1. There happened to be a troublemaker there named Sheba son of Bicri, a man from the tribe of Benjamin. Sheba blew a ram’s horn and began to chant: “Down with the dynasty of David!We have no interest in the son of Jesse.Come on, you men of Israel,back to your homes!”
2. So all the men of Israel deserted David and followed Sheba son of Bicri. But the men of Judah stayed with their king and escorted him from the Jordan River to Jerusalem.
3. When David came to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to look after the palace and placed them in seclusion. Their needs were provided for, but he no longer slept with them. So each of them lived like a widow until she died.
4. Then the king told Amasa, “Mobilize the army of Judah within three days, and report back at that time.”
5. So Amasa went out to notify Judah, but it took him longer than the time he had been given.
6. Then David said to Abishai, “Sheba son of Bicri is going to hurt us more than Absalom did. Quick, take my troops and chase after him before he gets into a fortified town where we can’t reach him.”