The Daily Audio Bible

¹² Avner the son of Ner and the servants of Ish-Boshet the son of Sha’ul went out from Machanayim to Giv‘on; ¹³ while Yo’av the son of Tz’ruyah and David’s servants also went out; and they met together by the pool at Giv‘on. One group sat down on one side of the pool and the other on the other side. ¹⁴ Avner said to Yo’av, “If it’s all right with you, let’s have the young men get up and fight it out between themselves, while we watch.” Yo’av said, “Yes, let them.” ¹⁵ So they got up and paired off, twelve for Binyamin and Ish-Boshet the son of Sha’ul, and twelve of David’s servants. ¹⁶ Each one grabbed his partner by the head and drove his sword into his side, so that they fell down together. For this reason that place was named Helkat-Hatzurim [field of blades]; it is in Giv‘on. ¹⁷ The battle that day was very fierce; Avner and the men of Isra’el were beaten by David’s servants.

¹⁸ The three sons of Tz’ruyah were there, Yo’av, Avishai and ‘Asah’el. ‘Asah’el was as fleet-footed as a gazelle in an open field. ¹⁹ ‘Asah’el chased Avner, going straight for him, veering neither right nor left. ²⁰ Avner looked behind him and asked, “Is that you, ‘Asah’el?” “Yes, it is,” he answered. ²¹ Avner said to him, “Turn off to your right or your left, catch one of the young men and take his armor.” But ‘Asah’el wouldn’t turn aside and kept following him. ²² Avner said again to ‘Asah’el, “Turn aside and stop following me! Why should I kill you? If I did, how could I look your brother Yo’av in the eye?” ²³ But he still refused to turn aside; so Avner stabbed him in the groin with the back end of the spear, so that the shaft protruded behind him. He fell down and died on the spot. Everyone who came to the place where ‘Asah’el lay dead stopped there.

²⁴ Yo’av and Avishai continued in pursuit of Avner; the sun went down when they arrived at Amah Hill, across from Giach along the Giv‘on Desert road. ²⁵ The people of Binyamin gathered themselves together into a phalanx behind Avner and stood on top of a hill. ²⁶ Then Avner called out to Yo’av, “Must the sword go on devouring forever? Don’t you know that in the end it can produce only bitterness? How long will it be, then, before you tell the people to quit pursuing their brothers?” ²⁷ Yo’av said, “As God lives, if you hadn’t said something, there is no doubt that the people would have kept following their brothers all night long.” ²⁸ Then Yo’av sounded the shofar, and with that the people halted. They stopped pursuing Isra’el, and they stopped fighting.

²⁹ Avner and his men went through the ‘Aravah all that night; they crossed the Yarden, went through all of Bitron and arrived at Machanayim. ³⁰ Yo’av returned from following Avner. When he brought the troops together for review, nineteen of David’s servants were missing, along with ‘Asah’el. ³¹ But David’s servants had killed 360 of Avner’s men of Binyamin. ³² They took ‘Asah’el and buried him in his father’s tomb in Beit-Lechem. Then Yo’av and his men marched all night, so that they reached Hevron at daybreak.

3 The war between the house of Sha’ul and the house of David dragged on, but David grew stronger, while the house of Sha’ul became weaker.

² Sons were born to David in Hevron. His firstborn was Amnon, whose mother was Achino‘am from Yizre‘el; ³ his second, Kil’av, whose mother was Avigayil the widow of Naval from Karmel; the third, Avshalom, whose mother was Ma‘akhah the daughter of Talmai king of G’shur; ⁴ the fourth, Adoniyah the son of Haggit; the fifth, Sh’fatyah the son of Avital; ⁵ and the sixth, Yitre‘am, whose mother was ‘Eglah David’s wife. These were born to David in Hevron.

⁶ During the war that was going on between the house of Sha’ul and the house of David, Avner strengthened his position in the house of Sha’ul. ⁷ Sha’ul had had a concubine named Ritzpah, the daughter of Ayah; and [Ish-Boshet] challenged Avner: “Why did you go and sleep with my father’s concubine?” ⁸ These words of Ish-Boshet’s enraged Avner. “What am I,” he shouted, “[that you treat me with such contempt]? A dog’s head in Y’hudah? Till this moment I have shown only kindness to the house of Sha’ul your father, and to his brothers and to his friends; and I haven’t handed you over to David. Yet you choose today to pick a fight with me over this woman! ⁹ May God bring terrible curses on Avner and worse ones yet if I don’t accomplish what Adonai swore to David — ¹⁰ to transfer the kingdom from the house of Sha’ul and set up the throne of David over Isra’el and Y’hudah, from Dan all the way to Be’er-Sheva!” ¹¹ Ish-Boshet couldn’t answer Avner a word, because he was afraid of him.

¹² Avner immediately sent envoys to David with this message: “Who is going to control the land? If you make yourself my ally, I will use my power to bring all Isra’el over to you.” ¹³ David sent this reply: “Very well, I will be your ally — on one condition: you will not come into my presence unless at the same time you bring with you Mikhal Sha’ul’s daughter.” ¹⁴ David sent messengers to say to Ish-Boshet the son of Sha’ul, “Give me back my wife Mikhal. I betrothed her to myself for 100 foreskins of the P’lishtim.” ¹⁵ Ish-Boshet sent and took her from her husband Palti’el the son of Layish. ¹⁶ Her husband went with her, crying as he went, and followed her to Bachurim. But when Avner told him, “Go back,” he returned.

¹⁷ Then Avner conferred with the leaders of Isra’el. He said, “In the past, you wanted David to be king over you. ¹⁸ So now, do it. For Adonai has said of David, ‘Through my servant David I will rescue my people Isra’el from the power of the P’lishtim and from the power of all their enemies.’” ¹⁹ Avner also spoke with the people of Binyamin.

Then Avner went to Hevron and reported to David everything that had been agreed to by Isra’el and the house of Binyamin. ²⁰ When Avner came to David in Hevron he brought twenty men with him. David held a feast for Avner and his men. ²¹ Avner said to David, “I must get up and go to gather all Isra’el to my lord the king, so that they can make a covenant with you. Then you will be able to rule over everything your heart desires.” David sent Avner off, giving him safe conduct.

²² Just then David’s men and Yo’av returned from a raid, bringing a lot of plunder with them. But Avner was not with David in Hevron, because he had sent him off under safe conduct. ²³ When Yo’av and all his army had arrived, Yo’av was told, “Avner the son of Ner came to the king, but he sent him off, and he has left under safe conduct.” ²⁴ Yo’av went to the king and said, “What have you done? Here, Avner came to you, and you sent him away, and now he’s gone! Why? ²⁵ You know Avner the son of Ner — he came only to deceive you, to learn what campaigns you’re planning and to find out everything you’re doing!”

²⁶ After leaving David, Yo’av sent messengers after Avner, and they brought him back from the water cistern at Sirah without David’s knowledge. ²⁷ Upon Avner’s return to Hevron, Yo’av took him aside into the space between the outer and inner city gates as if to speak with him privately; and there he struck him in the groin, so that he died — thus avenging the death of ‘Asah’el his brother.

²⁸ Afterwards, when David heard of it, he said, “I and my kingdom are forever innocent of the death of Avner the son of Ner. ²⁹ Let it fall on the head of Yo’av and all his father’s family. May Yo’av’s family always have someone with a hemorrhage or tzara‘at, or who has to walk with a cane, or who dies by the sword or who lacks food.” ³⁰ Thus Yo’av and Avishai his brother killed Avner, because he had killed their brother ‘Asah’el during the battle in Giv‘on. ³¹ But David said to Yo’av and all those with him, “Tear your clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn over Avner.” King David himself walked behind the body as it was carried. ³² They buried Avner at Hevron; the king wept aloud at Avner’s grave, and all the people wept. ³³ The king sang this lament over Avner:

Then all the people wept over him more than ever.

³⁵ All the people came to David and tried to make him eat some bread while it was still daytime; but David swore, “May God bring terrible curses on me and worse ones yet if I taste bread or anything else until the sun goes down.” ³⁶ All the people took note of this, and it pleased them; whatever the king did pleased all the people. ³⁷ So that day, all the people and all Isra’el understood that the king had had no part in the killing of Avner the son of Ner. ³⁸ The king said to his servants, “You realize that a leader, a great man, has fallen today in Isra’el. ³⁹ Even though I have just been anointed king, I feel weak today; and these men, the sons of Tz’ruyah, are too brutal for me. May Adonai repay the criminal as his crime deserves!”

13 It was just before the festival of Pesach, and Yeshua knew that the time had come for him to pass from this world to the Father. Having loved his own people in the world, he loved them to the end. ² They were at supper, and the Adversary had already put the desire to betray him into the heart of Y’hudah Ben-Shim‘on from K’riot. ³ Yeshua was aware that the Father had put everything in his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God. ⁴ So he rose from the table, removed his outer garments and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵ Then he poured some water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the talmidim and wipe them off with the towel wrapped around him.

⁶ He came to Shim‘on Kefa, who said to him, “Lord! You are washing my feet?” ⁷ Yeshua answered him, “You don’t understand yet what I am doing, but in time you will understand.” ⁸ “No!” said Kefa, “You will never wash my feet!” Yeshua answered him, “If I don’t wash you, you have no share with me.” ⁹ “Lord,” Shim‘on Kefa replied, “not only my feet, but my hands and head too!” ¹⁰ Yeshua said to him, “A man who has had a bath doesn’t need to wash, except his feet — his body is already clean. And you people are clean, but not all of you.” ¹¹ (He knew who was betraying him; this is why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”)

¹² After he had washed their feet, taken back his clothes and returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? ¹³ You call me ‘Rabbi’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because I am. ¹⁴ Now if I, the Lord and Rabbi, have washed your feet, you also should wash each other’s feet. ¹⁵ For I have set you an example, so that you may do as I have done to you. ¹⁶ Yes, indeed! I tell you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is an emissary greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

¹⁸ “I’m not talking to all of you — I know which ones I have chosen. But the words of the Tanakh must be fulfilled that say, ‘The one eating my bread has turned against me.’^{[a] 19} I’m telling you now, before it happens; so that when it does happen, you may believe that I AM [who I say I am]. ²⁰ Yes, indeed! I tell you that a person who receives someone I send receives me, and that anyone who receives me receives the One who sent me.”

²¹ After saying this, Yeshua, in deep anguish of spirit, declared, “Yes, indeed! I tell you that one of you will betray me.” ²² The talmidim stared at one another, totally mystified — whom could he mean? ²³ One of his talmidim, the one Yeshua particularly loved, was reclining close beside him. ²⁴ So Shim‘on Kefa motioned to him and said, “Ask which one he’s talking about.” ²⁵ Leaning against Yeshua’s chest, he asked Yeshua, “Lord, who is it?” ²⁶ Yeshua answered, “It’s the one to whom I give this piece of matzah after I dip it in the dish.” So he dipped the piece of matzah and gave it to Y’hudah Ben-Shim‘on from K’riot. ²⁷ As soon as Y’hudah took the piece of matzah, the Adversary went into him. “What you are doing, do quickly!” Yeshua said to him. ²⁸ But no one at the table understood why he had said this to him. ²⁹ Some thought that since Y’hudah was in charge of the common purse, Yeshua was telling him, “Buy what we need for the festival,” or telling him to give something to the poor. ³⁰ As soon as he had taken the piece of matzah, Y’hudah went out, and it was night.

א (Alef)

ב (Bet)