1 Nå var det til stede en ubrukelig person ved navn Seba, sønn av Bikri, en benjaminitter. Han blåste i hornet og sa: Vi har ingen del i David, og ingen arv i Isais sønn. Hver mann til sitt telt, Israel!

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.

2 Så vendte alle Israels menn seg bort fra David og fulgte Seba, sønn av Bikri. Men Judas menn forble tro mot sin konge og fulgte ham fra Jordan til Jerusalem.

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.

3 Da David kom til sitt hus i Jerusalem, tok kongen de ti kvinnene som han hadde satt til å passe huset, og sperret dem inne. Han sørget for deres behov, men nærmet seg dem ikke. Således forble de innesperret som enker til sin død.

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.

4 Så sa kongen til Amasa: Samle alle Judas menn, og vær her om tre dager.

Then the king said to Amasa, Get all the men of Judah together, and in three days be here yourself.

5 Amasa gikk for å samle alle Judas menn, men han brukte lengre tid enn den David hadde satt.

So Amasa went to get all the men of Judah together, but he took longer than the time David had given him.

6 David sa til Abisjaj: Seba, sønn av Bikri, vil forårsake oss mer skade enn Absalom gjorde. Ta med deg noen av dine herres tjenere og gå etter ham før han når de befestede byene og slipper unna for våre øyne.

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.

7 Abisjaj fulgte etter, sammen med Joab, keretittene og peletittene og alle de stridsmenn. De forlot Jerusalem for å innhente Seba, sønn av Bikri.

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.

8 Da de var ved den store steinen i Gibeon, kom Amasa mot dem. Nå hadde Joab på seg krigsdrakten sin, og rundt seg et belte med et sverd i sliren. Mens han gikk, falt det ut.

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.

9 Joab sa til Amasa: Hvordan har du det, min bror? Og han tok ham i skjegget med høyre hånd for å gi ham en kyss.

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.

10 Men Amasa la ikke merke til sverdet i Joabs venstre hånd, og Joab stakk det gjennom magen hans, så hans innvoller strømmet ut på jorden. Han ga ham ikke et annet slag. Dermed fortsatte Joab og hans bror Abisjaj etter Seba, sønn av Bikri.

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.

11 En av Joabs unge menn stod ved Amasas side og sa: Den som er for Joab og David, la ham følge Joab!

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!

12 Amasa lå i sitt blod i midten av veien. Da mannen så at folk stanset, dro han Amasa til siden av veien, dekket ham til med en kappe, da han så at alle som gikk forbi stanset.

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.

13 Da han var fjernet fra veien, gikk alle videre etter Joab på leting etter Seba, sønn av Bikri.

When he had been taken off the road, all the people went on after Joab in search of Sheba, the son of Bichri.

14 Seba dro gjennom alle Israels stammer til Abel i Bet-Maaka, og alle bikrittene kom sammen og fulgte etter ham.

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.

15 Joab og hans menn omringet ham i Abel i Bet-Maaka og bygde en voll mot byen. Alle Joabs menn forsøkte å rive ned muren.

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.

16 En klok kvinne ropte fra byen: Hør, hør; si til Joab at han skal komme nær, så jeg kan snakke med ham.

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.

17 Han kom nær, og kvinnen sa: Er du Joab? Han svarte: Ja, det er jeg. Da sa hun: Hør på din tjenestekvinnes ord. Han svarte: Jeg lytter.

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.

18 Hun sa: I gamle dager var det et ordtak om at man skulle rådspørre seg i Abel, og slik gjorde man ende på en sak.

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?

19 Din hensikt er å ødelegge en av Israels moderbyer: hvorfor vil du tilintetgjøre Herrens arv?

Your purpose is the destruction of a mother-town in Israel: why would you put an end to the heritage of the Lord?

20 Joab svarte: Langt i fra meg å være en årsak til død eller ødeleggelse.

And Joab, answering her, said, Far, far be it from me to be a cause of death or destruction;

21 Det er ikke slik; men en mann fra Efraims høyland, ved navn Seba, sønn av Bikri, har reist seg mot kongen, mot David. Gi ham alene opp, så skal jeg forlate byen. Kvinnen sa til Joab: Hans hode skal bli kastet over muren til deg.

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.

22 Kvinnen snakket klokt med hele byen. De hogde av Sebas hode og kastet det ut til Joab. Han blåste i hornet, og de spredte seg fra byen, hver mann til sitt telt. Joab dro tilbake til kongen i Jerusalem.

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.

23 Joab var nå kommandør over hele hæren, og Benaja, sønn av Jojada, var leder for keretittene og peletittene.

Now Joab was over all the army; and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was at the head of the Cherethites and the Pelethites;

24 Adoram hadde ansvar for de tvangsarbeiderne, og Josjafat, sønn av Ahilud, var historieskriver.

And Adoram was overseer of the forced work; and Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, was the recorder;

25 Sjeba var sekretær, og Sadok og Abjatar var prester;

And Sheva was the scribe, and Zadok and Abiathar were priests;

26 Og dessuten var Ira, ja’iritten, prest for David.

And in addition, Ira the Jairite was a priest to David.