2 Samuel 2
1 After this David asked Yahweh and said, “Should I go up to one of the cities of Judah?” Yahweh replied to him, “Go up.” David said, “To which city should I go?” Yahweh replied, “To Hebron.”
Now after this, David, questioning the Lord, said, Am I to go up into any of the towns of Judah? And the Lord said to him, Go up. And David said, Where am I to go? And he said, To Hebron.
2 So David went up with his two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel, and Abigail from Carmel, the widow of Nabal.
So David went there, taking with him his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail, the wife of Nabal of Carmel.
3 David brought the men who were with him, who each brought his family, to the cities of Hebron, where they began to live.
And David took all his men with him, every man with his family: and they were living in the towns round Hebron.
4 Then men from Judah came and anointed David king over the house of Judah. They told David, “The men of Jabesh Gilead have buried Saul.”
And the men of Judah came there, and with the holy oil made David king over the people of Judah. And word came to David that it was the men of Jabesh-gilead who put Saul's body in its last resting-place.
5 So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead and said to them, “You are blessed by Yahweh, since you have showed this loyalty to your master Saul and have buried him.
And David sent to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, May the Lord give you his blessing, because you have done this kind act to Saul your lord, and have put his body to rest!
6 Now may Yahweh show you covenantal loyalty and faithfulness. I also will show you this goodness because you have done this thing.
May the Lord be good and true to you: and I myself will see that your kind act is rewarded, because you have done this thing.
7 Now then, let your hands be strong; be courageous for Saul your master is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”
Then let your hands be strong, and have no fear: though Saul your lord is dead, the people of Judah have made me their king.
8 But Abner son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, took Ishbosheth son of Saul and brought him to Mahanaim.
Now Abner, the son of Ner, captain of Saul's army, had taken Saul's son Ish-bosheth over to Mahanaim,
9 He made Ishbosheth king over Gilead, Asher, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and over all Israel.
And made him king over Gilead and the Asherites and over Jezreel and Ephraim and Benjamin, that is, over all Israel.
10 Ishbosheth son of Saul, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David.
(Saul's son Ish-bosheth was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he was ruler for two years.) But Judah was on the side of David.
11 The time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
And the time when David was king in Hebron over the people of Judah was seven years and six months.
12 Abner son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
And Abner, the son of Ner, with the servants of Saul's son Ish-bosheth, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
13 Joab son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and met them by the pool of Gibeon. There they sat down, one group on one side of the pool and the other on the other side.
And Joab, the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out and came face to face with them by the pool of Gibeon; and they took up their position, facing one another on opposite sides of the pool.
14 Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men arise and compete before us.” Then Joab said, “Let them arise.”
And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men give a test of their strength before us. And Joab said, Let them do so.
15 Then the young men got up and gathered together, twelve for Benjamin and Ishbosheth son of Saul, and twelve from servants of David.
So they got up and went over by number: twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth and twelve of the servants of David.
16 Each man seized his opponent by the head and thrust his sword into the side of his opponent, and they fell down together. Therefore that place was called “Helkath Hazzurim,” or “Field of Swords,” which is in Gibeon.
And every one got the other by the head, driving his sword into the other's side, so they all went down together: and that place was named the Field of Sides, and it is in Gibeon.
17 The battle was very severe that day and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated before the servants of David.
And there was hard fighting that day; and Abner and the men of Israel gave way before the servants of David.
18 The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel was swift in his feet like a wild gazelle.
There were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab and Abishai and Asahel: and Asahel was as quick-footed as a roe of the fields.
19 Asahel closely pursued Abner and followed him without turning away in any direction.
Asahel went running after Abner, not turning to the right or to the left.
20 Abner looked behind him and said, “Is that you Asahel?” He answered, “It is I.”
Then Abner, looking back, said, Is it you, Asahel? And he said, It is I.
21 Abner said to him, “Turn aside to your right or to your left, and seize one of the young men and take his armor.” But Asahel would not turn aside.
And Abner said, Then go to the right or to the left and put your hands on one of the fighting-men and take his arms. But Asahel would not be turned away from going after Abner.
22 So Abner said again to Asahel, “Stop pursuing me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I hold up my face to Joab, your brother?”
Then again Abner said to Asahel, Go to one side, do not keep on coming after me: why will you make me put an end to you? for then I will be shamed before your brother Joab.
23 But Asahel refused to turn aside, and so Abner stabbed him in the body with the blunt end of his spear, so that the spear came out the other side. Asahel fell down and died there. So it came about that anyone who arrived at the place where Asahel fell down and died, he stopped and stood still.
But still he did not go to one side: so Abner gave him a back blow in the stomach with his spear, so that the spear came out at his back; and he went down on the earth, wounded to death: and all those who came to the place where Asahel went down dead, came to a stop.
24 But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. When the sun was going down, they came to the hill of Ammah, which is near Giah by the road to the wilderness of Gibeon.
But Joab and Abishai went after Abner: and the sun went down when they came to the hill of Ammah, which is to the east of the road through the waste land of Geba.
25 The men of Benjamin gathered themselves together behind Abner and stood on the top of the hill.
And the men of Benjamin came together after Abner in one band, and took their places on the top of a hill.
26 Then Abner called to Joab and said, “Must the sword devour forever? Do you not know it will be bitter in the end? How long will it be before you tell your men to stop pursuing their brothers?”
Then crying out to Joab, Abner said, Are fighting and destruction to go on for ever? do you not see that the end will only be bitter? how long will it be before you send the people back and make them give up attacking their countrymen?
27 Joab replied, “Just as God lives, if you had not said that, my soldiers would have pursued their brothers until the morning!”
And Joab said, By the living God, if you had not given the word, the people would have gone on attacking their countrymen till the morning.
28 So Joab blew the trumpet, and all his men stopped and did not pursue Israel anymore, nor did they fight anymore.
So Joab had a horn sounded, and all the people came to a stop, and gave up going after Israel and fighting them.
29 Abner and his men traveled all that night through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, marched all the next morning, and then reached Mahanaim.
And all that night Abner and his men went through the Arabah; they went over Jordan and through all Bithron and came to Mahanaim.
30 Joab returned from pursuing Abner. He assembled all his men, from whom were missing Asahel and nineteen of David's soldiers.
And Joab came back from fighting Abner: and when he had got all his men together, it was seen that nineteen of David's men, in addition to Asahel, were not with them.
31 But the men of David had killed 360 men of Benjamin with Abner.
But David's men had put to death three hundred and sixty of the men of Benjamin and of Abner's men
32 Then they took up Asahel and buried him in the tomb of his father, which was in Bethlehem. Joab and his men traveled all night, and the day dawned on them at Hebron.
And they took Asahel's body and put it in the last resting-place of his father in Beth-lehem. And Joab and his men, travelling all night, came to Hebron at dawn.
