Ishbosheth Is Murdered

4 When Saul’s ^[a]son heard that Abner had died in Hebron, ^(A)he^[b] lost heart, and all Israel was ^(B)troubled. ² Now Saul’s son had two men who were captains of troops. The name of one was Baanah and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin. (For ^(C)Beeroth also was ^[c]part of Benjamin, ³ because the Beerothites fled to ^(D)Gittaim and have been sojourners there until this day.)

⁵ Then the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, set out and came at about the heat of the day to the ^(A)house of Ishbosheth, who was lying on his bed at noon. ⁶ And they came there, all the way into the house, as though to get wheat, and they ^[a]stabbed him ^(B)in the stomach. Then Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped. ⁷ For when they came into the house, he was lying on his bed in his bedroom; then they struck him and killed him, beheaded him and took his head, and were all night escaping through the plain. ⁸ And they brought the head of Ishbosheth to David at Hebron, and said to the king, “Here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of Saul your enemy, ^(C)who sought your life; and the Lord has avenged my lord the king this day of Saul and his descendants.”

⁹ But David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, “As the Lord lives, ^(D)who has redeemed my life from all adversity, ¹⁰ when ^(E)someone told me, saying, ‘Look, Saul is dead,’ thinking to have brought good news, I arrested him and had him executed in Ziklag—the one who thought I would give him a reward for his news. ¹¹ How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous person in his own house on his bed? Therefore, shall I not now ^(F)require his ^[b]blood at your hand and ^[c]remove you from the earth?” ¹² So David ^(G)commanded his young men, and they executed them, cut off their hands and feet, and hanged them by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth and buried it in the ^(H)tomb of Abner in Hebron.

David Reigns over All Israel^(A)

5 Then all the tribes of Israel ^(B)came to David at Hebron and spoke, saying, “Indeed ^(C)we are your bone and your flesh. ² Also, in time past, when Saul was king over us, ^(D)you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the Lord said to you, ^(E)‘You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over Israel.’ ” ^3 (F)Therefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, ^(G)and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron ^(H)before the Lord. And they anointed David king over Israel. ⁴ David was ^(I)thirty years old when he began to reign, and ^(J)he reigned forty years. ⁵ In Hebron he reigned over Judah ^(K)seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.

David’s Army at Hebron

²³ Now these were the numbers of the ^[a]divisions that were equipped for war, and ^(A)came to David at ^(B)Hebron to ^(C)turn over the kingdom of Saul to him, ^(D)according to the word of the Lord: ²⁴ of the sons of Judah bearing shield and spear, six thousand eight hundred ^[b]armed for war; ²⁵ of the sons of Simeon, mighty men of valor fit for war, seven thousand one hundred; ²⁶ of the sons of Levi four thousand six hundred; ²⁷ Jehoiada, the leader of the Aaronites, and with him three thousand seven hundred; ^28 (E)Zadok, a young man, a valiant warrior, and from his father’s house twenty-two captains; ²⁹ of the sons of Benjamin, relatives of Saul, three thousand (until then ^(F)the greatest part of them had remained loyal to the house of Saul); ³⁰ of the sons of Ephraim twenty thousand eight hundred, mighty men of valor, ^[c]famous men throughout their father’s house; ³¹ of the half-tribe of Manasseh eighteen thousand, who were designated by name to come and make David king; ³² of the sons of Issachar ^(G)who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command; ³³ of Zebulun there were fifty thousand who went out to battle, expert in war with all weapons of war, ^(H)stouthearted men who could keep ranks; ³⁴ of Naphtali one thousand captains, and with them thirty-seven thousand with shield and spear; ³⁵ of the Danites who could keep battle formation, twenty-eight thousand six hundred; ³⁶ of Asher, those who could go out to war, able to keep battle formation, forty thousand; ³⁷ of the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, from the other side of the Jordan, one hundred and twenty thousand armed for battle with every kind of weapon of war.

³⁸ All these men of war, who could keep ranks, came to Hebron with a loyal heart, to make David king over all Israel; and all the rest of Israel were of ^(I)one mind to make David king. ³⁹ And they were there with David three days, eating and drinking, for their brethren had prepared for them. ⁴⁰ Moreover those who were near to them, from as far away as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, were bringing food on donkeys and camels, on mules and oxen—provisions of flour and cakes of figs and cakes of raisins, wine and oil and oxen and sheep abundantly, for there was joy in Israel.

The Mighty Men of David^(A)

¹⁰ Now ^(B)these were the heads of the mighty men whom David had, who strengthened themselves with him in his kingdom, with all Israel, to make him king, according to ^(C)the word of the Lord concerning Israel.

¹¹ And this is the number of the mighty men whom David had: ^(D)Jashobeam the son of a Hachmonite, ^(E)chief of ^[a]the captains; he had lifted up his spear against three hundred, killed by him at one time.

⁹ And after him was ^(A)Eleazar the son of ^[a]Dodo, the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel had retreated. ¹⁰ He arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was ^(B)weary, and his hand stuck to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to ^(C)plunder. ¹¹ And after him was ^(D)Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. ^(E)The Philistines had gathered together into a troop where there was a piece of ground full of lentils. So the people fled from the Philistines. ¹² But he stationed himself in the middle of the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory.

^20 (A)Abishai the brother of Joab was chief of another ^[a]three. He had lifted up his spear against three hundred men, killed them, and won a name among these three. ^21 (B)Of the three he was more honored than the other two men. Therefore he became their captain. However he did not attain to the first three.

²² Benaiah was the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man from Kabzeel, who ^[b]had done many deeds. ^(C)He had killed two lion-like heroes of Moab. He also had gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day. ²³ And he killed an Egyptian, a man of great height, ^[c]five cubits tall. In the Egyptian’s hand there was a spear like a weaver’s beam; and he went down to him with a staff, wrested the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear. ²⁴ These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and won a name among three mighty men. ²⁵ Indeed he was more honored than the thirty, but he did not attain to the first three. And David appointed him over his guard.

^24 (A)Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, ^25 (B)Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite, ²⁶ Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, ²⁷ Abiezer the Anathothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite, ²⁸ Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite, ²⁹ Heleb the son of Baanah (the Netophathite), Ittai the son of Ribai from Gibeah of the children of Benjamin, ³⁰ Benaiah a Pirathonite, Hiddai from the brooks of ^(C)Gaash, ³¹ Abi-Albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite, ³² Eliahba the Shaalbonite (of the sons of Jashen), Jonathan, ^33 (D)Shammah the ^[a]Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite, ³⁴ Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maachathite, Eliam the son of ^(E)Ahithophel the Gilonite,

³⁶ Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahijah the Pelonite, ^37 [a]Hezro the Carmelite, ^[b]Naarai the son of Ezbai, ³⁸ Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar the son of Hagri,