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 Becomes King of Judah
1After this, David asked the Lord, “Should I go to one of the cities of Judah?”
“Go,” the Lord answered him.
“Where should I go?” David asked.
“To Hebron,” the Lord replied.
2David went there with his two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail (who had been Nabal’s wife) from Carmel. 3David took his men and their families with him, and they settled in the towns around Hebron. 4Then the people of Judah came to Hebron and anointed David to be king over the tribe of Judah.
They told David, “The people of Jabesh Gilead were the ones who buried Saul.” 5So David sent messengers to the people of Jabesh Gilead. He said to them, “May the Lord bless you because you showed kindness to your master Saul by burying him. 6May the Lord always show you kindness. I, too, will be good to you because you did this. 7Now, be strong and courageous. Because your master Saul is dead, the tribe of Judah has anointed me to be their king.”
Abner Makes Ishbosheth King of Israel
8Ner’s son Abner, commander of Saul’s army, took Saul’s son Ishbosheth #2:8 Masoretic Text; 1 Chronicles 8:33; 9:39, Greek “Ishbaal.” and brought him to Mahanaim. 9Abner made him king of Gilead, Asher,#2:9 Or “the Ashurites.” Jezreel, Ephraim, and Benjamin, that is, all Israel. 10Saul’s son Ishbosheth was 40 years old when he became king of Israel. He ruled for two years, but the tribe of Judah followed David. 11In Hebron David was king over the tribe of Judah for seven years and six months.
Conflicts between Abner and Joab
12Ner’s son Abner and the officers of Saul’s son Ishbosheth went from Mahanaim to Gibeon. 13Zeruiah’s son Joab and David’s officers also left ⌞Hebron⌟. Both groups met at the pool of Gibeon. They sat down there, one group on one side of the pool and the other group on the other side of the pool.
14Abner said to Joab, “Let’s have the young men hold a contest.” Joab agreed.
15The men got up and were counted as they passed by. Twelve were from the tribe of Benjamin (representing Saul’s son Ishbosheth), and twelve were from David’s officers. 16Each one grabbed his opponent by the head, stuck his sword into his opponent’s side, and they fell down together. Therefore, that place in Gibeon is called the Field of Enemies. 17Fierce fighting broke out that day, and David’s men defeated Abner and the men of Israel.
18Zeruiah’s three sons were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel was as fast on his feet as a wild gazelle. 19He chased Abner and refused to leave him alone. 20When Abner looked back, he asked, “Are you Asahel?”
“Yes,” Asahel answered.
21Abner told him, “Leave me alone! Catch one of the young men, and take his weapon.”
But Asahel refused to turn away from him. 22So Abner spoke again to Asahel. “Stop following me,” he said. “Why should I kill you? How could I look your brother Joab in the face again?”
23But Asahel refused to turn away. So Abner struck him with the butt of the spear. The spear went into his belly and came out his back. He fell down there and died on the spot. And everyone who came to the place where Asahel fell and died stopped there.
24But Joab and Abishai chased Abner. When the sun went down, they came to the hill of Ammah, opposite Giah on the road from Gibeon to the desert. 25The men of Benjamin rallied behind Abner, banding together and taking their position on top of a hill.
26Then Abner called to Joab, “Should this slaughter go on forever? Don’t you know this will end in bitterness? How long will it be before you will call off your troops from chasing their relatives?”
27Joab answered, “I solemnly swear, as God lives, if you had not spoken, the men would not have stopped chasing their relatives until morning.” 28So Joab blew a ram’s horn, and all the troops stopped. They didn’t chase or fight Israel anymore.
29Abner and his men marched through the plains all that night. They crossed the Jordan River and passed through the entire Bithron until they came to Mahanaim.
30Joab returned from chasing Abner. When he had gathered all the troops, ⌞only⌟ 19 of David’s officers and Asahel were missing. 31However, David’s officers had killed 360 of the men of Benjamin under Abner’s command. 32They took Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb in Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched all night and arrived at Hebron by daybreak.
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