David Learns of Saul’s Death

1 Now it came about after ^(A)the death of Saul, when David had returned from ^(B)the slaughter of the Amalekites, that David stayed two days in Ziklag. ² And on the third day, behold, ^(C)a man came from ^[a]Saul’s camp ^(D)with his clothes torn and ^[b]dust on his head. And it happened when he came to David, ^(E)he fell to the ground and prostrated himself. ³ Then David said to him, “From where do you come?” And he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” ⁴ David said to him, “^(F)How did things go? Please tell me.” And he said, “The people have fled from the battle, and many of the people also have fallen and are dead; and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.” ⁵ Then David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” ⁶ The young man who told him said, “By chance I happened to be on ^(G)Mount Gilboa, and behold, ^(H)Saul was leaning on his spear. And behold, the chariots and the horsemen had overtaken him. ⁷ When he looked behind himself, he saw me, and called to me. And I said, ‘Here I am.’ ⁸ Then he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ And I ^[c]answered him, ‘^(I)I am an Amalekite.’ ⁹ And he said to me, ‘Please stand next to me and finish me off, for ^[d]agony has seized me because my ^[e]life still lingers in me.’ ¹⁰ So I stood next to him ^(J)and finished him off, because I knew that he could not live after he had fallen. And ^(K)I took the crown which was on his head and the band which was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”

¹¹ Then ^(L)David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so also did all the men who were with him. ¹² And they mourned and wept and ^(M)fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the people of the Lord and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. ¹³ Then David said to the young man who informed him, “Where are you from?” And he ^[f]answered, “^(N)I am the son of a stranger, an Amalekite.” ¹⁴ And David said to him, “How is it you were not afraid ^(O)to reach out with your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?” ¹⁵ Then David called one of the young men and said, “Come forward, ^[g]put him to death.” ^(P)So he struck him and he died. ¹⁶ And David said to him, “^[h](Q)Your blood is on your head, because ^(R)your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have finished off the Lord’s anointed.’”

David’s Song of Mourning for Saul and Jonathan

¹⁷ Then David ^(S)sang this song of mourning over Saul and his son Jonathan, ¹⁸ and he told them to teach the sons of Judah the mourning song of the bow; behold, it is written in ^(T)the Book of Jashar.

David Made King over Judah

2 Then it came about afterward that ^(AJ)David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up to one of the cities of Judah?” And the Lord said to him, “Go up.” So David said, “Where shall I go up?” And He said, “^(AK)To Hebron.” ² So David went up there, and ^(AL)his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the ^[p]widow of Nabal the Carmelite. ³ And ^(AM)David brought up his men who were with him, each with his household; and they settled in the cities of Hebron. ⁴ Then the men of Judah came, and there they ^(AN)anointed David king over the house of Judah.

And they told David, saying, “It was ^(AO)the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.” ⁵ So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead, and said to them, “^(AP)May you be blessed of the Lord because you have ^[q]shown this kindness to Saul your lord, and have buried him. ⁶ And now ^(AQ)may the Lord ^[r]show kindness and truth to you; and I also will ^[s]show this goodness to you, because you have done this thing. ⁷ Now then, let your hands be strong and be ^[t]valiant, since Saul your lord is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”

Ish-bosheth Made King over Israel

⁸ But ^(AR)Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, had taken ^[u]Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to ^(AS)Mahanaim. ⁹ And he made him king over ^(AT)Gilead, over the ^(AU)Ashurites, over ^(AV)Jezreel, over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, even over all Israel. ¹⁰ Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he was king for two years. The house of Judah, however, followed David. ¹¹ And ^(AW)the ^[v]time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

Civil War

¹² Now Abner the son of Ner, went from Mahanaim to ^(AX)Gibeon with the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul. ¹³ And ^(AY)Joab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and met ^[w]them by the pool of Gibeon; and they sat down, ^[x]Abner’s men on the one side of the pool and ^[y]Joab’s men on the other side of the pool. ¹⁴ Then Abner said to Joab, “Now have the young men arise and ^(AZ)hold a martial skills match in our presence.” And Joab said, “Have them arise!” ¹⁵ So they got up and went over by count, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David. ¹⁶ And each one of them seized his ^[z]opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his ^[aa]opponent’s side; so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called ^[ab]Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon. ¹⁷ That day the battle was very severe, and ^(BA)Abner and the men of Israel were defeated ^[ac]by the servants of David.

¹⁸ Now ^(BB)the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel; and Asahel was ^(BC)as ^[ad]swift-footed as one of the gazelles that is in the field. ¹⁹ Asahel pursued Abner and did not turn ^[ae]to the right or to the left from following Abner. ²⁰ Then Abner looked behind himself and said, “Is that you, Asahel?” And he said, “It is I!” ²¹ So Abner said to him, “Turn aside for your own good to your right or to your left, and take hold of one of the young men for yourself, and take for yourself his equipment.” But Asahel was unwilling to turn aside from following him. ²² Then Abner repeated again to Asahel, “Turn aside for your own good from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? ^(BD)How then could I ^[af]show my face to your brother Joab?” ²³ However, he refused to turn aside; so Abner struck him in the belly with the butt end of the spear, so that the spear came out at his back. And he fell there and died on the spot. And it happened that all who came thereafter to the place where ^(BE)Asahel had fallen and died, stood still.

²⁴ But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner, and when the sun was going down, they came to the hill of Ammah, which is opposite Giah by way of the wilderness of Gibeon. ²⁵ And the sons of Benjamin gathered together behind Abner and became one troop, and they stood on the top of a hill. ²⁶ Then Abner called to Joab and said, “Should the sword devour forever? Do you not realize that it will be bitter in the end? So how long will you ^[ag]refrain from telling the people to turn back from pursuing their kinsmen?” ²⁷ Joab said, “As God lives, if you had not spoken, then the people of Judah certainly would have withdrawn in the morning, each from pursuing his brother.” ²⁸ So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the people halted and no longer pursued Israel, ^(BF)nor did they continue to fight anymore. ²⁹ Abner and his men then went through the Arabah all that night; so they crossed the Jordan, walked all morning, and came to ^(BG)Mahanaim.

³⁰ Then Joab returned from pursuing Abner; but he gathered all the people together, and ^[ah]nineteen of David’s servants were missing, besides Asahel. ³¹ However, the servants of David had struck and killed many of Benjamin and Abner’s men; 360 men were dead. ³² And they carried Asahel away and buried him ^(BH)in his father’s tomb, which was in Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men traveled all night until the day ^[ai]dawned at Hebron.

Teaching on Marriage

7 Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is ^(A)good for a man ^[a]not to touch a woman. ² But because of sexual immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband. ³ The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise the wife also to her husband. ⁴ The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise the husband also does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. ^5 [b](B)Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and ^[c]come together again so that ^(C)Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. ⁶ But this I say by way of concession, ^(D)not of command. ^7 [d]Yet I wish that all ^[e]men were ^(E)even as I myself am. However, ^(F)each has his own gift from God, one in this way, and another in that.

⁸ But I say to the unmarried and to widows that it is ^(G)good for them if they remain ^(H)even as I. ⁹ But if they do not have self-control, ^(I)let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

¹⁰ But to the married I give instructions, ^(J)not I, but the Lord, that the wife is not to leave her husband ¹¹ (but if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband is not to ^[f]divorce his wife.

¹² But to the rest ^(K)I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has an unbelieving wife, and she consents to live with him, he must not ^[g]divorce her. ¹³ And ^[h]if any woman has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not ^[i]divorce her husband. ¹⁴ For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through ^[j]her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are ^(L)holy. ¹⁵ Yet if the unbelieving one is leaving, ^[k]let him leave; the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called ^[l]us ^(M)in peace. ¹⁶ For how do you know, wife, whether you will ^(N)save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

¹⁷ Only, ^(O)as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this way let him walk. And ^(P)so I direct in ^(Q)all the churches. ¹⁸ Was any man called when he was already circumcised? He is not to become uncircumcised. Has anyone been called in uncircumcision? ^(R)He is not to be circumcised. ^19 (S)Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is ^(T)the keeping of the commandments of God. ^20 (U)Each person is to remain in that ^[m]state in which he was called.

²¹ Were you called as a slave? Do not let it concern you. But if you are also able to become free, take advantage of that. ²² For the one who was called in the Lord as a slave, is ^(V)the Lord’s freed person; likewise the one who was called as free, is ^(W)Christ’s slave. ^23 (X)You were bought for a price; do not become slaves of people. ²⁴ Brothers and sisters, ^(Y)each one is to remain with God in that condition in which he was called.

²⁵ Now concerning virgins, I have ^(Z)no command of the Lord, but I am offering direction as one who ^[n](AA)by the mercy of the Lord is trustworthy. ²⁶ I think, then, that this is good in view of the ^[o]present ^(AB)distress, that ^(AC)it is good for a man ^[p]to remain as he is. ²⁷ Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife. ²⁸ But if you marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet such people as yourselves will have ^[q]trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you. ²⁹ But this I say, brothers, ^(AD)the time has been shortened, so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none; ³⁰ and those who weep, as though they did not weep; and those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as though they did not possess; ³¹ and those who use the world, as though they did not ^(AE)make full use of it; for ^(AF)the present form of this world is passing away.

³² But I want you to be free from concern. One who is ^(AG)unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; ³³ but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, ³⁴ and his interests are divided. The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. ³⁵ I say this for your own benefit, not to put a restraint on you, but ^[r]to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.

³⁶ But if anyone thinks that he is acting dishonorably toward his virgin, if she is ^[s]past her youth and it ought to be so, let him do what he wishes, he is not sinning; let ^[t]them marry. ³⁷ But the one who stands firm in his heart, ^[u]if he is not under constraint, but has authority ^[v]over his own will, and has decided this in his own heart, to keep his own virgin, he will do well. ³⁸ So then, both the one who gives his own virgin in marriage does well, and the one who does not give her in marriage will do better.

^39 (AH)A wife is bound as long as her husband lives; but if her husband ^[w]dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only ^(AI)in the Lord. ⁴⁰ But ^(AJ)in my opinion she is ^[x]happier if she remains as she is; and I think that I also have the Spirit of God.