2 Samuel 19 - 20

Joab Tells David to Speak to His Servants

Then it was told to Joab, “Behold, the king is weeping and mourns for Absalom.” 2 And 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.” 3 So the people stole away to enter into the city that day, as people who are dishonored steal away when they flee in battle. 4 But as for the king, he wrapped his face up. Then the king cried out with a loud voice, “O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!” 5 Then 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, 6 by loving those who hate you, and by hating those who love you. For you have informed all of us today that princes 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 not 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

8 So the king arose and sat in the gate. And they told all the people, saying, “Behold, the king is sitting in the gate.” Then all the people came before the king. Now Israel had fled, each to his tent. 9 And it happened that all the people were disputing throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies and provided us escape from the hand of the Philistines, but now he 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?” 11 Now King David had sent to Zadok 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; you are my bone and my flesh. Why then should you be the last to have the king return?’ 13 And say to Amasa, ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? May God do so to me, and more also, if you will not be commander of the army before me continually in place of Joab.’” 14 Thus he inclined the hearts of all the men of Judah as one man, so they sent word to the king, saying, “Return, you and all your servants.” 15 The king then returned and came as far as the Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal in order to go to meet the king, to cause the king to pass over across the Jordan. 16 Then Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite who was from Bahurim, hurried and came down with the men of Judah to meet King David. 17 Now there were one thousand men of Benjamin with him, with Ziba 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. 18 Then 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. 19 So he said to the king, “Let 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 take it to heart. 20 For your servant knows that I have sinned; therefore behold, I have come today, the first of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.” 21 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah said, “Should not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the anointed of Yahweh?” 22 David then said, “What have I to do with you, O sons of Zeruiah, that you should this day be an adversary to me? Should any man be put to death in Israel today? For do I not know that I am king over Israel today?” 23 And the king said to Shimei, “You shall not die.” Thus the king swore to him. 24 Now Mephibosheth the son of Saul had come down to meet the king; and he had not done anything for his feet, nor done anything for his mustache, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came home in peace. 25 Now it happened when he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said to him, “Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?” 26 So 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,’ because your servant is lame. 27 Moreover, he has slandered your servant to my lord the king; but my lord the king is like the angel of God, therefore do what is good in your sight. 28 For all my father’s household was nothing but men worthy of death before my lord the king; yet you set your servant among those who ate at your own table. What right do I have yet that I should complain anymore to the king?” 29 So the king said to him, “Why do you still speak of your affairs? I have decided, ‘You and Ziba shall divide the land.’” 30 And Mephibosheth said to the king, “Let him even take it all, since my lord the king has come in peace to his own house.” 31 Now Barzillai 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. 32 Now Barzillai was very old, being eighty years old; and he had sustained the king while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very great man. 33 And the king said to Barzillai, “You pass over with me and I will sustain you in Jerusalem with me.” 34 But Barzillai said to the king, “How long have I yet to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? 35 I am now eighty 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 the voice of singing men and women? Why 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 Chimham, let him pass over with my lord the king, and do for him what is good in your sight.” 38 So the king answered, “Chimham shall pass over with me, and I will do for him what is good in your sight; and whatever you require of me, I will do for you.” 39 Then all the people passed over the Jordan and the king passed over too. The king then kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and he returned to his place. 40 Now the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him; and all the people of Judah and also half the people of Israel accompanied the king. 41 And behold, all the men of Israel came to the king and said to the king, “Why had our brothers the 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?” 42 Then all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, “Because the king is a close relative to us. Why then are you angry about this matter? Have we eaten at all at the king’s expense, or has anything been taken for us?” 43 But the men of Israel answered the men of Judah and said, “We have ten parts in the king, therefore we also have more claim on David than you. Why then did you treat us with contempt? Was it not our word first to have our 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

Now a vile fellow happened to be there whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite; and he blew the trumpet and said,

“We have no portion in David,

Nor do we have inheritance in the son of Jesse;

Every man to his tents, O Israel!”

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

Joab Strikes Amasa

10 But Amasa was not on guard against the sword which was in Joab’s hand so he 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. 11 Now there stood by him one of Joab’s young men, and said, “Whoever delights in Joab and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab.” 12 But Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the middle of the highway. And the man saw that all the people stood still. So he removed 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

13 As soon as he was removed from the highway, all the men passed on after Joab to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri. 14 Now 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. 15 So they came and besieged him in Abel Beth-maacah, and they cast 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. 16 Then a wise woman called from the city, “Hear, hear! Please tell Joab, ‘Draw near that I may speak with you.’” 17 So 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.” 18 Then 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. You are seeking to put to death a city, even a mother in Israel. Why would you swallow up the inheritance of Yahweh?” 20 And 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 the hill country of Ephraim, Sheba 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.” 22 Then the woman came to all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri and threw it to Joab. So he blew the trumpet, and they were scattered from the city, each to his tent. Joab also returned to the king at Jerusalem. 23 Now Joab was over the whole army of Israel, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; 24 and Adoram was over the forced labor, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder; 25 and Sheva was scribe, and Zadok and Abiathar were priests; 26 and Ira the Jairite was also a priest to David.

Jude 1

Contend Earnestly for the Faith

Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ: 2 May mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you. 3 Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you exhorting that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. 4 For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. 5 Now I want to remind you, though you know all things, that Jesus, having once saved a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, having indulged in the same way as these in gross sexual immorality and having gone after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. 8 Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and blaspheme glorious ones. 9 But Michael the archangel, when he, disputing with the devil, was arguing about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 10 But these men blaspheme the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed. 11 Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have poured themselves into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. 12 These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; 13 wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever. 14 But Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, also prophesied about these men, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, 15 to 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 ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” 16 These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; and their mouth speaks arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of their own benefit.

Keep Yourselves in the Love of God

17 But you, beloved, must remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, 18 that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.” 19 These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, not having the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. 22 And on some, who are doubting, have mercy; 23 and for others, save, snatching them out of the fire; and on others have mercy with fear, hating even the tunic polluted by the flesh. 24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, might, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Ecclesiastes 4

The Tears of the Oppressed

Then I looked again at all the acts of oppression which were being done under the sun. And behold, I saw the tears of the oppressed and that they had no one to comfort them; and on the side of their oppressors was power, but they had no one to comfort them. 2 So I lauded the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still living. 3 But better 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. 4 I have seen that every labor and every success of the work is the result of jealousy between a man and his neighbor. This too is vanity and striving after wind. 5 The fool folds his hands in embrace and consumes his own flesh. 6 One hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind. 7 Then I looked again at vanity under the sun. 8 There 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, his eyes were not satisfied with riches—“And for whom am I laboring and depriving myself of good?” This too is vanity, and it is a grievous endeavor. 9 Two are better than one because they have good wages for their labor. 10 For if either 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. 11 Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? 12 And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can stand against him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart. 13 A poor yet wise lad is better than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to receive warning. 14 For he has come out of prison to become king, even though he was born poor in his kingdom. 15 I have seen all the living who walk about under the sun go along with the second lad who stands in place of him. 16 There 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 vanity and striving after wind.