The Bible in Basic English BBE
Orthodox Jewish Bible OJB
1 Now by chance there was present a good-for-nothing person named Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he, sounding the horn, said, We have no part in David, or any interest in the son of Jesse: let every man go to his tent, O Israel.
1
0 And there happened to be there an ish Beliyaal [rebel], shmo Sheva Ben Bichri an ish from Binyamin; and he blew a shofar, and said, We have no chelek in Dovid, neither have we nachalah in Ben Yishai; every ish to his ohal, O Yisroel.
2 So all the men of Israel, turning away from David, went after Sheba, the son of Bichri: but the men of Judah were true to their king, going with him from Jordan as far as Jerusalem.
2
So kol Ish Yisroel went up from after Dovid, and followed Sheva Ben Bichri; but the Ish Yehudah had deveykus unto their Melech, from Yarden even to Yerushalayim.
3 And David came to his house at Jerusalem: and the king took the ten women to whom he had given the care of the house, and had them shut up, and gave them the necessaries of life, but did not go near them. So they were shut up till the day of their death, living as widows.
3
And Dovid came to his Bais (palace) at Yerushalayim; and HaMelech took the ten nashim, his pilagshim, whom he had left to be shomer over the Bais, and put them in Bais Mishmeret (seclusion), and provided for them, but went not in unto them. So they were shut up unto their yom mot, living in almenut (widowhood).
4 Then the king said to Amasa, Get all the men of Judah together, and in three days be here yourself.
4
Then said HaMelech to Amasa, Assemble the Ish Yehudah within shloshet yamim; be thou here present.
5 So Amasa went to get all the men of Judah together, but he took longer than the time David had given him.
5
So Amasa went to assemble Yehudah; but he tarried longer than the mo’ed which he had appointed him.
6 And David said to Abishai, Sheba, the son of Bichri, will do us more damage than Absalom did; so take some of your lord's servants and go after him, before he makes himself safe in the walled towns, and gets away before our eyes.
6
And Dovid said to Avishai, Now shall Sheva Ben Bichri do us more harm than did Avshalom; take thou the avadim of adoneicha, pursue after him, lest he get him fortified cities, and escape us.
7 So there went after Abishai, Joab and the Cherethites and the Pelethites and all the fighting-men; they went out of Jerusalem to overtake Sheba, the son of Bichri.
7
And there went out after him anshei Yoav, and the Kereti, and the Peleti, and kol Gibborim; and they went out of Yerushalayim, to pursue after Sheva Ben Bichri.
8 When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa came face to face with them. Now Joab had on his war-dress, and round him a band from which his sword was hanging in its cover; and while he was walking, it came out, falling to the earth.
8
When they were at the Even Hagedolah (Great Stone) which is in Giveon, Amasa went before them. And Yoav’s military garment that he had put on was girded unto him, and upon it a khagor with a cherev fastened upon his waist in the sheath thereof; and as he went forth it fell out.
9 And Joab said to Amasa, Is it well, my brother? And with his right hand he took him by the hair of his chin to give him a kiss.
9
Yoav said to Amasa, Art thou in shalom, my brother? And Yoav took Amasa by the zaken (beard) with the right hand to kiss him.
10 But Amasa did not see danger from the sword which was now in Joab's left hand, and Joab put it through his stomach so that his inside came out on to the earth, and he did not give him another blow. So Joab and his brother Abishai went on after Sheba, the son of Bichri.
10
But Amasa took no heed to the cherev that was in the yad Yoav; so he stabbed him therewith in the fifth rib, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again; and he died. So Yoav and Avishai achiv pursued after Sheva Ben Bichri.
11 And one of Joab's young men, taking his place at Amasa's side, said, Whoever is for Joab and for David, let him go after Joab!
11
And one of the nearim of Yoav stood by him, and said, He that favoreth Yoav, and he that is for Dovid, let him go after Yoav.
12 And Amasa was stretched out in a pool of blood in the middle of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people were stopping, he took Amasa out of the highway and put him in a field, with a cloth over him, when he saw that everyone who went by came to a stop.
12
And Amasa wallowed in dahm in the midst of the mesilah (road). And when the ish saw that kol haAm halted, he removed Amasa out of the mesilah into the sadeh, and threw a beged (garment) over him, when he saw that every one that came by him halted.
13 When he had been taken off the road, all the people went on after Joab in search of Sheba, the son of Bichri.
13
When he was removed from the mesilah, kol haAm went on after Yoav, to pursue after Sheva Ben Bichri.
14 And Sheba went through all the tribes of Israel, to Abel of Beth-maacah; and all the Bichrites came together and went in after him.
14
And he passed through all the Shivtei Yisroel unto Abel, and to Beit-Maachah, and all the Berim; and they were gathered together, and went also after him [Sheva].
15 And Joab and his men got him shut up in Abel of Beth-maacah, and put up an earthwork against the town: and all Joab's men did their best to get the wall broken down.
15
And they came and besieged him in Abel of Beit-Maachah, and they cast up a siege ramp against the Ir, until it stood by the rampart; and kol haAm that were with Yoav battered the chomah (wall), to throw it down.
16 Then a wise woman got up on the wall, and crying out from the town, said, Give ear, give ear; say now to Joab, Come near, so that I may have talk with you.
16
Then cried an isha chachamah (wise woman) from the Ir, Hear, hear; say, now unto Yoav, Come here, that I may speak with thee.
17 And he came near, and the woman said, Are you Joab? And he said in answer, I am. Then she said, Give ear to your servant's words. And he said, I am giving ear.
17
And when he was come near unto her, the isha said, Art thou Yoav? And he answered, I am he. Then she said unto him, Hear the devarim of thine amah. And he answered, I do hear.
18 Then she said, In the old days, there was a saying, Let them put the question in Abel and in Dan, saying, Has what was ordered by men of good faith in Israel ever come to an end?
18
Then she spoke, saying, They used to speak in rishonah (old times), saying, They shall surely ask counsel at Abel; and so they settled the matter.
19 Your purpose is the destruction of a mother-town in Israel: why would you put an end to the heritage of the Lord?
19
I am one of them that are of shalom and of emunah in Yisroel; thou seekest to destroy an Ir and an em b’Yisroel; why wilt thou swallow up the nachalat Hashem?
20 And Joab, answering her, said, Far, far be it from me to be a cause of death or destruction;
20
And Yoav answered and said, Chalilah (far be it), chalilah from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.
21 Not so: but a man of the hill-country of Ephraim, Sheba, son of Bichri, by name, has taken up arms against the king, against David: give up this man only, and I will go away from the town. And the woman said to Joab, His head will be dropped over the wall to you.
21
The matter is not so; but an ish of har Ephrayim, Sheva Ben Bichri shmo, hath lifted up his yad against HaMelech, even against Dovid; hand over him only, and I will depart from the Ir. And the woman said unto Yoav, Hinei, his rosh shall be thrown to thee from the chomah.
22 Then the woman in her wisdom had talk with all the town. And they had Sheba's head cut off and sent out to Joab. And he had the horn sounded, and sent them all away from the town, every man to his tent. And Joab went back to Jerusalem to the king.
22
Then the isha went unto kol haAm in her chochmah. And they cut off the rosh of Sheva Ben Bichri, and threw it out to Yoav. And he blew a shofar, and they retired from the city, every ish to his ohel. And Yoav returned to Yerushalayim unto HaMelech.
23 Now Joab was over all the army; and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was at the head of the Cherethites and the Pelethites;
23
Now Yoav was over kol HaTzava Yisroel; and Benayah Ben Yehoyada was over the Kereti and over the Peleti;
24 And Adoram was overseer of the forced work; and Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, was the recorder;
24
And Adoram was over the forced labor; and Yehoshaphat Ben Achilud was mazkir (secretary);
25 And Sheva was the scribe, and Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
25
And Sheva was sofer; and Tzadok and Evyatar (Abiathar) were the kohanim;
26 And in addition, Ira the Jairite was a priest to David.
26
And also Ira the Yairi was kohen to Dovid.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.