Sheba’s Rebellion

¹Now 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!”

²So 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.

³When David returned to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to take care of 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.

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

⁵So Amasa went to summon Judah, but he took longer than the time allotted him.

⁶And 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.”

⁷So 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.

⁸And 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.

¹⁰Amasa 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.

¹¹One of Joab’s young men stood near Amasa and said, “Whoever favors Joab, and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab!”

¹²But 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.

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

¹⁴Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel-beth-maacahand through the entire region of the Berites,who gathered together and followed him.

¹⁵And 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,

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

¹⁷When 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.

¹⁸Then the woman said, “Long ago they used to say, ‘Seek counsel at Abel,’ and that is how disputes were settled.

¹⁹I 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!

²¹That 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.”

²²Then 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.

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

²⁴Adoramwas in charge of the forced labor; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder;

²⁵Shevawas the scribe; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;

²⁶and Ira the Jairitewas David’s priest.

Jonathan Befriends David

¹After David had finished speaking with Saul, the souls of Jonathan and David were knit together, and Jonathan loved him as himself.

²And from that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father’s house.

³Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.

⁴And Jonathan removed the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, his sword, his bow, and his belt.

Saul Envies David

⁵So David marched out and prospered in everything Saul sent him to do, and Saul set him over the men of war. And this was pleasing in the sight of all the people, and of Saul’s officers as well.

⁶As the troops were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs, and with tambourines and other instruments.

⁷And as the women danced, they sang out:“Saul has slain his thousands,and David his tens of thousands.”

⁸And Saul was furious and resented this song. “They have ascribed tens of thousands to David,” he said, “but only thousands to me. What more can he have but the kingdom?”

⁹And from that day forward Saul kept a jealous eye on David.

¹⁰The next day a spirit of distresssent from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied inside the house while David played the harp as usual. Now Saul was holding a spear,

¹¹and he hurled it, thinking, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice.

¹²So Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with David but had departed from Saul.

¹³Therefore Saul sent David away and gave him command of a thousand men. David led the troops out to battle and back,

¹⁴and he continued to prosper in all his ways, because the LORD was with him.

¹⁵When Saul saw that David was very successful, he was afraid of him.

¹⁶But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he was leading them out to battle and back.

David Marries Michal

¹⁷Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage. Only be valiant for me and fight the LORD’s battles.” But Saul was thinking, “I need not raise my hand against him; let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”

¹⁸And David said to Saul, “Who am I, and what is my family or my father’s clan in Israel, that I should become the son-in-law of the king?”

¹⁹So when it was timeto give Saul’s daughter Merab to David, she was given in marriage to Adriel of Meholah.

²⁰Now Saul’s daughter Michal loved David, and when this was reported to Saul, it pleased him.

²¹“I will give her to David,” Saul thought, “so that she may be a snare to him, and the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” So Saul said to David, “For a second time now you can be my son-in-law.”

²²Then Saul ordered his servants, “Speak to David privately and tell him, ‘Behold, the king is pleased with you, and all his servants love you. Now therefore, become his son-in-law.’”

²³But when Saul’s servants relayed these words to David, he replied, “Does it seem trivial in your sight to be the son-in-law of the king? I am a poor man and lightly esteemed.”

²⁴And the servants told Saul what David had said.

²⁵Saul replied, “Say to David, ‘The king desires no other dowry but a hundred Philistine foreskins as revenge on his enemies.’” But Saul intended to cause David’s death at the hands of the Philistines.

²⁶When the servants reported these terms to David, he was pleased to become the king’s son-in-law. Before the wedding day arrived,

²⁷David and his men went out and killed two hundred Philistines. He brought their foreskins and presented them as payment in full to become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave his daughter Michal to David in marriage.

²⁸When Saul realized that the LORD was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David,

²⁹he grew even more afraid of David. So from then on Saul was David’s enemy.

³⁰Every time the Philistine commanders came out for battle, David was more successful than all of Saul’s officers, so that his name was highly esteemed.

Saul Tries to Kill David

¹Then Saul ordered his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David.But Jonathan delighted greatly in David,

²so he warned David, saying, “My father Saul intends to kill you. Be on your guard in the morning; find a secret place and hide there.

³I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, so I can ask about you. And if I find out anything, I will tell you.”

⁴Then Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul and said to him, “The king should not sin against his servant David; he has not sinned against you. In fact, his actions have been highly beneficial to you.

⁵He took his life in his hands when he struck down the Philistine, and the LORD worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced, so why would you sin against innocent blood by killing David for no reason?”

⁶Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan and swore an oath: “As surely as the LORD lives, David will not be put to death.”

⁷So Jonathan summoned David and told him all these things. Then Jonathan brought David to Saul, and David was with Saul as before.

⁸When war broke out again, David went out and fought the Philistines and struck them with such a mighty blow that they fled before him.

⁹But as Saul was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, a spirit of distressfrom the LORD came upon him. While David was playing the harp,

¹⁰Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear. But David eluded him and the spear struck the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.

¹¹Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him and kill him in the morning. But David’s wife Michal warned him, “If you do not run for your life tonight, tomorrow you will be dead!”

¹²So Michal lowered David from the window, and he ran away and escaped.

¹³Then Michal took a household idoland laid it in the bed, placed some goat hair on its head, and covered it with a garment.

¹⁴When Saul sent the messengers to seize David, Michal said, “He is ill.”

¹⁵But Saul sent the messengers back to see David and told them, “Bring him up to me in his bed so I can kill him.”

¹⁶And when the messengers entered, there was the idol in the bed with the goat hair on its head.

¹⁷And Saul said to Michal, “Why did you deceive me like this? You sent my enemy away, and he has escaped!”Michal replied, “He said to me, ‘Help me get away, or I will kill you!’”

¹⁸So David ran away and escaped. And he went to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to Naioth and stayed there.

¹⁹When Saul was told that David was at Naioth in Ramah,

²⁰he sent messengers to seize him. But when they saw the group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel leading them, the Spirit of God came upon them, and Saul’s messengers also began to prophesy.

²¹When this was reported to Saul, he sent more messengers, but they began to prophesy as well.So Saul tried again and sent messengers a third time, and even they began to prophesy.

²²Finally, Saul himself left for Ramah and came to the large cistern at Secu, where he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?”“At Naioth in Ramah,” he was told.

²³So Saul went to Naioth in Ramah. But the Spirit of God came upon even Saul, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth in Ramah.

²⁴Then Saul stripped off his robes and also prophesied before Samuel. And he collapsed and lay naked all that day and night. That is why it is said, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

The Beginning of Knowledge

¹These are the proverbs of Solomon son of David,king of Israel,

²for gaining wisdom and discipline,for comprehending words of insight,

³and for receiving instruction in wise livingand in righteousness, justice, and equity.

⁴To impart prudence to the simpleand knowledge and discretion to the young,

⁵let the wise listen and gain instruction,and the discerning acquire wise counsel

⁶by understanding the proverbs and parables,the sayings and riddles of the wise.

⁷The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,but foolsdespise wisdom and discipline.

The Enticement of Sin

⁸Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction,and do not forsake the teaching of your mother.

⁹For they are a garland of grace on your headand a pendant around your neck.

¹⁰My son, if sinners entice you,do not yield to them.

¹¹If they say, “Come along, let us lie in wait for blood,let us ambush the innocent without cause,

¹²let us swallow them alive like Sheol,and whole like those descending into the Pit.

¹³We will find all manner of precious goods;we will fill our houses with plunder.

¹⁴Throw in your lot with us;let us all share one purse”—

¹⁵my son, do not walk the road with themor set foot upon their path.

¹⁶For their feet run to evil,and they are swift to shed blood.

¹⁷How futile it is to spread the netwhere any bird can see it!

¹⁸But they lie in wait for their own blood;they ambush their own lives.

¹⁹Such is the fate of all who are greedy,whose unjust gain takes the lives of its possessors.

Wisdom Calls Aloud

²⁰Wisdom calls out in the street,she lifts her voice in the square;

²¹in the main concourseshe cries aloud,at the city gates she makes her speech:

²²“How long, O simple ones, will you love your simple ways?How long will scoffers delight in their scornand fools hate knowledge?

²³If you had repented at my rebuke,then surely I would have poured out my spirit on you;I would have made my words known to you.

²⁴Because you refused my call,and no one took my outstretched hand,

²⁵because you neglected all my counsel,and wanted none of my correction,

²⁶in turn I will mock your calamity;I will sneer when terror strikes you,

²⁷when your dread comes like a storm,and your destruction like a whirlwind,when distress and anguish overwhelm you.

²⁸Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;they will earnestly seek me, but will not find me.

²⁹For they hated knowledgeand chose not to fear the LORD.

³⁰They accepted none of my counsel;they despised all my reproof.

³¹So they will eat the fruit of their own way,and be filled with their own devices.

³²For the waywardness of the simple will slay them,and the complacency of fools will destroy them.

³³But whoever listens to me will dwell in safety,secure from the fear of evil.”