2 Samuel 2
2
David Is Anointed to Be King Over Judah
1After Saul and Jonathan died, David asked the Lord for advice. “Should I go up to one of the towns of Judah?” he asked.
The Lord said, “Go up.”
David asked, “Where should I go?”
“To Hebron,” the Lord answered.
2So David went up there with his two wives. Their names were Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail from Carmel. Abigail was Nabal’s widow. 3David also took his men and their families with him. They made their homes in Hebron and its towns. 4Then the men of Judah came to Hebron. There they anointed David to be king over the people of Judah.
David was told that the men from Jabesh Gilead had buried Saul’s body. 5So he sent messengers to them to speak for him. The messengers said, “You were kind to bury the body of your master Saul. May the Lord bless you for that. 6And may he now be kind and faithful to you. David will treat you well for being kind to Saul’s body. 7Now then, be strong and brave. Your master Saul is dead. And the people of Judah have anointed David to be king over them.”
The Armies of David and Saul Fight Each Other
8Abner, the son of Ner, was commander of Saul’s army. Abner had brought Saul’s son Ish-Bosheth to Mahanaim. 9There Abner made Ish-Bosheth king over Gilead, Ashuri and Jezreel. He also made him king over Ephraim, Benjamin and other areas of Israel.
10Ish-Bosheth was 40 years old when he became king over Israel. He ruled for two years. But the people of Judah remained faithful to David. 11David was king in Hebron over the people of Judah for seven and a half years.
12Abner, the son of Ner, left Mahanaim and went to Gibeon. The men of Ish-Bosheth, the son of Saul, went with him. 13Joab, the son of Zeruiah, and David’s men also went out. All of them met at the pool in Gibeon. One group sat down on one side of the pool. The other group sat on the other side.
14Then Abner said to Joab, “Let’s have some of the young men get up and fight. Let’s tell them to fight hand to hand in front of us.”
“All right. Let them do it,” Joab said.
15So the young men stood up and were counted off. There were 12 on the side of Benjamin and Saul’s son Ish-Bosheth. And there were 12 on David’s side. 16Each man grabbed one of his enemies by the head. Each one stuck his dagger into the other man’s side. And all of them fell down together and died. So that place in Gibeon was named Helkath Hazzurim.
17The fighting that day was very heavy. Abner and the Israelites lost the battle to David’s men.
18The three sons of Zeruiah were there. Their names were Joab, Abishai and Asahel. Asahel was as quick on his feet as a wild antelope. 19He chased Abner. He didn’t turn to the right or the left as he chased him. 20Abner looked behind him. He asked, “Asahel, is that you?”
“It is,” he answered.
21Then Abner said to him, “Turn to the right or the left. Fight one of the young men. Take his weapons away from him.” But Asahel wouldn’t stop chasing him.
22Again Abner warned Asahel, “Stop chasing me! If you don’t, I’ll strike you down. Then how could I look your brother Joab in the face?”
23But Asahel refused to give up the chase. So Abner drove the dull end of his spear into Asahel’s stomach. The spear came out through his back. He fell and died right there on the spot. Every man stopped when he came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died.
24But Joab and Abishai chased Abner. As the sun was going down, they came to the hill of Ammah. It was near Giah on the way to the dry and empty land close to Gibeon. 25The men of Benjamin gathered in a group around Abner. They took their stand on top of a hill.
26Abner called out to Joab, “Do you want our swords to keep on killing us off? Don’t you know that all this fighting will end in bitter feelings? How long will it be before you order your men to stop chasing their fellow Israelites?”
27Joab answered, “It’s a good thing you spoke up. If you hadn’t, the men would have kept on chasing them until morning. And that’s just as sure as God is alive.”
28So Joab blew a trumpet. All the troops stopped. They didn’t chase Israel anymore. They didn’t fight anymore either.
29All that night Abner and his men marched through the Arabah Valley. They went across the Jordan River. All morning long they kept on going. Finally, they came to Mahanaim.
30Then Joab stopped chasing Abner. He gathered together the whole army. Besides Asahel, only 19 of David’s men were missing. 31But David’s men had killed 360 men from Benjamin who were with Abner. 32They got Asahel’s body and buried it in his father’s tomb at Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched all night. They arrived at Hebron at sunrise.
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2 Samuel 2: NIrV
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2 Samuel 2
2
David Is Anointed King. 1After this, David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go up into one of the cities of Judah?” The Lord replied to him: Go up. Then David asked, “Where shall I go?” He replied: To Hebron. 2So David went up there, with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the wife of Nabal of Carmel.#1 Sm 25:42–43. 3David also brought up his men with their families, and they dwelt in the towns of Hebron. 4Then the men of Judah came there and anointed David king over the house of Judah.
A report reached David that the people of Jabesh-gilead had buried Saul.#1 Sm 31:11–13. 5So David sent messengers to the people of Jabesh-gilead and said to them: “May you be blessed by the Lord for having done this kindness to your lord Saul in burying him. 6And now may the Lord show you kindness and fidelity. For my part, I will show generosity to you for having done this. 7So take courage and prove yourselves valiant, for though your lord Saul is dead, the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”
IV. THE REIGN OF DAVID
Ishbaal King of Israel. 8Abner, son of Ner, captain of Saul’s army, took Ishbaal,#Ishbaal: here and elsewhere in the Hebrew text, his name appears as “Ishbosheth”; the second part of Ishbaal, -baal, refers to the Canaanite god Baal, and is therefore suppressed, replaced by bosheth, “shame.” son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim,#1 Sm 14:50. 9where he made him king over Gilead, the Asherites, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and the rest of Israel. 10Ishbaal, son of Saul, was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he reigned two years; but the house of Judah followed David. 11In all, David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah seven years and six months.#2 Sm 5:5; 1 Kgs 2:11.
Combat near Gibeon. 12Now Abner, son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbaal, Saul’s son, set out from Mahanaim for Gibeon. 13Joab, son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David also set out and encountered them at the pool of Gibeon. And they sat down, one group on one side of the pool and the other on the opposite side. 14Then Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men rise and perform for us.”#Perform: lit., “play.” Joab replied, “All right.” 15So they rose and were counted off: twelve of the Benjaminites of Ishbaal, son of Saul, and twelve of David’s servants. 16Then each one grasped his opponent’s head and thrust his sword into his opponent’s side, and they all fell down together.#The nature of this gruesome game is not clear, and the place name is variously given in the older texts. And so that place was named the Field of the Sides; it is in Gibeon.
Death of Asahel. 17The battle that day was very fierce, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by David’s servants. 18The three sons of Zeruiah were there—Joab, Abishai, and Asahel.#2 Sm 23:24; 1 Chr 2:16; 27:7. Asahel, who was as fleet of foot as a gazelle in the open field, 19set out after Abner, turning neither right nor left in his pursuit. 20Abner turned around and said, “Is that you, Asahel?” He replied, “Yes.” 21Abner said to him, “Turn right or left; seize one of the young men and take what you can strip from him.” But Asahel would not stop pursuing him. 22Once more Abner said to Asahel: “Stop pursuing me! Why must I strike you to the ground? How could I show my face to your brother Joab?”#2 Sm 3:27–28, 30. 23Still he refused to stop. So Abner struck him in the abdomen with the heel of his spear, and the weapon protruded from his back. He fell there and died on the spot. All who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died, halted. 24But Joab and Abishai continued the pursuit of Abner. The sun had gone down when they came to the hill of Ammah which lies east of the valley toward the wilderness near Geba.
Truce Between Joab and Abner. 25Here the Benjaminites rallied around Abner, forming a single group, and made a stand on a hilltop. 26Then Abner called to Joab and said: “Must the sword devour forever? Do you not know that afterward there will be bitterness? How long before you tell the people to stop pursuing their brothers?” 27Joab replied, “As God lives, if you had not spoken, it would be morning before the people would be stopped from pursuing their brothers.” 28Joab then sounded the horn, and all the people came to a halt, pursuing Israel no farther and fighting no more. 29Abner and his men marched all night long through the Arabah, crossed the Jordan, marched all through the morning, and came to Mahanaim. 30Joab, coming from the pursuit of Abner, assembled all the men. Nineteen other servants of David were missing, besides Asahel. 31But David’s servants had struck down and killed three hundred and sixty men of Benjamin, followers of Abner. 32They took up Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb in Bethlehem. Joab and his men made an all-night march, and dawn found them in Hebron.
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