II Samuel 2

¹And it came to pass after this, that David enquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the Lord said unto him, Go up. And David said, Whither shall I go up? And he said, Unto Hebron.

²So David went up thither, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail Nabal’s wife the Carmelite.

³And his men that were with him did David bring up, every man with his household: and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron.

⁴And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, That the men of Jabesh–gilead were they that buried Saul.

⁵And David sent messengers unto the men of Jabesh–gilead, and said unto them, Blessed be ye of the Lord, that ye have shewed this kindness unto your lord, even unto Saul, and have buried him.

⁶And now the Lord shew kindness and truth unto you: and I also will requite you this kindness, because ye have done this thing.

⁷Therefore now let your hands be strengthened, and be ye valiant: for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah have anointed me king over them.

⁸But Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul’s host, took Ish–bosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim;

⁹And made him king over Gilead, and over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel.

¹⁰Ish–bosheth Saul’s son was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David.

¹¹And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

¹²And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish–bosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.

¹³And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out, and met together by the pool of Gibeon: and they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool.

¹⁴And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise, and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.

¹⁵Then there arose and went over by number twelve of Benjamin, which pertained to Ish–bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.

¹⁶And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow’s side; so they fell down together: wherefore that place was called Helkath–hazzurim, which is in Gibeon.

¹⁷And there was a very sore battle that day; and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David.

¹⁸And there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe.

¹⁹And Asahel pursued after Abner; and in going he turned not to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner.

²⁰Then Abner looked behind him, and said, Art thou Asahel? And he answered, I am.

²¹And Abner said to him, Turn thee aside to thy right hand or to thy left, and lay thee hold on one of the young men, and take thee his armour. But Asahel would not turn aside from following of him.

²²And Abner said again to Asahel, Turn thee aside from following me: wherefore should I smite thee to the ground? how then should I hold up my face to Joab thy brother?

²³Howbeit he refused to turn aside: wherefore Abner with the hinder end of the spear smote him under the fifth rib, that the spear came out behind him; and he fell down there, and died in the same place: and it came to pass, that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still.

²⁴Joab also and Abishai pursued after Abner: and the sun went down when they were come to the hill of Ammah, that lieth before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon.

²⁵And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together after Abner, and became one troop, and stood on the top of an hill.

²⁶Then Abner called to Joab, and said, Shall the sword devour for ever? knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? how long shall it be then, ere thou bid the people return from following their brethren?

²⁷And Joab said, As God liveth, unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone up every one from following his brother.

²⁸So Joab blew a trumpet, and all the people stood still, and pursued after Israel no more, neither fought they any more.

²⁹And Abner and his men walked all that night through the plain, and passed over Jordan, and went through all Bithron, and they came to Mahanaim.

³⁰And Joab returned from following Abner: and when he had gathered all the people together, there lacked of David’s servants nineteen men and Asahel.

³¹But the servants of David had smitten of Benjamin, and of Abner’s men, so that three hundred and threescore men died.

³²And they took up Asahel, and buried him in the sepulchre of his father, which was in Beth–lehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at break of day.

II Samuel 2

¹Now 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.

²So David went there, taking with him his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail, the wife of Nabal of Carmel.

³And David took all his men with him, every man with his family: and they were living in the towns round Hebron.

⁴And 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.

⁵And 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!

⁶May 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.

⁷Then let your hands be strong, and have no fear: though Saul your lord is dead, the people of Judah have made me their king.

⁸Now Abner, the son of Ner, captain of Saul's army, had taken Saul's son Ish-bosheth over to Mahanaim,

⁹And made him king over Gilead and the Asherites and over Jezreel and Ephraim and Benjamin, that is, over all Israel.

¹⁰(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.

¹¹And the time when David was king in Hebron over the people of Judah was seven years and six months.

¹²And Abner, the son of Ner, with the servants of Saul's son Ish-bosheth, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.

¹³And 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.

¹⁴And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men give a test of their strength before us. And Joab said, Let them do so.

¹⁵So they got up and went over by number: twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth and twelve of the servants of David.

¹⁶And 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.

¹⁷And there was hard fighting that day; and Abner and the men of Israel gave way before the servants of David.

¹⁸There were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab and Abishai and Asahel: and Asahel was as quick-footed as a roe of the fields.

¹⁹Asahel went running after Abner, not turning to the right or to the left.

²⁰Then Abner, looking back, said, Is it you, Asahel? And he said, It is I.

²¹And 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.

²²Then 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.

²³But 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.

²⁴But 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.

²⁵And the men of Benjamin came together after Abner in one band, and took their places on the top of a hill.

²⁶Then 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?

²⁷And 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.

²⁸So Joab had a horn sounded, and all the people came to a stop, and gave up going after Israel and fighting them.

²⁹And all that night Abner and his men went through the Arabah; they went over Jordan and through all Bithron and came to Mahanaim.

³⁰And 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.

³¹But David's men had put to death three hundred and sixty of the men of Benjamin and of Abner's men

³²And 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.