2 Samuel 2
1 Some time later, David inquired of the LORD, “Should I go up to one of the towns of Judah?” “Go up,” the LORD answered. Then David asked, “Where should I go?” “To Hebron,” replied the LORD.
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 So David went there with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel.
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 David also took the men who were with him, each with his household, and they settled in the towns near Hebron.
He also took the men who had been with him, and their families. They all started to live in villages near Hebron.
4 Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.”
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 So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead to tell them, “The LORD bless you, because you showed this kindness to Saul your lord when you buried him.
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 Now may the LORD show you loving devotion and faithfulness, and I will also show you the same favor because you have done this.
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 Now then, be strong and courageous, for though Saul your lord is dead, the house of Judah has anointed me as their king.”
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 Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, took Saul’s son Ish-bosheth, moved him to Mahanaim,
[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 and made him king over Gilead, Asher, Jezreel, Ephraim, and Benjamin—over all Israel.
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 Saul’s son Ish-bosheth was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned for two years. The house of Judah, however, followed David.
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 And the length of time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
and he ruled them for seven and a half years while he was living in Hebron.
12 One day Abner son of Ner and the servants of Ish-bosheth son of Saul marched out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
[One day] Abner and the officials of Isbosheth went from Mahanaim [across the Jordan River] to Gibeon [city].
13 So Joab son of Zeruiah, along with the servants of David, marched out and met them by the pool of Gibeon. And the two camps took up positions on opposite sides of the pool.
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 Then Abner said to Joab, “Let us have the young men get up and compete before us.” “Let them get up,” Joab replied.
Abner said to Joab, “Let’s tell some of our young men to fight each other!” Joab replied, “Okay!”
15 So they got up and were counted off—twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth son of Saul, and twelve for David.
So twelve men from the tribe of Benjamin fought for Ishbosheth, against twelve of David’s soldiers.
16 Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his sword into his opponent’s side, and they all fell together. So this place, which is in Gibeon, is called Helkath-hazzurim.
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 The battle that day was intense, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by the servants of David.
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 The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was fleet of foot like a wild gazelle,
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 and he chased Abner, not turning to the right or to the left in his pursuit.
Asahel started to pursue Abner. He ran straight toward Abner, without stopping.
20 And Abner glanced back and said, “Is that you, Asahel?” “It is,” Asahel replied.
Abner looked behind him, and said “Is that you, Asahel?” Asahel replied, “Yes!”
21 So Abner told him, “Turn to your right or to your left, seize one of the young men, and take his equipment for yourself.” But Asahel would not stop chasing him.
Abner yelled at him, “Turn to one side or the other, [and pursue someone else]!” But Asahel would not stop pursuing Abner.
22 Once again, Abner warned Asahel, “Stop chasing me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How could I show my face to your brother Joab?”
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 But Asahel refused to turn away; so Abner thrust the butt of his spear into his stomach, and it came out his back, and he fell dead on the spot. And every man paused when he came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died.
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 But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. By sunset, they had gone as far as the hill of Ammah opposite Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon.
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 The Benjamites rallied to Abner, formed a single unit, and took their stand atop a hill.
The men from the tribe of Benjamin gathered around Abner in one group, and stood at the top of a hill.
26 Then Abner called out to Joab: “Must the sword devour forever? Do you not realize that this will only end in bitterness? How long before you tell the troops to stop pursuing their brothers?”
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 “As surely as God lives,” Joab replied, “if you had not spoken up, the troops would have continued pursuing their brothers until morning.”
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 So Joab blew the ram’s horn, and all the troops stopped; they no longer pursued Israel or continued to fight.
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 And all that night Abner and his men marched through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, marched all morning, and arrived at Mahanaim.
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 When Joab returned from pursuing Abner, he gathered all the troops. In addition to Asahel, nineteen of David’s servants were missing,
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 but they had struck down 360 Benjamites who were with Abner.
But David’s soldiers had killed 360 of Abner’s men, all from the tribe of Benjamin.
32 Later, they took Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb in Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched all night and reached Hebron at daybreak.
[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.
