19 May - 2 Samuel 19-21

Jude Fri Dec 28, 2018 8:30 pm

My soul doth magnify my YAH, and my spirit hath rejoiced in EL my Saviour; For HE that is mighty hath done to me great things; and Holy is HIS Name. Now unto HIM who is ever present in my helpless estate; who is able to keep me from falling and to present me faultless before the presence of His Glory with exceeding joy, unto the King Eternal, Immortal, Invisible, the only wise EL our Saviour be honour and glory and majesty, dominion and power both now and for ever Halleluyah!

2 SAMUEL 19

1And it was reported to Yo’aḇ, “See, the sovereign is weeping and mourning for Aḇshalom.”

2So the deliverance that day was turned into mourning for all the people. For the people heard on that day, saying, “The sovereign has been grieved for his son.”

3And the people stole back into the city that day, as people who are ashamed steal away when they flee in battle.

4And the sovereign covered his face, and the sovereign cried out with a loud voice, “O my son Aḇshalom! O Aḇshalom, my son, my son!”

5And Yo’aḇ came into the house to the sovereign, and said, “Today you have put to shame all your servants who today have saved your life, and the lives of your sons and daughters, and 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 made it clear today that you have neither commanders nor servants, for today I know that if Aḇshalom had lived and all of us had died today, then it would be right in your eyes.

7“And now, arise, go out and speak to the heart of your servants. For I swear by יהוה, if you do not go out, not one passes the night with you. And that is worse for you than all the evil that has come upon you from your youth until now.”

8So the sovereign rose up and sat in the gate. And they told all the people, saying, “Look, the sovereign is sitting in the gate.” And all the people came before the sovereign. As for Yisra’ĕl, they had fled, each one to his tent.

9And it came to be, that all the people were contending throughout all the tribes of Yisra’ĕl, saying, “The sovereign delivered us from the hand of the enemies, he rescued us from the hand of the Philistines, and now he has fled from the land because of Aḇshalom,

10and Aḇshalom, whom we anointed over us, has died in battle. And now, why are you silent about bringing back the sovereign?”

11And Sovereign Dawiḏ sent to Tsaḏoq and Eḇyathar the priests, saying, “Speak to the elders of Yehuḏah, saying, ‘Why are you the last to bring the sovereign back to his house, since the words of all Yisra’ĕl have come to the sovereign, to his house?

12‘You are my brothers, you are my bone and my flesh. Why then are you the last to bring back the sovereign?’

13“And say to Amasa, ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? Elohim do so to me, and more also, if you are not commander of the army before me all the days in place of Yo’aḇ.’ ”

14Thus he swayed the hearts of all the men of Yehuḏah as one man, so that they sent to the sovereign, saying “Return, you and all your servants!”

15So the sovereign returned and came to the Yardĕn. And Yehuḏah came to Gilgal, to go to meet the sovereign, to bring the sovereign over the Yardĕn.

16And Shim‛i son of Gĕra, a Binyamite, who was from Baḥurim, hastened and came down with the men of Yehuḏah to meet Sovereign Dawiḏ.

17And with him were a thousand men of Binyamin, and Tsiḇa the servant of the house of Sha’ul, and his fifteen sons, and his twenty servants with him. And they rushed over the Yardĕn before the sovereign.

18And they passed over the ford to bring over the sovereign’s household, and to do what was good in his eyes. And Shim‛i son of Gĕra fell down before the sovereign when he had passed over the Yardĕn,

19and said to the sovereign, “Do not let my master reckon crookedness to me, neither remember what wrong your servant did on the day that my master the sovereign left Yerushalayim, that the sovereign should take it to heart.

20“For I, your servant, know that I have sinned. And see, I have come today, first of all the house of Yosĕph, to go down to meet my master the sovereign.”

21But Aḇishai son of Tseruyah answered and said, “Should Shim‛i not be put to death for this, because he cursed the anointed of יהוה?”

22And Dawiḏ said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Tseruyah, that you are to be adversaries to me today? Should any man be put to death in Yisra’ĕl today? For do I not know that I am sovereign over Yisra’ĕl today?”

23So the sovereign said to Shim‛i, “You do not die.” And the sovereign swore to him.

24And Mephiḇosheth son of Sha’ul came down to meet the sovereign. And he had not attended to his feet, nor trimmed his moustache, nor washed his garments, from the day the sovereign went away until the day he came back in peace.

25And it came to be, when he had come to Yerushalayim to meet the sovereign, that the sovereign said to him, “Why did you not go with me, Mephiḇosheth?”

26And he answered, “My master, O sovereign, my servant deceived me. For your servant said, ‘I am saddling a donkey for myself to ride on it and go to the sovereign,’ because your servant is lame.

27“And he spoke slander against your servant to my master the sovereign, but my master the sovereign is as a messenger of Elohim. Therefore do what is good in your eyes.

28“For all of my father’s house were but dead men before my master the sovereign. Yet you set your servant among those who eat at your own table. Therefore what right have I still to cry out any more to the sovereign?”

29Then the sovereign said to him, “Why do you speak any more of your matters? I have said, ‘You and Tsiḇa share the land.’ ”

30And Mephiḇosheth said to the sovereign, “Rather, let him take it all, since my master the sovereign has come back in peace to his own house.”

31And Barzillai the Gil‛aḏite came down from Rog̅elim and passed over the Yardĕn with the sovereign, to send him on his way over the Yardĕn.

32And Barzillai was a very aged man, eighty years old. And he had sustained the sovereign while he was dwelling at Maḥanayim, for he was a very rich man.

33And the sovereign said to Barzillai, “Pass over with me, and I shall provide for you with me in Yerushalayim.”

34But Barzillai said to the sovereign, “How many are the days of my life, that I should go up with the sovereign to Yerushalayim?

35“I am now eighty years old. Do I discern between the good and evil? Does your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Do I still hear the voice of singing men and singing women? Why then should your servant be a further burden to my master the sovereign?

36“Your servant would only pass over the Yardĕn with the sovereign for a short distance. And why should the sovereign repay me with such a reward?

37“Please let your servant turn back again to die in my own city, near the burying-place of my father and mother. But here is your servant Kimham, let him pass over with my master the sovereign, and do for him what is good in your eyes.”

38And the sovereign answered, “Kimham is passing over with me, and let me do for him what is good in your eyes. Now whatever you choose of me, I do for you.”

39Then all the people went over the Yardĕn. And when the sovereign had passed over, the sovereign kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and he returned to his own place.

40And the sovereign passed over to Gilgal, and Kimham passed over with him. And all the people of Yehuḏah brought the sovereign over, and also half the people of Yisra’ĕl.

41And see, all the men of Yisra’ĕl were coming to the sovereign! And they said to the sovereign, “Why have our brothers, the men of Yehuḏah, stolen you away and brought the sovereign, and his household, and all Dawiḏ’s men with him over the Yardĕn?”

42And all the men of Yehuḏah answered the men of Yisra’ĕl, “Because the sovereign is our relative. And why are you displeased over this matter? Have we at all eaten at the sovereign’s cost? Or has he given us any gift?”

43And the men of Yisra’ĕl answered the men of Yehuḏah, and said, “We have ten parts in the sovereign, and in Dawiḏ too, we have more than you. Why then did you despise us? Was it not our advice first to bring back our sovereign?” But the words of the men of Yehuḏah were harsher than the words of the men of Yisra’ĕl.

2 SAMUEL 20

1And there came to be a man of Beliya‛al, whose name was Sheḇa son of Biḵri, a Binyamite. And he blew a ram’s horn, and said, “We have no part in Dawiḏ, nor do we have inheritance in the son of Yishai – each one to his tents, O Yisra’ĕl!”

2Then all the men of Yisra’ĕl deserted Dawiḏ, to follow Sheḇa the son of Biḵri. But the men of Yehuḏah, from the Yardĕn as far as Yerushalayim, clung to their sovereign.

3And Dawiḏ came to his house at Yerushalayim. And the sovereign took the ten women, his concubines whom he had left to look after the house, and put them in a protected house and supported them, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up to the day of their death, living in widowhood.

4And the sovereign said to Amasa, “Call the men of Yehuḏah for me within three days, and be present here yourself.”

5And Amasa went to call the men of Yehuḏah. But he delayed longer than the appointed time which Dawiḏ had appointed him.

6And Dawiḏ said to Aḇishai, “Now Sheḇa son of Biḵri is going to do us more evil than Aḇshalom. Take the servants of your master, and pursue him, lest he find for himself walled cities, and escape us.”

7Then the men of Yo’aḇ went out after him, with the Kerĕthites and the Pelĕthites, and all the mighty men. And they went out of Yerushalayim to pursue Sheḇa son of Biḵri.

8When they were near the large stone which is in Giḇ‛on, Amasa came before them. And Yo’aḇ was dressed in battle armour, and on it was a girdle with a sword fastened in its sheath at his hips. And as he went forward, it fell out.

9And Yo’aḇ said to Amasa, “Peace, my brother?” And Yo’aḇ took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him.

10But Amasa was not on guard against the sword in Yo’aḇ’s hand. And he struck him with it in the stomach, and his inward parts poured out on the ground, and he did not strike him again, and he died. Then Yo’aḇ and Aḇishai his brother pursued Sheḇa son of Biḵri.

11And a man, one of Yo’aḇ’s men, stood beside him, and said, “Whoever is well pleased with Yo’aḇ and whoever is for Dawiḏ, let him follow Yo’aḇ!”

12And Amasa was rolling in his blood in the middle of the highway. And the man saw that all the people stood still, so he moved Amasa from the highway to the field and threw a garment over him, when he saw that everyone who came upon him halted.

13When he was removed from the highway, all the men passed on after Yo’aḇ to pursue Sheḇa son of Biḵri.

14And he passed over through all the tribes of Yisra’ĕl to Aḇĕl, and to Bĕyth Ma‛aḵah, and to all the Bĕrites. And they were assembled and went after him too.

15And they went and besieged him in Aḇĕl of Bĕyth Ma‛aḵah, and they cast up a siege mound against the city. And it stood in a rampart, and all the people who were with Yo’aḇ battered the wall to throw it down.

16Then a wise woman called out from the city, “Listen, listen! Please say to Yo’aḇ, ‘Come nearby, so that I speak to you.’ ”

17And he came near to her, and the woman said, “Are you Yo’aḇ?” And he answered, “I am.” Then she said to him, “Listen to the words of your female servant.” And he answered, “I am listening.”

18Then she spoke, saying, “In former times they often spoke, saying, ‘Let them inquire of Aḇĕl,’ and so they ended the matter.

19“I am of the peaceable and trustworthy ones in Yisra’ĕl. You seek to destroy a city and a mother in Yisra’ĕl. Why do you swallow up the inheritance of יהוה?”

20And Yo’aḇ answered and said, “Far be it, far be it from me to swallow up or to destroy!

21“That is not the case. But a man from the mountains of Ephrayim, Sheḇa son of Biḵri by name, has raised his hand against the sovereign, against Dawiḏ. Hand him over, him alone, and I withdraw from the city.” And the woman said to Yo’aḇ, “Look, his head is going to be thrown to you over the wall.”

22So the woman in her wisdom went to all the people. And they cut off the head of Sheḇa son of Biḵri, and threw it out to Yo’aḇ. Then he blew a ram’s horn, and they dispersed from the city, each one to his tent. And Yo’aḇ returned to the sovereign at Yerushalayim.

23Now Yo’aḇ was over all the army of Yisra’ĕl, and Benayah son of Yehoyaḏa was over the Kerĕthites and the Pelĕthites,

24and Aḏoram was over the compulsory labour, and Yehoshaphat son of Aḥiluḏ was recorder,

25and Shewa was scribe, and Tsaḏoq and Eḇyathar were the priests,

26and Ira the Ya‛irite was priest to Dawiḏ.

2 SAMUEL 21

1And there was a scarcity of food in the days of Dawiḏ for three years, year after year. And Dawiḏ sought the face of יהוה, and יהוה answered, “Because of Sha’ul and his bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Giḇ‛onites.”

2The sovereign therefore called the Giḇ‛onites and spoke to them. Now the Giḇ‛onites were not of the children of Yisra’ĕl, but of the remnant of the Amorites. And the children of Yisra’ĕl had sworn protection to them, but Sha’ul had sought to kill them in his ardour for the children of Yisra’ĕl and Yehuḏah.

3So Dawiḏ said to the Giḇ‛onites, “What should I do for you? And with what do I make atonement, so that you bless the inheritance of יהוה?”

4And the Giḇ‛onites said to him, “It is no matter of silver or gold between us and Sha’ul, or his house, neither is it for us to put to death any man in Yisra’ĕl.” And he said, “Whatever you say I do for you.”

5And they said to the sovereign, “The man who consumed us and plotted against us, that we should be destroyed from remaining in all the border of Yisra’ĕl,

6let seven men of his sons be given to us, and we shall hang them before יהוה in Giḇ‛ah of Sha’ul, whom יהוה chose.” And the sovereign said, “I give them.”

7But the sovereign spared Mephiḇosheth son of Yehonathan, son of Sha’ul, because of the oath of יהוה that was between them, between Dawiḏ and Yehonathan son of Sha’ul.

8And the sovereign took the two sons of Ritspah the daughter of Ayah, whom she bore to Sha’ul: Armoni and the other Mephiḇosheth, and the five sons of Miḵal the daughter of Sha’ul, whom she brought up for Aḏri’ĕl the son of Barzillai, the Meḥolathite,

9and gave them into the hands of the Giḇ‛onites, and they hanged them on the hill before יהוה. So the seven fell together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest.

10And Ritspah the daughter of Ayah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until the late rains poured on them from the heavens. And she did not allow the birds of the heavens to rest on them by day nor the beasts of the field by night.

11And Dawiḏ was informed what Ritspah the daughter of Ayah, the concubine of Sha’ul, had done.

12And Dawiḏ went and took the bones of Sha’ul, and the bones of Yehonathan his son, from the men of Yaḇĕsh Gil‛aḏ who had stolen them from the street of Bĕyth Shan, where the Philistines had hung them up, after the Philistines had struck down Sha’ul in Gilboa.

13And he brought up the bones of Sha’ul and the bones of Yehonathan his son from there, and they gathered the bones of those who had been hanged,

14and buried the bones of Sha’ul and Yehonathan his son in the land of Binyamin in Tsela, in the tomb of Qish his father, and did all that the sovereign commanded. And after that Elohim heard prayer for the land.

15And the Philistines were again fighting against Yisra’ĕl, so Dawiḏ and his servants with him went down and fought against the Philistines. And Dawiḏ was weary,

16and Yishbo-Benoḇ – who was one of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose bronze spear was three hundred pieces, who was bearing a new sword – spoke of killing Dawiḏ.

17But Aḇishai son of Tseruyah came to help him, and smote the Philistine and killed him. Then Dawiḏ’s men swore to him, saying, “Do not go out with us to battle any more, lest you put out the lamp of Yisra’ĕl.”

18And it came to be afterward, that there was a battle again with the Philistines at Goḇ. Then Sibbeḵai the Ḥushathite smote Saph, who was one of the sons of the giant.

19And there was a battle with the Philistines again at Goḇ, where Elḥanan son of Ya‛arĕy-Oreg̅im the Bĕyth Leḥemite smote Golyath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.

20And there was a battle in Gath again, where there was a man of great height, who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number. And he also was descended from the giants.

21And he reproached Yisra’ĕl, and Yehonathan son of Shim‛i, the brother of Dawiḏ, smote him.

22These four were born to the giant in Gath, and they fell by the hand of Dawiḏ and by the hand of his servants.