2 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.footnote a

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

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.footnote d

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.footnote e

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.footnote f

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.footnote gfootnote h

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

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.footnote j

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.footnote kfootnote l

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.

David Anointed King of Judah

1Some time later, David inquired of the LORD, “Should I go up to one of the towns of Judah?”
“Go up,” the LORD answered.
Then David asked, “Where should I go?”
“To Hebron,” replied the LORD.

2So David went there with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 3David also took the men who were with him, each with his household, and they settled in the towns near Hebron.

4Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.”

5So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead to tell them, “The LORD bless you, because you showed this kindness to Saul your lord when you buried him. 6Now may the LORD show you loving devotionfootnote a and faithfulness, and I will also show you the same favor because you have done this. 7Now then, be strong and courageous, for though Saul your lord is dead, the house of Judah has anointed me as their king.”

Ish-bosheth Made King of Israel

8Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, took Saul’s son Ish-bosheth,footnote b moved him to Mahanaim, 9and made him king over Gilead, Asher, Jezreel, Ephraim, and Benjamin—over all Israel.

10Saul’s son Ish-bosheth was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned for two years.
The house of Judah, however, followed David. 11And the length of time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

The Battle of Gibeon

12One day Abner son of Ner and the servants of Ish-bosheth son of Saul marched out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. 13So Joab son of Zeruiah and the servants of David marched out and met them by the pool of Gibeon. And the two groups took up positions on opposite sides of the pool.

14Then Abner said to Joab, “Let us have the young men get up and compete before us.”
“Let them get up,” Joab replied.

15So they got up and were counted off—twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth son of Saul, and twelve for David. 16Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his sword into his opponent’s side, and they all fell together. So this place, which is in Gibeon, is called Helkath-hazzurim.footnote c

17The battle that day was intense, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by the servants of David.

18The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was fleet of foot like a wild gazelle, 19and he chased Abner, not turning to the right or to the left in his pursuit. 20And Abner glanced back and said, “Is that you, Asahel?”
“It is,” Asahel replied.

21So Abner told him, “Turn to your right or to your left, seize one of the young men, and take his equipment for yourself.”
But Asahel would not stop chasing him.

22Once again, Abner warned Asahel, “Stop chasing me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How could I show my face to your brother Joab?”

23But Asahel refused to turn away. So Abner thrust the butt of his spear into his stomach, and it came out his back, and he fell dead on the spot. And every man paused when he came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died. 24But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. By sunset, they had gone as far as the hill of Ammah opposite Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon.

25The Benjamites rallied to Abner, formed a single unit, and took their stand atop a hill. 26Then Abner called out to Joab: “Must the sword devour forever? Do you not realize that this will only end in bitterness? How long before you tell the troops to stop pursuing their brothers?”

27“As surely as God lives,” Joab replied, “if you had not spoken up, the troops would have continued pursuing their brothers until morning.”

28So Joab blew the ram’s horn, and all the troops stopped; they no longer pursued Israel or continued to fight. 29And all that night Abner and his men marched through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, marched all morning,footnote d and arrived at Mahanaim.

30When Joab returned from pursuing Abner, he gathered all the troops.
In addition to Asahel, nineteen of David’s servants were missing, 31but they had struck down 360 Benjamites who were with Abner. 32And they took Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb in Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched all night and reached Hebron at daybreak.