Then it came about afterwards
that aDavid
inquired
of the LORD
, saying
, "Shall I go
up to one
of the cities
of Judah
?" And the LORD
said
to him, "Go
up." So David
said
, "Where
shall I go
up?" And He said
, " bTo Hebron
."
So David went
up there
, and ahis two
wives
also
, Ahinoam
the Jezreelitess
and Abigail
the 1widow
of Nabal
the Carmelite
.
And aDavid brought
up his men
who
were with him, each
with his household
; and they lived
in the cities
of Hebron
.
Then the men of Judah
came
and there
aanointed
David
king
over
the house
of Judah
.
And they told David
, saying
, "It was bthe men
of Jabesh-gilead
who
buried
Saul
."
David sent
messengers
to the men
of Jabesh-gilead
, and said
to them, " aMay you be blessed
of the LORD
because
you have 1shown
this
kindness
to Saul
your lord
, and have buried
him.
"Now amay the LORD
1show
lovingkindness
and truth
to you; and I also
will 1show
this
goodness
to you, because
you have done
this
thing
.
"Now therefore, let your hands
be strong
and be 1valiant
; for Saul
your lord
is dead
, and also
the house
of Judah
has anointed
me king
over
them."
But aAbner the son
of Ner
, commander
of Saul's
army
, had taken
1Ish-bosheth
the son
of Saul
and brought
him over
to bMahanaim
.
He made him king
over
aGilead
, over
the bAshurites
, over
cJezreel
, over
Ephraim
, and over
Benjamin
, even over
all
Israel
.
Ish-bosheth, Saul's
son
, was forty
years
old
when he became
king
over
Israel
, and he was king
for two
years
. The house
of Judah
, however
, followed
David
.
aThe 1time that David
was king
in Hebron
over
the house
of Judah
was seven
years
and six
months
.
Now Abner the son
of Ner
, went
out from Mahanaim
to aGibeon
with the servants
of Ish-bosheth
the son
of Saul
.
And aJoab the son
of Zeruiah
and the servants
of David
went
out and met
1them by the pool
of Gibeon
; and they sat
down
, 2one
on the one
side
of the pool
and 2the other
on the other
side
of the pool
.
Then Abner said
to Joab
, "Now
let the young
men
arise
and 1 ahold
a contest
before
us." And Joab
said
, "Let them arise
."
So they arose and went
over
by count
, twelve
for Benjamin
and Ish-bosheth
the son
of Saul
, and twelve
of the servants
of David
.
Each one
of them seized
his 1opponent
by the head
and thrust his sword
in his 2opponent's
side
; so they fell
down
together
. Therefore that place
was called
3Helkath-hazzurim
, which
is in Gibeon
.
That day the battle
was very
severe
, and aAbner
and the men
of Israel
were beaten
before
the servants
of David
.
Now athe three sons
of Zeruiah
were there
, Joab
and Abishai
and Asahel
; and Asahel
was bas 1swift-footed
as one
of the gazelles
which
is in the field
.
Asahel pursued
Abner
and did not 1turn
to the right
or to the left
from following
Abner
.
Then Abner looked
behind
him and said
, "Is that you, Asahel
?" And he answered
, "It is I."
So Abner said
to him, " 1Turn
to your right
or
to your left
, and take
hold
of one
of the young
men
for yourself, and take
for yourself his spoil
." But Asahel
was not willing
to turn
aside
from following
him.
Abner repeated
again
to Asahel
, "Turn
1aside
from following
me. Why
should I strike
you to the ground
? aHow
then could I lift
up my face
to your brother
Joab
?"
However, he refused to turn
aside
; therefore Abner
struck
him in the belly
with the butt
end
of the spear
, so that the spear
came
out at his back
. And he fell
there
and died
on the spot
. And it came
about that all
who came
to the place
where
aAsahel
had fallen
and died
, stood
still
.
But Joab and Abishai
pursued
Abner
, and when the sun
was going
down, they came
to the hill
of Ammah
, which
is in front
of Giah
by the way
of the wilderness
of Gibeon
.
The sons of Benjamin
gathered
together behind
Abner
and became
one
band
, and they stood
on the top
of a certain
hill
.
Then Abner called
to Joab
and said
, "Shall the sword
devour
forever
? Do you not know
that it will be bitter
in the end
? How
long
will you 1refrain
from telling
the people
to turn
back
from following
their brothers
?"
Joab said
, "As God
lives
, if
you had not spoken
, surely
then
the people
would have gone
away
in the morning
, each
from following
his brother
."
So Joab blew
the trumpet
; and all
the people
halted
and pursued
Israel
no
longer
, anor
did they continue
to fight
anymore
.
Abner and his men
then went
through the Arabah
all
that night
; so they crossed
the Jordan
, walked
all
morning
, and came
to aMahanaim
.
Then Joab returned
from following
Abner
; when he had gathered
all
the people
together, 1nineteen
of David's
servants
besides Asahel
were missing
.
But the servants of David
had struck
down
many of Benjamin
and Abner's
men
, so that three
hundred
and sixty
men
died
.
And they took up Asahel
and buried
him ain his father's
tomb
which
was in Bethlehem
. Then Joab
and his men
went
all
night
until the day 1dawned
at Hebron
.