撒母耳記下 2
1 此後，大衛問耶和華說：「我上猶大的一個城去可以嗎？」耶和華說：「可以。」大衛說：「我上哪一個城去呢？」耶和華說：「上希伯崙去。」
Some time after that, David asked Yahweh, “Should I go back to [live in] one of the towns in Judah?” Yahweh replied, “Yes, go up there.” Then David asked, “To which town should I go?” Yahweh replied, “To Hebron.”
2 於是大衛和他的兩個妻－一個是耶斯列人亞希暖，一個是作過迦密人拿八妻的亞比該－都上那裏去了。
So David went up there, taking his two wives, Ahinoam who was from Jezreel [city], and Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel [city].
3 大衛也將跟隨他的人和他們各人的眷屬一同帶上去，住在希伯崙的城邑中。
He also took the men who had been with him, and their families. They all started to live in villages near Hebron.
4 猶大人來到希伯崙，在那裏膏大衛作猶大家的王。 有人告訴大衛說：「葬埋掃羅的是基列‧雅比人。」
Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and [one of] them poured olive oil on David’s head [to show they were appointing him to be] [MTY] the king of the tribe [MTY] of Judah. When David found out that the people of Jabesh [town] in [the] Gilead [region] had buried Saul’s body,
5 大衛就差人去見基列‧雅比人，對他們說：「你們厚待你們的主－掃羅，將他葬埋。願耶和華賜福與你們！
he sent messengers to the men of Jabesh to tell them this: “I desire/hope that Yahweh will bless you for having shown, by burying the body of Saul your king, that you were loyal to him.
6 你們既行了這事，願耶和華以慈愛誠實待你們，我也要為此厚待你們。
Now I also desire/hope that Yahweh will faithfully love you and be loyal to you. And I will do good things for you because of what you have done [for Saul].
7 現在你們的主－掃羅死了，猶大家已經膏我作他們的王，所以你們要剛強奮勇。」
Now, although Saul your king is dead, be strong and courageous, like the people of Judah, who have appointed me to be their king.”
8 掃羅的元帥尼珥的兒子押尼珥，曾將掃羅的兒子伊施波設帶過河，到瑪哈念，
[While this was happening], Ner’s son Abner, the commander of Saul’s army, took Saul’s son Ishbosheth and went across [the Jordan River] to Mahanaim [town].
9 立他作王，治理基列、亞書利、耶斯列、以法蓮、便雅憫，和以色列眾人。
There Abner proclaimed that Ishbosheth was now the king of [the] Gilead [region] and of the tribe of Asher and the region of Jezreel and the tribes of Ephraim and Benjamin. That meant that he was the king of all of the people of Israel.
10 掃羅的兒子伊施波設登基的時候年四十歲，作以色列王二年；惟獨猶大家歸從大衛。
Ishbosheth was 40 years old when he started to rule over the people of Israel. He ruled them for two years. But the tribe of Judah (was loyal to David/wanted David to be their king),
11 大衛在希伯崙作猶大家的王，共七年零六個月。
and he ruled them for seven and a half years while he was living in Hebron.
12 尼珥的兒子押尼珥和掃羅的兒子伊施波設的僕人從瑪哈念出來，往基遍去。
[One day] Abner and the officials of Isbosheth went from Mahanaim [across the Jordan River] to Gibeon [city].
13 洗魯雅的兒子約押和大衛的僕人也出來，在基遍池旁與他們相遇；一班坐在池這邊，一班坐在池那邊。
Joab, whose mother was Zeruiah, and some of David’s officials [went from Hebron to Gibeon, and] met at the pool there. They all sat down, the one group on one side of the pool and the other group on the other side.
14 押尼珥對約押說：「讓少年人起來，在我們面前戲耍吧！」約押說：「可以。」
Abner said to Joab, “Let’s tell some of our young men to fight each other!” Joab replied, “Okay!”
15 就按着定數起來：屬掃羅兒子伊施波設的便雅憫人過去十二名，大衛的僕人也過去十二名，
So twelve men from the tribe of Benjamin fought for Ishbosheth, against twelve of David’s soldiers.
16 彼此揪頭，用刀刺肋，一同仆倒。所以，那地叫做希利甲‧哈素林，就在基遍。
Each of them grabbed the head of the man against whom he was fighting, and thrust his sword into that man’s side. The result was that all 24 of them fell down dead. So that area in Gibeon is now called ‘Field of Swords’.
17 那日的戰事凶猛，押尼珥和以色列人敗在大衛的僕人面前。
Then [the others started to fight]. It was a very fierce battle. Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by David’s soldiers.
18 在那裏有洗魯雅的三個兒子：約押、亞比篩、亞撒黑。亞撒黑腳快如野鹿一般；
Zeruiah’s three sons were there [on that day]: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel was able to run very fast; he could run as fast as a wild gazelle/antelope.
19 亞撒黑追趕押尼珥，直追趕他不偏左右。
Asahel started to pursue Abner. He ran straight toward Abner, without stopping.
20 押尼珥回頭說：「你是亞撒黑嗎？」回答說：「是。」
Abner looked behind him, and said “Is that you, Asahel?” Asahel replied, “Yes!”
21 押尼珥對他說：「你或轉向左轉向右，拿住一個少年人，剝去他的戰衣。」亞撒黑卻不肯轉開不追趕他。
Abner yelled at him, “Turn to one side or the other, [and pursue someone else]!” But Asahel would not stop pursuing Abner.
22 押尼珥又對亞撒黑說：「你轉開不追趕我吧！我何必殺你呢？若殺你，有甚麼臉見你哥哥約押呢？」
So Abner yelled at him again, “Stop (chasing after/pursuing) me! (Why should I kill you?/It would not be good for me to kill you!) [RHQ] If I did that, (how could I (face/be reconciled with) your brother Joab?/it would be very difficult for me to (face/be reconciled with) your brother Joab.) [RHQ]”
23 亞撒黑仍不肯轉開。故此，押尼珥就用槍鐏刺入他的肚腹，甚至槍從背後透出，亞撒黑就在那裏仆倒而死。眾人趕到亞撒黑仆倒而死的地方，就都站住。
But Asahel refused to stop pursuing Abner. So Abner [suddenly turned and] thrust the butt end of his spear into Asahel’s stomach. Because he thrust it very strongly, that end of the spear [went though Asahel’s body and] came out at his back, and he fell to the ground, dead. All the other soldiers who came to the place where his body was lying stopped and stood there, [stunned].
24 約押和亞比篩追趕押尼珥，日落的時候，到了通基遍曠野的路旁，基亞對面的亞瑪山。
But Joab and Abishai continued to pursue Abner. At sunset they came to Ammah Hill, which is east of Giah, along the road to the desert near Gibeon.
25 便雅憫人聚集，跟隨押尼珥站在一個山頂上。
The men from the tribe of Benjamin gathered around Abner in one group, and stood at the top of a hill.
26 押尼珥呼叫約押說：「刀劍豈可永遠殺人嗎？你豈不知終久必有苦楚嗎？你要等何時才叫百姓回去、不追趕弟兄呢？」
Then Abner called out to Joab, saying “Are we going to continue to fight forever [RHQ]? Do you not realize that [if we continue fighting], the result will be very bad [RHQ]? We are all descendants of Jacob. [So we should stop fighting each other] (How long will it be until you tell your soldiers to stop pursuing us?/Tell your soldiers to stop pursuing us.)” [RHQ]
27 約押說：「我指着永生的上帝起誓：你若不說戲耍的那句話，今日早晨百姓就回去，不追趕弟兄了。」
Joab replied, “Just as surely as God lives, if you had not said that, my soldiers would have continued pursuing your men until tomorrow morning!”
28 於是約押吹角，眾民就站住，不再追趕以色列人，也不再打仗了。
So Joab blew a trumpet [to signal that they should stop fighting]. So all his men did that. They did not pursue the soldiers of Israel any more, and they stopped fighting.
29 押尼珥和跟隨他的人整夜經過亞拉巴，過約旦河，走過畢倫，到了瑪哈念。
That night Abner and his soldiers went through the Jordan [River] Valley. They crossed the Jordan [River] and marched all the next morning, and they finally arrived at Mahanaim.
30 約押追趕押尼珥回來，聚集眾民，見大衛的僕人中缺少了十九個人和亞撒黑。
Joab [and his soldiers] stopped pursuing Abner. And when he gathered all his soldiers together, he found out that in addition to Asahel, only 19 of them had been killed in the battle.
31 但大衛的僕人殺了便雅憫人和跟隨押尼珥的人，共三百六十名。
But David’s soldiers had killed 360 of Abner’s men, all from the tribe of Benjamin.
32 眾人將亞撒黑送到伯利恆，葬在他父親的墳墓裏。約押和跟隨他的人走了一夜，天亮的時候到了希伯崙。
[Some of Joab’s soldiers] took Asahel’s body and buried it in the tomb where his father had been buried, in Bethlehem. Then they marched all during the night, and at dawn they arrived [back home] at Hebron.
