Judg 12:1-6, 2Sa 2:14-17, 19:41-20:22, Pro 17:19, 26:21, 29:22 | ESV | STEP | The men of Ephraim were called to arms , and they crossed to Zaphon and said to Jephthah , Why did you cross over to fight against the Ammonites and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house over you with fire .

1 ^aThe men of Ephraim were called to arms, and they crossed to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, “Why did you cross over to fight against the Ammonites and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house over you with fire.” 2 And Jephthah said to them, “I and my people had a great dispute with the Ammonites, and when I called you, you did not save me from their hand. 3 And when I saw that you would not save me, ^bI took my life in my hand and crossed over against the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day to fight against me?” 4 Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim. And the men of Gilead struck Ephraim, because they said, ^c“You are fugitives of Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim and Manasseh.” 5 And the Gileadites captured ^dthe fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. And when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, “Let me go over,” the men of Gilead said to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” When he said, “No,” 6 they said to him, “Then say Shibboleth,” and he said, “Sibboleth,” for he could not pronounce it right. Then they seized him and slaughtered him at ^ethe fords of the Jordan. At that time 42,000 of the Ephraimites fell.

2 Samuel 2:14-17

14 And Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men arise and compete before us.” And Joab said, “Let them arise.” 15 Then they arose and passed over by number, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. 16 And each caught his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent’s side, so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, ^{▼▼ Helkath-hazzurim means the field of sword-edges} which is at Gibeon. 17 And the battle was very fierce that day. And Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David.

2 Samuel 19:41-43

41 Then all the men of Israel came to the king and said to the king, “Why have our brothers the men of Judah stolen you away and ^gbrought the king and his household over the Jordan, and all David’s men with him?” 42 All the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, “Because the king is ^hour close relative. Why then are you angry over this matter? Have we eaten at all at the king’s expense? Or has he given us any gift?” 43 And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, “We have ⁱten shares in the king, and in David also we have more than you. Why then did you despise us? Were we not the first to speak of bringing back our king?” ^jBut the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.

2 Samuel 20:1-22

The Rebellion of Sheba

1 Now there happened to be there ^ka worthless man, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite. And he blew the trumpet and said,

^l“We have no portion in David,
and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse;
^mevery man to his tents, O Israel!”
2 So all the men of Israel withdrew from David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah followed their king steadfastly from the Jordan to Jerusalem.

3 And David came to his house at Jerusalem. And the king took ⁿthe ten concubines whom he had left to care for the house and put them in a house under guard and provided for them, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up until the day of their death, living as if in widowhood.

4 Then the king said to ^oAmasa, “Call the men of Judah together to me within three days, and be here yourself.” 5 So Amasa went to summon Judah, but he delayed beyond the set time that had been appointed him. 6 And David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom. Take ^pyour lord’s servants and pursue him, lest he get himself to fortified cities and escape from us.” ^{▼▼Hebrew and snatch away our eyes} 7 And there went out after him Joab’s men and the ^rCherethites and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men. They went out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri. 8 When they were at the great stone that is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Now Joab was wearing a soldier’s garment, and over it was a belt with a sword in its sheath fastened on his thigh, and as he went forward it fell out. 9 And Joab said to Amasa, “Is it well with you, my brother?” And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand ^sto kiss him. 10 But Amasa did not observe the sword that was in Joab’s hand. ^tSo Joab struck him with it ^uin the stomach and spilled his entrails to the ground without striking a second blow, and he died.

Then Joab and Abishai his brother pursued Sheba the son of Bichri. 11 And one of Joab’s young men took his stand by Amasa and said, “Whoever favors Joab, and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab.” 12 And Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the highway. And anyone who came by, seeing him, stopped. And when the man saw that all the people stopped, he carried Amasa out of the highway into the field and threw a garment over him. 13 When he was taken out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.

14 And Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to ^vAbel of ^wBeth-maacah, ^{▼▼Compare 20:15; Hebrew and Beth-maacah} and all ^ythe Bichrites ^{▼▼Hebrew Berites} assembled and followed him in. 15 And all the men who were with Joab came and besieged him in ^aaAbel of Beth-maacah. ^abThey cast up a mound against the city, and it stood against the rampart, and they were battering the wall to throw it down. 16 Then a wise woman called from the city, “Listen! Listen! Tell Joab, ‘Come here, that I may speak to you.’” 17 And he came near her, and the woman said, “Are you Joab?” He answered, “I am.” Then she said to him, “Listen to the words of your servant.” And he answered, “I am listening.” 18 Then she said, “They used to say in former times, ‘Let them but ask counsel at ^acAbel,’ and so they settled a matter. 19 I am one of those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel. You seek to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why will you ^adswallow up ^aethe heritage of the Lord?” 20 Joab answered, “Far be it from me, far be it, that I should ^afswallow up or destroy! 21 That is not true. But a man of ^agthe hill country of Ephraim, called Sheba the son of Bichri, has lifted up his hand against King David. Give up him alone, and I will withdraw from the city.” And the woman said to Joab, “Behold, his head shall be thrown to you over the wall.” 22 Then the woman went to all the people ^ahin her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri and threw it out to Joab. So he blew the trumpet, and they dispersed from the city, ^aievery man to his home. And Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king.

Proverbs 17:19

19 Whoever loves transgression loves strife;
he who ^ajmakes his door high seeks destruction.

Proverbs 26:21

21 As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire,
so is ^aka quarrelsome man for kindling strife.

Proverbs 29:22

22 ^alA man of wrath stirs up strife,
and one given to anger causes much transgression.