2 Samuel 2
2
King of Judah
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.
The End of Saul's House
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.
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2 Samuel 2: KJV
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Rights in the Authorized (King James) Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Published by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.
Learn More About King James Version2 Samuel 2
2
David made king in Hebron
1Some time later, David questioned the LORD, “Should I go to one of the towns in Judah?”
“Yes, go,” the LORD told him.
“Which one should I go to?” David asked.
“To Hebron,” the LORD replied.
2So David went there, along with his two wives: Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, Nabal’s widow, from Carmel. 3David also took the soldiers who were with him, each with his family, and they lived in the towns around Hebron. 4Then the people of Judah came to Hebron and anointed David king over the house of Judah.
When David was informed that it was the people of Jabesh-gilead who had buried Saul, 5he sent messengers to the people of Jabesh-gilead. “The LORD bless you,” he said to them, “for doing this loyal deed for your master Saul by burying him. 6May the LORD now show you loyal love and faithfulness. I myself will also reward you because you did this. 7So now take courage and be brave—yes, your master Saul is dead, but the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”
Israel’s King Ishbosheth
8Meanwhile, Abner, Ner’s son, the commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ishbosheth,#2.8 Ishbosheth means man of shame; shame (Heb bosheth) may be a deliberate alteration from Baal (cf Esh-baal, man of Baalin 1 Chron 8:33; 9:39; see also 2 Sam 4:4); one manuscript of LXXL reads Ishbaal. Saul’s son, and brought him over to Mahanaim. 9There he made him king over Gilead, the Geshurites,#2.9 Syr, Vulg; MT Ashurites or Assyrians;cf Tg, LXXL, Judg 1:32 Asherites Jezreel, Ephraim, and Benjamin—over all Israel. 10Saul’s son Ishbosheth was 40 years old when he became king over Israel, and he ruled for two years. The house of Judah, however, followed David. 11The amount of time David ruled in Hebron over the house of Judah totaled seven and a half years.
Conflict between Judah and Israel
12Abner, Ner’s son, along with the soldiers of Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, left Mahanaim to go to Gibeon. 13Joab, Zeruiah’s son, and David’s soldiers also came out and confronted them at the pool of Gibeon. One group sat on one side of the pool; the other sat on the opposite side of the pool. 14Abner said to Joab, “Let’s have the young men fight in a contest#2.14 Or come forward and play or compete before us.”
“All right,” Joab said, “let’s do it.” 15So the men came forward and were counted as they passed by: twelve for Benjamin and Ishbosheth, Saul’s son; and twelve of David’s soldiers. 16Each man grabbed his opponent by the head and stuck#2.16 Heb lacks stuck. his sword into his opponent’s side so that they both fell dead together. That’s why that place is called The Field of Daggers,#2.16 Heb Helkath-hazzurim which is located in Gibeon. 17A fierce battle took place that day, and Abner and the Israelite troops were defeated by David’s soldiers.
18Now Zeruiah’s three sons were present at the battle: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel was as fast as a gazelle in an open field. 19Asahel went after Abner, staying completely focused in his pursuit of Abner.
20Abner looked behind him and said, “Is that you, Asahel?”
“Yes, it’s me,” Asahel answered.
21“Break off your pursuit!” Abner told him. “Fight one of the young warriors and take his gear for yourself!” But Asahel wouldn’t stop chasing him.
22So Abner repeated himself to Asahel: “Stop chasing me. Why should I kill you? How could I look your brother Joab in the face?” 23But Asahel wouldn’t turn back, so Abner hit him in the stomach with the back end of his spear. But the spear went through Asahel’s back. He fell down and died right there.
Everyone who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died just stood there, 24but Joab and Abishai went after Abner. The sun was setting when they came to the hill of Ammah, which faces Giah on the road to the Gibeon wilderness. 25The Benjaminites rallied behind Abner, forming a single unit. Then they took their positions on the top of a hill. 26Abner yelled down to Joab, “Must the sword keep killing forever? Don’t you realize that this will end bitterly? How long before you order the troops to stop chasing their brothers?”
27“As surely as God lives,” Joab replied, “if you hadn’t just said that, the soldiers would have continued after their brothers until morning.” 28Joab blew the trumpet,#2.28 Heb shofar and all the soldiers stopped. They didn’t pursue Israel anymore, nor did they continue to fight.
29Abner and his men then marched all night through the wilderness, crossing the Jordan River and marching all morning#2.29 Heb uncertain until they got to Mahanaim. 30Joab, meanwhile, returned from pursuing Abner and assembled the troops. Nineteen of David’s soldiers were counted missing in addition to Asahel. 31But David’s soldiers had defeated the Benjaminites, killing three hundred sixty of Abner’s soldiers. 32They took Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb in Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched all night. When daylight came, they were in Hebron.
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