2 Samuel 20:4-13

4The king said to Amasa, ‘Bring all the men of Judah's tribe here to me. Three days from now, I will meet with them. You must also be here yourself.’

5Amasa went to fetch Judah's men, but he did not return in three days.

6Then David said to Abishai, ‘Bicri's son, Sheba, will cause us more trouble than Absalom did. Take my soldiers and chase after him. If you do not catch him, his people will hide in towns with strong walls. Then he will escape from us.’

7So Abishai took Joab's soldiers, as well as the king's personal guards, the Pelethites and the Kerethites. He and all the king's soldiers marched out from Jerusalem to find Sheba.

8When they arrived at the big rock in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Joab was wearing his soldier's clothes. He had a long knife that was tied to his belt. As Joab went towards Amasa, the knife fell to the ground.

9Joab said to Amasa, ‘How are you, my brother?’ He took hold of Amasa's beard with his right hand. He pretended that he wanted to kiss him.

10But Amasa did not see the knife in Joab's other hand. Joab pushed the knife into Amasa's stomach. His inside parts poured out onto the ground. He died immediately. Joab did not have to hit him again. Then Joab and his brother Abishai continued to chase after Sheba.

11One of Joab's soldiers stood beside Amasa's dead body. He shouted, ‘If you are fighting for Joab and for King David, you must follow Joab!’

12Amasa's dead body was lying in the road. His blood was all around it. All the soldiers who came there stopped when they saw the body. So the man pulled Amasa's dead body off the road into a field. He covered it with a cloth.

13After he had removed Amasa's dead body from the road, the soldiers all followed Joab. They continued to chase after Bicri's son, Sheba.