The Murder of Ishbosheth

4 When Ishbosheth,^[a] Saul’s son, heard about Abner’s death at Hebron, he lost all courage, and all Israel became paralyzed with fear. ² Now there were two brothers, Baanah and Recab, who were captains of Ishbosheth’s raiding parties. They were sons of Rimmon, a member of the tribe of Benjamin who lived in Beeroth. The town of Beeroth is now part of Benjamin’s territory ³ because the original people of Beeroth fled to Gittaim, where they still live as foreigners.

⁵ One day Recab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon from Beeroth, went to Ishbosheth’s house around noon as he was taking his midday rest. ⁶ The doorkeeper, who had been sifting wheat, became drowsy and fell asleep. So Recab and Baanah slipped past her.^{[a] 7} They went into the house and found Ishbosheth sleeping on his bed. They struck and killed him and cut off his head. Then, taking his head with them, they fled across the Jordan Valley^[b] through the night. ⁸ When they arrived at Hebron, they presented Ishbosheth’s head to David. “Look!” they exclaimed to the king. “Here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of your enemy Saul who tried to kill you. Today the Lord has given my lord the king revenge on Saul and his entire family!”

⁹ But David said to Recab and Baanah, “The Lord, who saves me from all my enemies, is my witness. ¹⁰ Someone once told me, ‘Saul is dead,’ thinking he was bringing me good news. But I seized him and killed him at Ziklag. That’s the reward I gave him for his news! ¹¹ How much more should I reward evil men who have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed? Shouldn’t I hold you responsible for his blood and rid the earth of you?”

¹² So David ordered his young men to kill them, and they did. They cut off their hands and feet and hung their bodies beside the pool in Hebron. Then they took Ishbosheth’s head and buried it in Abner’s tomb in Hebron.

David Becomes King of All Israel

5 Then all the tribes of Israel went to David at Hebron and told him, “We are your own flesh and blood. ² In the past,^[a] when Saul was our king, you were the one who really led the forces of Israel. And the Lord told you, ‘You will be the shepherd of my people Israel. You will be Israel’s leader.’”

³ So there at Hebron, King David made a covenant before the Lord with all the elders of Israel. And they anointed him king of Israel.

⁴ David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in all. ⁵ He had reigned over Judah from Hebron for seven years and six months, and from Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah for thirty-three years.

²³ These are the numbers of armed warriors who joined David at Hebron. They were all eager to see David become king instead of Saul, just as the Lord had promised.

²⁴ From the tribe of Judah, there were 6,800 warriors armed with shields and spears.

²⁵ From the tribe of Simeon, there were 7,100 brave warriors.

²⁶ From the tribe of Levi, there were 4,600 warriors. ²⁷ This included Jehoiada, leader of the family of Aaron, who had 3,700 under his command. ²⁸ This also included Zadok, a brave young warrior, with 22 members of his family who were all officers.

²⁹ From the tribe of Benjamin, Saul’s relatives, there were 3,000 warriors. Most of the men from Benjamin had remained loyal to Saul until this time.

³⁰ From the tribe of Ephraim, there were 20,800 brave warriors, each highly respected in his own clan.

³¹ From the half-tribe of Manasseh west of the Jordan, 18,000 men were designated by name to help David become king.

³² From the tribe of Issachar, there were 200 leaders of the tribe with their relatives. All these men understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take.

³³ From the tribe of Zebulun, there were 50,000 skilled warriors. They were fully armed and prepared for battle and completely loyal to David.

³⁴ From the tribe of Naphtali, there were 1,000 officers and 37,000 warriors armed with shields and spears.

³⁵ From the tribe of Dan, there were 28,600 warriors, all prepared for battle.

³⁶ From the tribe of Asher, there were 40,000 trained warriors, all prepared for battle.

³⁷ From the east side of the Jordan River—where the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh lived—there were 120,000 troops armed with every kind of weapon.

³⁸ All these men came in battle array to Hebron with the single purpose of making David the king over all Israel. In fact, everyone in Israel agreed that David should be their king. ³⁹ They feasted and drank with David for three days, for preparations had been made by their relatives for their arrival. ⁴⁰ And people from as far away as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen. Vast supplies of flour, fig cakes, clusters of raisins, wine, olive oil, cattle, sheep, and goats were brought to the celebration. There was great joy throughout the land of Israel.

Psalm 145^[a]

A psalm of praise of David.