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.”
And it came to pass after this that David enquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up into one of the cities of Juda? and the Lord said to him, Go up. And David said, Whither shall I go up? and he said, To Chebron.
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].
And David went up there to Chebron, [he] and both his wives, Achinaam the Jezraelitess, and Abigaia the wife of Nabal the Carmelite,
3 He also took the men who had been with him, and their families. They all started to live in villages near Hebron.
and the men that were with him, every one and his family; and they lived in the cities of Chebron.
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,
And the men of Judea come, and anoint David there to reign over the house of Juda; and they reported to David, saying, The men of Jabis of the country of Galaad have 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.
And David sent messengers to the rulers of Jabis of the country of Galaad, and David said to them, Blessed be you of the Lord, because you have wrought this mercy toward your lord, even toward Saul the anointed of the Lord, and you have buried him and Jonathan his son.
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].
And now may the Lord deal in mercy and truth towards you: and I also will requite towards you this good deed, because you have done this.
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.”
And now let your hands be made strong, and be valiant; for your master Saul is dead, and moreover the house of Juda have anointed me to be king over them.
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].
But Abenner, the son of Ner, the commander-in-chief of Saul's army, took Jebosthe son of Saul, and brought him up from the camp to Manaem
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.
and made him king over the land of Galaad, and over Thasiri, and over Jezrael, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and 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),
Jebosthe, Saul's son [was] forty years old, when he reigned over Israel; and he reigned two years, but not over the house of Juda, who followed David.
11 and he ruled them for seven and a half years while he was living in Hebron.
And the days which David reigned in Chebron over the house of Juda were seven years and six months.
12 [One day] Abner and the officials of Isbosheth went from Mahanaim [across the Jordan River] to Gibeon [city].
And Abenner the son of Ner went forth, and the servants of Jebosthe the son of Saul, from Manaem to Gabaon.
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.
And Joab the son of Saruia, and the servants of David, went forth from Chebron, and met them at the fountain of Gabaon, at the same place: and these sat down by the fountain on this side, and those by the fountain on that side.
14 Abner said to Joab, “Let’s tell some of our young men to fight each other!” Joab replied, “Okay!”
And Abenner said to Joab, Let now the young men arise, and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.
15 So twelve men from the tribe of Benjamin fought for Ishbosheth, against twelve of David’s soldiers.
And there arose and passed over by number twelve of the children of Benjamin, belonging to Jebosthe the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of 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’.
And they seized every one the head of his neighbor with his hand, and his sword [was thrust] into the side of his neighbor, and they fall down together: and the name of that place was called The portion of the treacherous ones, which is in Gabaon.
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.
And the battle was very severe on that day; and Abenner and the men of Israel were worsted before the servants of David.
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.
And there were there the three sons of Saruia, Joab, and Abessa, and Asael: and Asael was swift in his feet as a roe in the field.
19 Asahel started to pursue Abner. He ran straight toward Abner, without stopping.
And Asael followed after Abenner, and turned not to go to the right hand or to the left from following Abenner.
20 Abner looked behind him, and said “Is that you, Asahel?” Asahel replied, “Yes!”
And Abenner looked behind him, and said, Are you Asael himself? and he said, I am.
21 Abner yelled at him, “Turn to one side or the other, [and pursue someone else]!” But Asahel would not stop pursuing Abner.
And Abenner said to him, Turn you to the right hand or to the left, and lay hold for yourself on one of the young men, and take to yourself his armor: but Asel would not turn back from following 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]”
And Abenner said yet again to Asael, Stand aloof from me, lest I strike you to the ground? and how should I lift up my face to 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].
And what does this mean? return to Joab your brother? But he would not stand aloof; and Abenner smites him with the hinder end of the spear on the loins, and the spear went out behind him, and he falls there and dies on the spot: and it came to pass that every one that came to the place where Asael fell and died, stood still.
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.
And Joab and Abessa pursued after Abenner, and the sun went down: and they went as far as the hill of Amman, which is in the front of Gai, by the desert way of Gabaon.
25 The men from the tribe of Benjamin gathered around Abner in one group, and stood at the top of a hill.
And the children of Benjamin who followed Abenner gather themselves together, and they formed themselves into one body, and stood on the top of a 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]
And Abenner called Joab, and said, Shall the sword devour perpetually? know you not that it will be bitter at last? How long then will you refuse to tell the people to turn from following our brethren?
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!”
And Joab said, As the Lord lives, if you had not spoken, even from the morning the people had gone up every one from following his brother.
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.
And Joab sounded the trumpet, and all the people departed, and did not pursue after Israel, and did not fight any longer.
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.
And Abenner and his men departed at evening, [and went] all that night, and crossed over Jordan, and went along the whole adjacent [country], and they come to the camp.
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.
And Joab returned from following Abenner, and he assembled all the people, and there were missing of the people of David, nineteen men, and Asael.
31 But David’s soldiers had killed 360 of Abner’s men, all from the tribe of Benjamin.
And the servants of David struck of the children of Benjamin, of the men of Abenner, three hundred and sixty men belonging to him.
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.
And they take up Asael, and bury him in the tomb of his father in Bethleem. And Joab and the men with him went all the night, and the morning rose upon them in Chebron.
