2 Samuel 2
1 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.”
Sometime after this, David asked the Lord, “Should I go to one of the towns of Judah?” “Yes, do it,” the Lord replied. “Which one should I go to?” David asked. “Go to Hebron,” said the Lord.
2 So David went up there, taking his two wives, Ahinoam who was from Jezreel [city], and Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel [city].
So David moved there with his two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, Nabal's widow from Carmel.
3 He also took the men who had been with him, and their families. They all started to live in villages near Hebron.
He also brought the men who were with him, along with their families, and they settled in the villages near Hebron.
4 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,
Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and there they anointed David king of the people of Judah. When David found out that it was the men from Jabesh Gilead who had buried Saul,
5 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.
he sent messengers to them, saying, “May the Lord bless you, because you demonstrated your loyal love to Saul your master, and you buried him properly.
6 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].
Now may the Lord show you loyal love and trustworthiness, and I will also be good to you because of what you did for Saul.
7 Now, although Saul your king is dead, be strong and courageous, like the people of Judah, who have appointed me to be their king.”
So be strong and be brave, for even though Saul your master is dead, the people of Judah have anointed me as their king.”
8 [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].
However, Abner, son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, had taken Ishbosheth, son of Saul, to Mahanaim.
9 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.
There he set up Ishbosheth as king over Gilead, Asher, Jezreel, Ephraim, and Benjamin, in fact over all Israel.
10 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),
Ishbosheth, son of Saul, was forty when he became king over Israel, and he reigned for two years. However, the people of Judah were on David's side.
11 and he ruled them for seven and a half years while he was living in Hebron.
David ruled in Hebron as king over the people of Judah for seven years and six months.
12 [One day] Abner and the officials of Isbosheth went from Mahanaim [across the Jordan River] to Gibeon [city].
One day Abner and Ishbosheth's men left Mahanaim and went to the town of Gibeon.
13 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.
Joab, son of Zeruiah, and David's men set off and met them at the pool of Gibeon, where they all sat down, facing each other across the pool.
14 Abner said to Joab, “Let’s tell some of our young men to fight each other!” Joab replied, “Okay!”
Abner said to Joab, “Why not let's have some of the men fight in hand to hand combat before us.” “Fine,” Joab agreed.
15 So twelve men from the tribe of Benjamin fought for Ishbosheth, against twelve of David’s soldiers.
So twelve men came forward from each side—twelve for Benjamin and Ishbosheth, and twelve for David.
16 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’.
Each man grabbed his opponent's head and drove his sword into his opponent's side so that they all fell down dead together. That's why this place in Gibeon is called the Field of Sword-edges.
17 Then [the others started to fight]. It was a very fierce battle. Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by David’s soldiers.
The battle that followed was hard-fought, but eventually Abner and his men were defeated by David's men.
18 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.
The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel was a fast runner, like a gazelle racing across the open countryside.
19 Asahel started to pursue Abner. He ran straight toward Abner, without stopping.
He chased after Abner with single-minded determination.
20 Abner looked behind him, and said “Is that you, Asahel?” Asahel replied, “Yes!”
Abner looked back and asked, “Is that you, Asahel?” “Yes, it's me,” Asahel replied.
21 Abner yelled at him, “Turn to one side or the other, [and pursue someone else]!” But Asahel would not stop pursuing Abner.
Abner told him, “Leave me alone! Go and fight somebody else and take his weapons for yourself!” But Asahel refused to stop chasing him.
22 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]”
Abner warned Asahel again. “Stop chasing me!” he shouted. “Why do you want me to kill you? How could I ever face your brother Joab?”
23 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].
But Asahel wouldn't stop chasing him, so Abner drove the handle of his spear into his belly. It came out the back, and he fell down dead right there. Everyone who passed by stopped at the place where Asahel had fallen and died.
24 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.
But Joab and Abishai set off to chase after Abner. By the time the sun went down they had got as far as the hill of Ammah near Giah, on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon.
25 The men from the tribe of Benjamin gathered around Abner in one group, and stood at the top of a hill.
Abner's men from the tribe of Benjamin rallied to him there, forming a tight group around him standing at the top of the hill.
26 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]
Abner shouted to Joab: “Do we have to keep killing each other forever? Don't you realize that if we go on it'll only get worse? How long are you going to wait before you order your men to stop chasing their brothers?”
27 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!”
“As God lives,” Joab replied, “if you had not said anything, my men would have continued chasing their brothers until the morning.”
28 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.
Joab blew the horn so all the men stopped—they didn't continue chasing or fighting the Israelites.
29 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.
All through the night Abner and his men marched through the Jordan Valley. They crossed the Jordan River, and continued all morning until they arrived back at Mahanaim.
30 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.
When Joab got back from chasing Abner, he gathered all the men together. Nineteen of David's men were missing in addition to Asahel.
31 But David’s soldiers had killed 360 of Abner’s men, all from the tribe of Benjamin.
However, they had killed three hundred and sixty of Abner's men from the tribe of Benjamin.
32 [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.
They took Asahel's body and buried him in his father's tomb in Bethlehem. Then they marched all through the night and reached Hebron at dawn.
