2 Samuel 19 - 20, Jude, Ecclesiastes 4

Joab Tells David to Speak to His Servants

19Then it was told to Joab, “Behold, ^athe king is weeping and mourns for Absalom.” ²And the salvation that day was turned to mourning for all the people, for the people heard it said that day, “The king is grieved for his son.” ³So the people stole away to enter into the city that day, as people who are dishonored steal away when they flee in battle. ⁴But as for the king, he ^awrapped his face up. Then the king cried out with a loud voice, “^bO my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!” ⁵Then Joab came into the house to the king and said, “Today you have shamed the faces of all your servants, who today have provided escape for your life and the lives of your sons and daughters, the lives of your wives, and the lives of your concubines, ⁶by loving those who hate you, and by hating those who love you. For you have informed all of us today that ¹princes and servants are nothing to you; for I know this day that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, surely then it would be right in your eyes. ⁷“So now, arise, go out and speak to the heart of your servants, for I swear by Yahweh, if you do not go out, surely ^anot a man will pass the night with you, and this will be of greater evil for you than all the evil that has come upon you from your youth until now.”

David Returns to Jerusalem

⁸So the king arose and sat in the gate. And they told all the people, saying, “Behold, the king is ^asitting in the gate.” Then all the people came before the king. Now ^bIsrael had fled, each to his tent. ⁹And it happened that all the people were disputing throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “^aThe king delivered us from the ¹hand of our enemies and ^bprovided us escape from the ²hand of the Philistines, but now ^che has fled out of the land from Absalom. ¹⁰“However, Absalom, whom we anointed over us, has died in battle. So now, why are you silent about having the king return?”

¹¹Now King David had sent to ^aZadok and Abiathar the priests, saying, “Speak to the elders of Judah, saying, ‘Why are you the last to have the king return to his house, while the word of all Israel has come to the king, even to his house? ¹²‘You are my brothers; ^ayou are my bone and my flesh. Why then should you be the last to have the king return?’ ¹³“And say to ^aAmasa, ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? ^bMay God do so to me, and more also, if you will not be ^ccommander of the army before me continually ^din place of Joab.’” ¹⁴Thus he inclined the hearts of all the men of Judah ^aas one man, so they sent word to the king, saying, “Return, you and all your servants.” ¹⁵The king then returned and came as far as the Jordan. And Judah came to ^aGilgal in order to go to meet the king, to cause the king to pass over across the Jordan.

¹⁶Then ^aShimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite who was from Bahurim, hurried and came down with the men of Judah to meet King David. ¹⁷Now there were one thousand men of Benjamin with him, with ^aZiba the young man of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they rushed to the Jordan before the king. ¹⁸Then they kept passing over the ford to cause the king’s household to pass over, and to do what was good in his sight. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king as he was about to pass over the Jordan. ¹⁹So he said to the king, “^aLet not my lord consider me guilty, nor remember what your servant did wrong on the day when my lord the king went out from Jerusalem, so that the king would ¹take it to heart. ²⁰“For your servant knows that I have sinned; therefore behold, I have come today, ^athe first of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.” ²¹But Abishai the son of Zeruiah said, “^aShould not Shimei be put to death for this, ^bbecause he cursed the anointed of Yahweh?” ²²David then said, “^aWhat have I to do with you, O sons of Zeruiah, that you should this day be an adversary to me? ^bShould any man be put to death in Israel today? For do I not know that I am king over Israel today?” ²³And the king said to Shimei, “^aYou shall not die.” Thus the king swore to him.

²⁴Now ^aMephibosheth the ¹son of Saul had come down to meet the king; and ^bhe had not done anything for his feet, nor done anything for his mustache, nor ^cwashed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came home in peace. ²⁵Now it happened when he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said to him, “^aWhy did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?” ²⁶So he answered, “O my lord, the king, my servant deceived me; for your servant said, ‘I will saddle a donkey for myself that I may ride on it and go with the king,’ ^abecause your servant is lame. ²⁷“Moreover, ^ahe has slandered your servant to my lord the king; but my lord the king is ^blike the angel of God, therefore do what is good in your sight. ²⁸“For ^aall my father’s household was nothing but men worthy of death before my lord the king; ^byet you set your servant among those who ate at your own table. What right do I have yet that I should ¹complain anymore to the king?” ²⁹So the king said to him, “Why do you still speak of your affairs? I have ¹decided, ‘You and Ziba shall divide the land.’” ³⁰And Mephibosheth said to the king, “Let him even take it all, since my lord the king has come in peace to his own house.”

³¹Now ^aBarzillai the Gileadite had come down from Rogelim; and he passed over the Jordan with the king in order to send him off over the Jordan. ³²Now Barzillai was very old, being eighty years old; and he had ¹^,^asustained the king while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very great man. ³³And the king said to Barzillai, “You pass over with me and I will ¹sustain you in Jerusalem with me.” ³⁴But Barzillai said to the king, “^aHow long ¹have I yet to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? ³⁵“I am ¹now ^aeighty years old. Can I know between good and bad? Or can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Or can I hear anymore ^bthe voice of singing men and women? ^cWhy then should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king? ³⁶“Your servant would merely pass over the Jordan with the king. Why should the king compensate me with this reward? ³⁷“Please let your servant return, that I may die in my own city near the grave of my father and my mother. However, here is your servant ^aChimham, let him pass over with my lord the king, and do for him what is good in your sight.” ³⁸So the king answered, “Chimham shall pass over with me, and I will do for him what is good in your sight; and whatever you ¹require of me, I will do for you.” ³⁹Then all the people passed over the Jordan and the king passed over too. The king then ^akissed Barzillai and blessed him, and he returned to his place.

⁴⁰Now the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him; and all the people of Judah and also ^ahalf the people of Israel ¹accompanied the king. ⁴¹And behold, all the men of Israel came to the king and said to the king, “^aWhy had our brothers ^bthe men of Judah stolen you away, and caused the king and his household and all David’s men with him to pass over the Jordan?” ⁴²Then all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, “Because ^athe king is a close relative to ¹us. Why then ²are you angry about this matter? Have we eaten at all at the king’s expense, or has ³anything been taken for us?” ⁴³But the men of Israel answered the men of Judah and said, “¹^,^aWe have ten parts in the king, therefore ²we also have more claim on David than you. Why then did you treat us with contempt? Was it not ³our word first to have ⁴our king return?” Yet the words of the men of Judah were harsher than the words of the men of Israel.

Sheba Goes Up Against David

20Now ^aa vile fellow happened to be there whose name was Sheba, the son of ^bBichri, a Benjamite; and he blew the trumpet and said, “^cWe have no portion in David,Nor do we have inheritance in ^dthe son of Jesse;^eEvery man to his tents, O Israel!”

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

³Then David came to his house at Jerusalem, and ^athe king took the ten women, the concubines whom he had left to keep the house, and placed them under guard and provided them with sustenance, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up until the day of their death, living as widows.

⁴Then the king said to ^aAmasa, “Call out the men of Judah for me within three days, and you yourself stand here.” ⁵So Amasa went to call out the men of Judah, but he ^adelayed longer than the set time which he had appointed him. ⁶And David said to ^aAbishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom; ^btake your lord’s servants and pursue him, lest he find for himself fortified cities and deliver himself from our sight.” ⁷So Joab’s men pursued him, ^aalong with the Cherethites and the Pelethites and all the mighty men; and they went out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri. ⁸They were at the large stone which is in ^aGibeon, and Amasa came ¹to meet them. Now Joab was ²dressed in his military attire, and over it was a belt with a sword in its sheath fastened at his ³waist; and as he came out, it fell out. ⁹Then Joab said to Amasa, “Is it well with you, my brother?” And ^aJoab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him.

Joab Strikes Amasa

¹⁰But Amasa was not on guard against the sword which was in Joab’s hand so ^ahe struck him in the belly with it and poured out his inward parts on the ground, and did not strike him again, and he died. Then Joab and Abishai his brother pursued Sheba the son of Bichri. ¹¹Now there stood by him one of Joab’s young men, and said, “Whoever delights in Joab and whoever is for David, ^alet him follow Joab.” ¹²But Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the middle of the highway. And the man saw that all the people stood still. So he ¹removed Amasa from the highway into the field and threw a garment over him when he saw that everyone who came by him stood still.

The Beheading of Sheba

¹³As soon as he was removed from the highway, all the men passed on after Joab to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.

¹⁴Now he went through all the tribes of Israel to Abel, even Beth-maacah, and all the Berites; and they were assembled and also came after him. ¹⁵So they came and besieged him in ^aAbel Beth-maacah, and ^bthey ¹cast up a siege ramp against the city, and it stood by the rampart; and all the people who were with Joab were wreaking destruction in order to cause the wall to fall. ¹⁶Then ^aa wise woman called from the city, “Hear, hear! Please tell Joab, ‘Draw near that I may speak with you.’” ¹⁷So he drew near to her, and the woman said, “Are you Joab?” And he answered, “I am.” Then she said to him, “Listen to the words of your maidservant.” And he answered, “I am listening.” ¹⁸Then she spoke, saying, “Formerly they used to speak in this way, saying, ‘They will surely ask advice at Abel,’ and thus they ended the dispute. ¹⁹“I am of those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel. ^aYou are seeking to put to death a city, even a mother in Israel. Why would you swallow up ^bthe inheritance of Yahweh?” ²⁰And Joab answered and said, “Far be it, far be it from me that I should swallow up or destroy! ²¹“Such is not the case. But a man from ^athe hill country of Ephraim, ^bSheba the son of Bichri by name, has lifted up his hand against King David. Give him over alone, and I will go from the city.” And the woman said to Joab, “Behold, his head will be thrown to you over the wall.” ²²Then the woman came to all the people in her ^awisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri and threw it to Joab. So ^bhe blew the trumpet, and they were scattered from the city, each to his tent. Joab also returned to the king at Jerusalem.

²³^aNow Joab was over the whole army of Israel, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; ²⁴and Adoram was over the forced labor, and ^aJehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder; ²⁵and Sheva was scribe, and Zadok and ^aAbiathar were priests; ²⁶and Ira the Jairite was also a priest to David.

Contend Earnestly for the Faith

1¹^,^aJude, a ^bslave of Jesus Christ, and brother of ²James, To ^cthose who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and ^dkept for Jesus Christ: ²^aMay mercy and peace and love ^bbe multiplied to you.

³^aBeloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our ^bcommon salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you exhorting that you ^ccontend earnestly for ^dthe faith which was once for all ^ehanded down to ^fthe ¹saints. ⁴For certain persons have ^acrept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand ¹^,^bmarked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn ^cthe grace of our God into ^dsensuality and ^edeny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

⁵Now I want to ^aremind you, though ^byou know all things, that ¹Jesus, ^chaving once saved a people out of the land of Egypt, ²subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. ⁶And ^aangels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has ^bkept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, ⁷just as ^aSodom and Gomorrah and the ^bcities around them, having indulged in the same way as these in gross sexual immorality and having ^cgone after ¹strange flesh, are exhibited as an ²^,^dexample in undergoing the ^epunishment of eternal fire.

⁸Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, ^adefile the flesh, and reject authority, and blaspheme ¹glorious ones. ⁹But ^aMichael ^bthe archangel, when he, disputing with the devil, was arguing about ^cthe body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a blasphemous judgment, but said, “^dThe Lord rebuke you!” ¹⁰But ^athese men blaspheme the things which they do not understand; and ^bthe things which they know by instinct, ^clike unreasoning animals, by these things they are ¹destroyed. ¹¹Woe to them! For they have gone ^athe way of Cain, and for pay they have poured themselves into ^bthe error of Balaam, and ^cperished in the rebellion of Korah. ¹²These are the men who are ¹hidden reefs ^ain your love feasts when they feast with you ^bwithout fear, caring for themselves; ^cclouds without water, ^dcarried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, ²doubly dead, ^euprooted; ¹³^awild waves of the sea, casting up ^btheir own ¹shame like foam; wandering stars, ^cfor whom the ²black darkness has been reserved forever.

¹⁴But ^aEnoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, also prophesied about these men, saying, “^bBehold, the Lord came with ¹many thousands of His holy ones, ¹⁵^ato execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ^bungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” ¹⁶These are ^agrumblers, finding fault, ^bfollowing after their own lusts; and their mouth speaks ^carrogantly, ¹flattering people ^dfor the sake of their own benefit.

Keep Yourselves in the Love of God

¹⁷But you, ^abeloved, ^bmust remember the words that were spoken beforehand by ^cthe apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁸that they were saying to you, “^aIn the last time there will be mockers, ^bfollowing after their own ungodly lusts.” ¹⁹These are the ones who cause divisions, ¹^,^aworldly-minded, not having the Spirit. ²⁰But you, ^abeloved, ^bbuilding yourselves up on your most holy ^cfaith, ^dpraying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹keep yourselves in the love of God, ^awaiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. ²²And on some, who are doubting, have mercy; ²³and for others, save, ^asnatching them out of the fire; and on others have mercy with fear, ^bhating even the tunic polluted by the flesh.

²⁴^aNow to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to ^bmake you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with ^cgreat joy, ²⁵to the ^aonly ^bGod our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, ^cbe glory, majesty, might, and authority, ^dbefore all time and now and ¹forever. Amen.

The Tears of the Oppressed

4Then I looked again at all the acts of ^aoppression which were being done under the sun. And behold, I saw the tears of the oppressed and that they had ^bno one to comfort them; and on the side of their oppressors was power, but they had no one to comfort them. ²So ^aI lauded the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still living. ³But ^abetter off than both of them is the one who never has been, who has never seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

⁴I have seen that every labor and every ^asuccess of the work is the result of jealousy between a man and his neighbor. This too is ¹^,^bvanity and striving after wind. ⁵The fool ^afolds his hands in embrace and ^bconsumes his own flesh. ⁶One hand full of rest is ^abetter than two fists full of labor and striving after wind.

⁷Then I looked again at vanity under the sun. ⁸There was a certain man without a second man, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, ^ahis eyes were not satisfied with riches—“And ^bfor whom am I laboring and depriving myself of good?” This too is vanity, and it is a ^cgrievous endeavor.

⁹Two are better than one because they have good wages for their labor. ¹⁰For if ¹either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not a second one to lift him up. ¹¹Furthermore, if two lie down together they ¹keep warm, but ^ahow can one be warm alone? ¹²And if ¹one can overpower him who is alone, two can stand against him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.

¹³A ^apoor yet wise lad is better than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to receive ¹warning. ¹⁴For he has come ^aout of prison to become king, even though he was born poor in his kingdom. ¹⁵I have seen all the living who walk about under the sun go along with the second lad who stands in place of him. ¹⁶There is no end to all the people, to all who were before them, and even the ones who will come later will not be glad with him, for this too is ^avanity and striving after wind.