2 Samuel 2

Revised Geneva Translation

2 After this, David asked counsel of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?” And the LORD said to him, “Go up.” And David said, “Where shall I go? He then answered, “To Hebron.”

² So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail, Nabal the Carmelite’s wife.

³ And David brought up the men who were with him, every man with his household. And they dwelt in the cities of Hebron.

⁴ Then the men of Judah came. And they anointed David king over the House of Judah. And they told David, saying that the men of Jabesh Gilead had buried Saul.

⁵ And David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead, and said to them, “Blessed are you of the LORD, in that you have shown such kindness to your lord Saul, that you have buried him!

⁶ “Therefore, now, may the LORD show mercy and truth to you. And I will repay you this benefit, because you have done this thing.

⁷ “Therefore, now, let your hands be strong, and be valiant! For your master Saul is dead, nevertheless the House of Judah has anointed me king over them.”

⁸ But Abner, the son of Ner, who was captain of Saul’s army, took Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, and brought him to Mahanaim,

⁹ and made him king over Gilead, and over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel.

¹⁰ Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel and reigned for two years. But the House of Judah followed David.

¹¹ And the time which David reigned over the House of Judah in Hebron was seven years and six months.

¹² And Abner, the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, went out of Mahanaim to Gibeon.

¹³ And Joab, the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David went out and met one another by the pool of Gibeon. And they sat down, one on one side of the pool and the other on the other side of the pool.

¹⁴ Then Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men arise now and play before us.” And Joab said, “Let them arise.”

¹⁵ Then there arose and went over twelve from Benjamin (belonging to Ishbosheth, the son of Saul) and twelve of the servants of David.

¹⁶ And each one caught another person by the head and thrust his sword in his side, so they fell down together. Therefore, the place was called Helkath Hazzurim (which is in Gibeon).

¹⁷ And the battle was exceedingly fierce that same day. For Abner and the men of Israel fell before the servants of David.

¹⁸ And there were three sons of Zeruiah there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. And Asahel was as swift of foot as a wild gazelle.

¹⁹ And Asahel followed after Abner. And while going, he turned neither to the right nor to the left from Abner.

²⁰ Then Abner looked behind him and said, “Are you Asahel?” And he answered, “Yes.”

²¹ Then Abner said, “Turn yourself either to the right or to the left and take one of the young men and take his weapons for yourself.” And Asahel would not depart from him.

²² And Abner said to Asahel, “Depart from me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then would I be able to hold up my face to Joab, your brother?”

²³ And when he would not depart, Abner, with the blunt end of the spear, struck him under the fifth rib, so that the spear came out behind him. And he fell down there and died in his place. And as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died, stood still.

²⁴ Also, Joab and Abishai pursued after Abner. And the Sun went down after they had come to the hill, Ammah, which lies before Giah, on the road to the wilderness of Gibeon.

²⁵ And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together after Abner, and were a troop, and stood on the top of a hill.

²⁶ Then Abner called to Joab, and said, “Shall the sword devour forever? “Do you not know that it will be bitterness in the end? How long, then, shall it be before you bid the people return from following their brethren?”

²⁷ And Joab said, “As God lives, if you had not spoken, surely the people would have departed in the morning, each one returning from following his brother.”

²⁸ So Joab blew a trumpet. And all the people stood still, and no longer pursued after Israel. Nor did they fight anymore.

²⁹ And Abner and his men walked all that night through the plain, and went over the Jordan, and passed through all Bithron, until they came to Mahanaim.

³⁰ Joab also returned from following Abner. And when he had gathered all the people together, nineteen of David’s servants were missing, and Asahel.

³¹ But the servants of David had struck some of Benjamin and Abner’s men, so that three hundred sixty men died.

³² And they took up Asahel and buried him in the sepulcher of his father, which was in Bethlehem. And Joab and his men went all night. And when they came to Hebron, the day arose.