the troops of Judah and half the troops of Israel escorted the king. ⁴¹ Soon all the men of Israel came to the king and asked, “Why did our brothers, the men of Judah, take you away secretly and bring the king and his household across the Jordan, together with all of David’s men?”

¹⁷ but Rehoboam still reigned over the Israelites living in the cities of Judah.

⁹ Lowborn men are but a vapor, the exalted but a lie. Weighed on the scale, they go up; together they are but a vapor.

⁸ It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. ⁹ It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes. ¹⁰ All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.

¹⁴ To start a quarrel is to release a flood; so abandon the dispute before it breaks out.

⁶⁶ From that time on many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him. ⁶⁷ So Jesus asked the Twelve, “Do you want to leave too?” ⁶⁸ Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.

²³ When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to abide in the Lord with all their hearts.

³ and imprisoned them in the house of the captain of the guard, the same prison where Joseph was confined.

¹⁶ Then the king set out, and his entire household followed him. But he left behind ten concubines to take care of the palace.

²¹ Ahithophel replied, “Sleep with your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the palace. When all Israel hears that you have become a stench to your father, then the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened.” ²² So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he slept with his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.

²⁵ Absalom had appointed Amasa over the army in place of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra, the Ishmaelite who had married Abigail, the daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah the mother of Joab.

¹³ And say to Amasa, ‘Aren’t you my flesh and blood? May God punish me, and ever so severely, if from this time you are not the commander of my army in place of Joab!’”

¹⁷ Abigail was the mother of Amasa, whose father was Jether the Ishmaelite.

⁸ And Saul waited seven days for the time appointed by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the troops began to desert Saul.

⁶ And David asked Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, “Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?” “I will go with you,” answered Abishai.

¹⁸ The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was fleet of foot like a wild gazelle,

³⁰ (Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.)

³⁹ And I am weak this day, though anointed as king, and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too fierce for me. May the LORD repay the evildoer according to his evil!”

⁹ When Joab saw the battle lines before him and behind him, he selected some of the best men of Israel and arrayed them against the Arameans. ¹⁰ And he placed the rest of the forces under the command of his brother Abishai, who arrayed them against the Ammonites.

¹⁴ When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans had fled, they too fled before Abishai, and they entered the city. So Joab returned from fighting against the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem.

¹¹ Uriah answered, “The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my master Joab and his soldiers are camped in the open field. How can I go to my house to eat and drink and sleep with my wife? As surely as you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do such a thing!”

² He sent out the troops, a third under Joab, a third under Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the troops, “I will surely march out with you as well.”

¹² The man replied, “Even if a thousand shekels of silver were weighed out into my hands, I would not raise my hand against the son of the king. For we heard the king command you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘Protect the young man Absalom for my sake.’

⁷ Now therefore get up! Go out and speak comfort to your servants, for I swear by the LORD that if you do not go out, not a man will remain with you tonight. This will be worse for you than all the adversity that has befallen you from your youth until now!”

¹⁷ But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to his aid, struck the Philistine, and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, “You must never again go out with us to battle, so that the lamp of Israel may not be extinguished.”

¹⁸ Now Abishai, the brother of Joab and son of Zeruiah, was chief of the Three, and he lifted his spear against three hundred men, killed them, and won a name along with the Three.

³³ “Take my servants with you,” said the king. “Set my son Solomon on my own mule and take him down to Gihon.

²⁰ Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, was chief of the Three, and he lifted his spear against three hundred men, killed them, and won a name along with the Three.

¹² Moreover, Abishai son of Zeruiah struck down eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.

¹⁶ Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder;

¹⁸ Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were priestly leaders.

¹⁸ and all his servants marched past him—all the Cherethites and Pelethites, and six hundred Gittites who had followed him from Gath.

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

²² These were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who won a name alongside the three mighty men. ²³ He was most honored among the Thirty, but he did not become one of the Three. And David appointed him over his guard.

³⁸ Then Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, along with the Cherethites and Pelethites, went down and set Solomon on King David’s mule, and they escorted him to Gihon.

⁴⁴ And with Solomon, the king has sent Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, along with the Cherethites and Pelethites, and they have set him on the king’s mule.

¹³ So Joab son of Zeruiah, along with the servants of David, marched out and met them by the pool of Gibeon. And the two camps took up positions on opposite sides of the pool.

⁴ Then the king said to Amasa, “Summon the men of Judah to come to me within three days, and be here yourself.” ⁵ So Amasa went to summon Judah, but he took longer than the time allotted him.

²¹ His speech is smooth as butter, but war is in his heart. His words are softer than oil, yet they are swords unsheathed.

²⁴ A hateful man disguises himself with his speech, but he lays up deceit in his heart. ²⁵ When he speaks graciously, do not believe him, for seven abominations fill his heart. ²⁶ Though his hatred is concealed by deception, his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.

² The godly man has perished from the earth; there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; they hunt one another with a net.

⁴⁸ Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The One I kiss is the man; arrest Him.” ⁴⁹ Going directly to Jesus, he said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.

⁴⁷ While He was still speaking, a crowd arrived, led by the man called Judas, one of the Twelve. He approached Jesus to kiss Him. ⁴⁸ But Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”

⁸ Then Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

²¹ And Ehud reached with his left hand, pulled the sword from his right thigh, and plunged it into Eglon’s belly.

⁸ Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hand. Now, therefore, please let me thrust the spear through him into the ground with one stroke. I will not need to strike him twice!”

²³ But Asahel refused to turn away; so Abner thrust the butt of his spear into his stomach, and it came out his back, and he fell dead on the spot. And every man paused when he came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died.

²⁷ When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab pulled him aside into the gateway, as if to speak to him privately, and there Joab stabbed him in the stomach. So Abner died on account of the blood of Joab’s brother Asahel.

⁹ “Are you well, my brother?” Joab asked Amasa. And with his right hand Joab grabbed Amasa by the beard to kiss him.

⁵ Moreover, you know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether, the two commanders of the armies of Israel. He killed them in peacetime to avenge the blood of war. He stained with the blood of war the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet. ⁶ So act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace.

³¹ And the king replied, “Do just as he says. Strike him down and bury him, and so remove from me and from the house of my father the innocent blood that Joab shed. ³² The LORD will bring his bloodshed back upon his own head, for without the knowledge of my father David he struck down two men more righteous and better than he when he put to the sword Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army. ³³ Their blood will come back upon the heads of Joab and his descendants forever; but for David, his descendants, his house, and his throne, there shall be peace from the LORD forever.” ³⁴ So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up, struck down Joab, and killed him. He was buried at his own home in the wilderness.

² they were archers using both the right and left hands to sling stones and shoot arrows; and they were Saul’s kinsmen from Benjamin):

¹⁸ (Now with the reward for his wickedness Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong and burst open in the middle, and all his intestines spilled out. ¹⁹ This became known to all who lived in Jerusalem, so they called that field in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

⁴ Then the king said to Amasa, “Summon the men of Judah to come to me within three days, and be here yourself.”

⁶ And David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom. Take your lord’s servants and pursue him, or he will find fortified cities and elude us.” ⁷ So Joab’s men, along with the Cherethites, the Pelethites, and all the mighty men, marched out of Jerusalem in pursuit of Sheba son of Bichri.

¹³ As soon as Amasa’s body was removed from the road, all the men went on with Joab to pursue Sheba son of Bichri.

²¹ That is not the case. But a man named Sheba son of Bichri, from the hill country of Ephraim, has lifted up his hand against the king, against David. Deliver him alone, and I will depart from the city.” “Look,” the woman replied, “his head will be thrown to you over the wall.”

³² He looked up at the window and called out, “Who is on my side? Who?” And two or three eunuchs looked down at him.

¹⁶ The LORD is known by the justice He brings; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. Higgaion Selah

²³ But You, O God, will bring them down to the Pit of destruction; men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.

¹⁹ “We will stay on the main road,” the Israelites replied, “and if we or our herds drink your water, we will pay for it. There will be no problem; only let us pass through on foot.”

¹⁹ “But look,” they said, “there is a yearly feast to the LORD in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel east of the road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.”

¹² And the cows headed straight up the road toward Beth-shemesh, staying on that one highway and lowing as they went, never straying to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed behind them to the border of Beth-shemesh.

¹² But Amasa wallowed in his blood in the middle of the road, and when the man saw that all the troops were stopping there, he dragged the body off the road into a field and threw a garment over it. ¹³ As soon as Amasa’s body was removed from the road, all the men went on with Joab to pursue Sheba son of Bichri.

¹⁷ Nevertheless, the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh, along with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They advanced up to Jerusalem and stationed themselves by the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.

¹⁷ The highway of the upright leads away from evil; he who guards his way protects his life.

³ Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-jashub to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct that feeds the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field,

² And the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh, with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. And he stopped by the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.

¹⁰ Go out, go out through the gates; prepare the way for the people! Build it up, build up the highway; clear away the stones; raise a banner for the nations!

²¹ “Set up the roadmarks, establish the signposts. Keep the highway in mind, the road you have traveled. Return, O Virgin Israel, return to these cities of yours.

⁴⁶ Next, they came to Jericho. And as Jesus and His disciples were leaving Jericho with a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting beside the road.

¹⁶ From there they went on to Beer, the well where the LORD said to Moses, “Gather the people so that I may give them water.”

²⁵ Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth,

²⁰ And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, conquering Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and the whole land of Naphtali, including the region of Chinnereth.

²⁹ In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and he took the people as captives to Assyria.

⁴ And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, conquering Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all the store cities of Naphtali.

³² So this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: ‘He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow into it. He will not come before it with a shield or build up a siege ramp against it.

³³ So this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: ‘He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow into it. He will not come before it with a shield or build up a siege ramp against it.

⁶ For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Cut down the trees and raise a siege ramp against Jerusalem. This city must be punished; there is nothing but oppression in her midst.

²⁴ See how the siege ramps are mounted against the city to capture it. And by sword and famine and plague, the city has been given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What You have spoken has happened, as You now see!

⁴ For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the houses of this city and the palaces of the kings of Judah that have been torn down for defense against the siege ramps and the sword:

² Then lay siege against it: Construct a siege wall, build a ramp to it, set up camps against it, and place battering rams around it on all sides.

⁴³ For the days will come upon you when your enemies will barricade you and surround you and hem you in on every side.

³ His name was Nabal, and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband, a Calebite, was harsh and evil in his dealings.

³² Then David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet me this day! ³³ Blessed is your discernment, and blessed are you, because today you kept me from bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand.

² So Joab sent to Tekoa to bring a wise woman from there. He told her, “Please pretend to be a mourner; put on clothes for mourning and do not anoint yourself with oil. Act like a woman who has mourned for the dead a long time.

¹⁴ There was a small city with few men. A mighty king came against it, surrounded it, and built large siege ramps against it. ¹⁵ Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he saved the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man. ¹⁶ And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.” ¹⁷ The calm words of the wise are heeded over the shouts of a ruler among fools. ¹⁸ Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.

²⁴ She fell at his feet and said, “My lord, may the blame be on me alone, but please let your servant speak to you; hear the words of your servant.

¹² Then the woman said, “Please, may your servant speak a word to my lord the king?” “Speak,” he replied.

¹⁰ When you approach a city to fight against it, you are to make an offer of peace. ¹¹ If they accept your offer of peace and open their gates, all the people there will become forced laborers to serve you.

²³ Abraham stepped forward and said, “Will You really sweep away the righteous with the wicked?

⁵ Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine. ⁶ And unto Me you shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to speak to the Israelites.”

³² and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households—all Korah’s men and all their possessions.

¹⁰ And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them along with Korah, whose followers died when the fire consumed 250 men. They serve as a warning sign.

⁹ But the LORD’s portion is His people, Jacob His allotted inheritance.

⁷ Life in the villages ceased; it ended in Israel, until I, Deborah, arose, a mother in Israel.

¹⁹ Now please, may my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the LORD has stirred you up against me, then may He accept an offering. But if men have done it, may they be cursed in the presence of the LORD! For today they have driven me away from sharing in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’

¹⁶ Now send quickly and tell David, ‘Do not spend the night at the fords of the wilderness, but be sure to cross over. Otherwise the king and all the people with him will be swallowed up.’”

³ So David asked the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? How can I make amends so that you may bless the inheritance of the LORD?”

³ when their anger flared against us, then they would have swallowed us alive,

³⁴ “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured me; he has crushed me. He has set me aside like an empty vessel; he has swallowed me like a monster; he filled his belly with my delicacies and vomited me out.

⁴⁴ I will punish Bel in Babylon. I will make him spew out what he swallowed. The nations will no longer stream to him; even the wall of Babylon will fall.

² Without pity the Lord has swallowed up all the dwellings of Jacob. In His wrath He has demolished the fortified cities of the Daughter of Judah. He brought to the ground and defiled her kingdom and its princes.

⁵ The Lord is like an enemy; He has swallowed up Israel. He has swallowed up all her palaces and destroyed her strongholds. He has multiplied mourning and lamentation for the Daughter of Judah.

¹⁶ All your enemies open their mouths against you. They hiss and gnash their teeth, saying, “We have swallowed her up. This is the day for which we have waited. We have lived to see it!”

⁴⁵ You are the daughter of your mother, who despised her husband and children. You are the sister of your sisters, who despised their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. ⁴⁶ Your older sister was Samaria, who lived with her daughters to your north; and your younger sister was Sodom, who lived with her daughters to your south. ⁴⁷ And you not only walked in their ways and practiced their abominations, but soon you were more depraved than they were. ⁴⁸ As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, your sister Sodom and her daughters never did as you and your daughters have done. ⁴⁹ Now this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and complacent; they did not help the poor and needy.

³ For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Then do what is right, and you will have his approval. ⁴ For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not carry the sword in vain. He is God’s servant, an agent of retribution to the wrongdoer.

⁵⁴ When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come to pass: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

⁴ So while we are in this tent, we groan under our burdens, because we do not wish to be unclothed but clothed, so that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.

² for kings and all those in authority—so that we may lead tranquil and quiet lives in all godliness and dignity.

¹⁰ Amasa was not on guard against the dagger in Joab’s hand, and Joab stabbed him in the stomach and spilled out his intestines on the ground. And Joab did not need to strike him again, for Amasa was dead. Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba son of Bichri.

¹⁷ saying, “Far be it from me, O LORD, to do this! Is this not the blood of the men who risked their lives?” So he refused to drink it. Such were the exploits of the three mighty men.

¹⁶ Still, their prosperity is not in their own hands, so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked.

¹⁸ But it was He who filled their houses with good things; so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked.

¹³ He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.

⁹ The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

²⁹ But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

³³ Eleazar son of Aaron also died, and they buried him at Gibeah, which had been given to his son Phinehas in the hill country of Ephraim.

⁹ They buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath-heres in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

²⁴ Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim to say, “Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth-barah.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth-barah.

⁴ “Micah has done this and that for me,” he replied, “and he has hired me to be his priest.” ⁵ Then they said to him, “Please inquire of God to determine whether we will have a successful journey.” ⁶ And the priest told them, “Go in peace. The LORD is watching over your journey.” ⁷ So the five men departed and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living securely, like the Sidonians, tranquil and unsuspecting. There was nothing lacking in the land and no oppressive ruler. And they were far away from the Sidonians and had no alliance with anyone. ⁸ When the men returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers asked them, “What did you find?”

⁶ So he said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed. May I never lift my hand against him, since he is the LORD’s anointed.”

⁹ But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can lift a hand against the LORD’s anointed and be guiltless?”

² I will attack him while he is weak and weary; I will throw him into a panic, and all the people with him will flee; I will strike down only the king ³ and bring all the people back to you as a bride returning to her husband. You seek the life of only one man; then all the people will be at peace.”

¹ Now a worthless man named Sheba son of Bichri, a Benjamite, happened to be there, and he blew the ram’s horn and shouted: “We have no share in David, no inheritance in Jesse’s son. Every man to his tent, O Israel!”

²² “Everything is all right,” Gehazi replied. “My master has sent me to say, ‘I have just now discovered that two young men from the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two sets of clothing.’”

⁷ And when the letter arrived, they took the sons of the king and slaughtered all seventy of them. They put their heads in baskets and sent them to Jehu at Jezreel.

¹⁵ For a voice resounds from Dan, proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.

¹⁹ I will return Israel to his pasture, and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan; his soul will be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.

²⁸ So Joab blew the ram’s horn, and all the troops stopped; they no longer pursued Israel or continued to fight.

²⁸ Afterward, David heard about this and said, “I and my kingdom are forever guiltless before the LORD concerning the blood of Abner son of Ner. ²⁹ May it whirl over the heads of Joab and the entire house of his father, and may the house of Joab never be without one having a discharge or skin disease, or one who leans on a staff or falls by the sword or lacks food.” ³⁰ (Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.) ³¹ Then David ordered Joab and all the people with him, “Tear your clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner.” And King David himself walked behind the funeral bier. ³² When they buried Abner in Hebron, the king wept aloud at Abner’s tomb, and all the people wept. ³³ And the king sang this lament for Abner: “Should Abner die the death of a fool? ³⁴ Your hands were not bound, your feet were not fettered. As a man falls before the wicked, so also you fell.” And all the people wept over him even more. ³⁵ Then all the people came and urged David to eat something while it was still day, but David took an oath, saying, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets!” ³⁶ All the people took note and were pleased. In fact, everything the king did pleased them. ³⁷ So on that day all the troops and all Israel were convinced that the king had no part in the murder of Abner son of Ner. ³⁸ Then the king said to his servants, “Do you not realize that a great prince has fallen today in Israel? ³⁹ And I am weak this day, though anointed as king, and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too fierce for me. May the LORD repay the evildoer according to his evil!”

⁶ At this, David sent orders to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent him to David. ⁷ When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the troops were doing with the war. ⁸ Then he said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king followed him. ⁹ But Uriah slept at the door of the palace with all his master’s servants; he did not go down to his house. ¹⁰ And David was told, “Uriah did not go home.” “Haven’t you just arrived from a journey?” David asked Uriah. “Why didn’t you go home?” ¹¹ Uriah answered, “The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my master Joab and his soldiers are camped in the open field. How can I go to my house to eat and drink and sleep with my wife? As surely as you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do such a thing!” ¹² “Stay here one more day,” David said to Uriah, “and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next. ¹³ Then David invited Uriah to eat and drink with him, and he got Uriah drunk. And in the evening Uriah went out to lie down on his cot with his master’s servants, but he did not go home. ¹⁴ The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. ¹⁵ In the letter he wrote: “Put Uriah at the front of the fiercest battle; then withdraw from him, so that he may be struck down and killed.” ¹⁶ So as Joab besieged the city, he assigned Uriah to a place where he saw the strongest enemy soldiers. ¹⁷ And when the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of David’s servants fell, and Uriah the Hittite also died. ¹⁸ Joab sent to David a full account of the battle ¹⁹ and instructed the messenger, “When you have finished giving the king all the details of the battle, ²⁰ if the king’s anger flares, he may ask you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Did you not realize they would shoot from atop the wall? ²¹ Who was the one to strike Abimelech son of Jerubbesheth? Was it not a woman who dropped an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?’ If so, then you are to say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead as well.’”

¹⁶ Then Joab blew the ram’s horn, and the troops broke off their pursuit of Israel because Joab had restrained them.

¹⁶ a wise woman called out from the city, “Listen! Listen! Please tell Joab to come here so that I may speak with him.”

¹⁹ Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers in a city.

¹¹ When the sentence for a crime is not speedily executed, the hearts of men become fully set on doing evil.

¹³ I have also seen this wisdom under the sun, and it was great to me:

¹⁶ Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder; ¹⁷ Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was the scribe; ¹⁸ Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were priestly leaders.

³ Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were secretaries; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder; ⁴ Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in charge of the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests; ⁵ Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the governors; Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and adviser to the king; ⁶ Ahishar was in charge of the palace; and Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of the forced labor.

¹⁵ Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder; ¹⁶ Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Shavsha was the scribe; ¹⁷ Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief officials at the king’s side.

³ Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were secretaries; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder;

⁶ Ahishar was in charge of the palace; and Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of the forced labor.

¹⁸ Then King Rehoboam sent out Adoram, who was in charge of the forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death. And King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste and escaped to Jerusalem.

¹⁷ Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was the scribe;

⁴ Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in charge of the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;

¹⁶ Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Shavsha was the scribe;

⁴³ He had Joseph ride in his second chariot, with men calling out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he placed him over all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁵ Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah, and he gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph took charge of all the land of Egypt.

¹⁴ But the man replied, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you planning to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “This thing I have done has surely become known.”

¹⁶ Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock.

¹¹ But God did not lay His hand on the nobles of Israel; they saw Him, and they ate and drank.

⁴ He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys. And they had thirty towns in the land of Gilead, which to this day are called Havvoth-jair. ⁵ When Jair died, he was buried in Kamon.

³⁸ Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite,

⁴⁰ Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite,

¹⁵ The singers, the descendants of Asaph, were at their stations according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer. And the gatekeepers at each gate did not need to leave their position, because their fellow Levites made preparations for them.