Old/New Testament
The House of David Strengthened
3 There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David; but David grew steadily stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker [to the point of being powerless].
2 Sons were born to David in Hebron: his firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam of Jezreel; 3 his second, Chileab, by Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; the third, Absalom the son of [his wife] Maacah, daughter of Talmai the king of Geshur; 4 the fourth, Adonijah the son of [his wife] Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah the son of [his wife] Abital; 5 and the sixth, Ithream, by David’s wife Eglah. These [sons] were born to David in Hebron.
Abner Joins David
6 Now while war continued between the houses of Saul and David, Abner was proving himself strong in the house of Saul. 7 Now Saul had a [a]concubine whose name was Rizpah the daughter of Aiah; and Ish-bosheth said to Abner, [b]“Why have you gone in to my father’s concubine?” 8 Then Abner was very angry at the words of Ish-bosheth, and he said, “Am I a dog’s head [a despicable traitor] that belongs to Judah? [c]Today I show loyalty and kindness to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers and his friends, by not having you handed over to David; and yet you charge me today with guilt concerning this woman. 9 May God do so to Abner, and more also, if I do not do for David just as the Lord has sworn to him, 10 to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and establish the throne of David over Israel and Judah from Dan [in the north] to Beersheba [in the south].” 11 And Ish-bosheth could not say another word to Abner, because he was afraid of him.
12 Then Abner sent messengers to David [who was] in his place [at Hebron], saying, “Whose is the land? Make your covenant (treaty) with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you to bring all Israel over to you.” 13 David said, “Good! I will make a covenant (treaty) with you, but I require one thing of you: you shall not see my face unless you first bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see [d]me.” 14 So David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, saying, “[e]Give me my wife Michal, to whom I was [f]betrothed for [the price of] a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.” 15 So Ish-bosheth sent and took her from her husband, from Paltiel the son of Laish [to whom Saul had given her]. 16 But her husband went with her, weeping continually behind her as far as Bahurim. Then Abner told him, “Go, return.” And he did so.
17 Abner talked with the elders (tribal leaders) of Israel, saying, “In times past you were seeking for David to be king over you. 18 Now then, do it [and make him king]! For the Lord has spoken of David, saying, ‘By the hand of My servant David I will save My people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and the hand of all their enemies.’”(A) 19 Abner also spoke [g]to [the men of] Benjamin. Then he also went to [h]tell David at Hebron everything that seemed good [i]to Israel and to the entire house of Benjamin.
20 So Abner came to David at Hebron, and [brought] twenty men along with him. And David prepared a feast for Abner and the men with him. 21 Abner said to David, “Let me stand up and go, and gather all Israel to my lord the king, so that they may make a covenant (treaty) with you, and that you may reign over all that your soul desires.” So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.
22 Then the servants of David came with Joab from a raid and brought a great quantity of spoil with them; but Abner was not with David at Hebron, because David had sent him away, and he had gone in peace. 23 When Joab and all the army that was with him arrived, they told Joab, “Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has sent him away, and he has gone in peace.” 24 Then Joab came to the king and said, “What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you; why did you send him away, so that he is already gone? 25 You know Abner the son of Ner, that he [only] came to deceive you [with flattering words] and to learn of your going out and coming in, and to find out what you are doing.”
Joab Murders Abner
26 When Joab left David, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the well of Sirah; but David knew nothing [about Joab’s action]. 27 So when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside to the middle of the gate to speak to him privately, and there he struck Abner in the abdomen so that he died, [j]to avenge the blood of Asahel, Joab’s brother. 28 Afterward, when David heard of it, he said, “I and my kingdom are forever innocent before the Lord of the blood of Abner the son of Ner. 29 Let [k]the guilt fall on the head of Joab and on all his father’s house (family); and may there never disappear from the house of Joab one who suffers with a discharge or one who is a leper or one who walks with a crutch [being unfit for war], or one who falls by the sword, or one who lacks food.” 30 So Joab and Abishai his brother murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.
David Mourns Abner
31 Then David said to Joab and to all the people with him, “Tear your clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner.” And King David walked behind the bier. 32 They buried Abner in Hebron; and the king raised his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept. 33 And the king sang a dirge (funeral song) over Abner and said,
“Should Abner [the great warrior] die as a fool dies?
34
“Your hands were not bound, nor your feet put in fetters;
As a man falls before the wicked, so you have fallen.”
And all the people wept again over him. 35 All the people came to urge David to eat food while it was still day; but David took an oath, saying, “May God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets.” 36 And all the people took notice of it and it [l]pleased them, just as everything that the king did pleased all the people. 37 So all the people and all Israel understood that day that it had not been the will of the king to put Abner the son of Ner to death. 38 Then the king said to his servants, “Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel? 39 Today I am weak, though anointed king; these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too difficult for me. May the Lord repay the evildoer [Joab] in accordance with his wickedness!”
Ish-bosheth Murdered
4 When Saul’s son Ish-bosheth [king of Israel], heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he [m]lost courage, and all Israel was horrified. 2 Saul’s son had two men who were commanders of [raiding] bands [of soldiers]. One was named Baanah and the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite of the sons (tribe) of Benjamin (for Beeroth is also considered part of [the tribe of] Benjamin, 3 and the Beerothites fled to Gittaim, and have been resident aliens there to this day).
4 Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son whose feet were crippled. He was five years old when the news [of the deaths] of Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. And the boy’s nurse picked him up and fled; but it happened that while she was hurrying to flee, he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.
5 So the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, left and came to the house of Ish-bosheth in the heat of the day while he was taking his midday rest. 6 They came into the interior of the house as if to get wheat [for the soldiers], and they struck him in the stomach. Then Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped [unnoticed]. 7 Now when they entered the house he was lying on his bed in his bedroom. They [not only] struck and killed him, [but] they also beheaded him. Then they took his head and traveled all night by way of the Arabah. 8 They brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron, and said to the king, “Look, the head of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life; thus the Lord has granted my lord the king vengeance this day on Saul and on his descendants.”
9 David replied to Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, “As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from every adversity, 10 when a man told me, ‘Behold, Saul is dead,’ [n]thinking that he was bringing good news, I seized and killed him in Ziklag, to reward him for his news. 11 How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous and just man in his own house on his bed, shall I not require his blood from your hand and remove you from the earth?” 12 So David commanded his young men, and they killed them and cut off their hands and feet and hung them beside the pool in Hebron. But they took Ish-bosheth’s head and buried it in Hebron in the tomb of Abner [his relative].
David King over All Israel
5 Then [o]all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Behold, we are your bone and your flesh. 2 In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led Israel out [to war] and brought Israel in [from battle]. And the Lord told you, ‘You shall shepherd My people Israel and be ruler over them.’”(B) 3 So all the elders (tribal leaders) of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord; and they anointed him king over Israel. 4 David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. 5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.
6 Now the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, “You shall not enter here, for the blind and the lame [even the weakest among us] will turn you away”; they thought, “David cannot come in here [because the walls are impenetrable].” 7 Nevertheless, David captured the stronghold (fortress) of Zion, that is, the City of David. 8 Then David said on that day, “Whoever strikes the Jebusites, let him go up through the [underground] water shaft to strike the lame and the blind, who are detested by David’s soul [because of their arrogance].” So [for that reason] they say, “The blind or the lame (Jebusites) shall not come into the [royal] house [of Israel].”(C) 9 So David lived in the stronghold and called it the City of David. And he built all around [the surrounding area] from the [p]Millo [fortification] and inward. 10 David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts (armies), was with him.
11 Now Hiram the king of Tyre sent messengers to David with cedar trees, carpenters, and stonemasons; and they built a house (palace) for David. 12 And David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that He had exalted his kingdom for His people Israel’s sake.
13 David took more [q]concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron; and more sons and daughters were born to him. 14 And these are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, 15 Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, 16 Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.
War with the Philistines
17 When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to look for him, but he heard about it and went down to the [r]stronghold. 18 Now the Philistines had come and spread out [for battle] in the Valley of Rephaim. 19 David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You hand them over to me?” And the Lord said to David, “Go up, for I will certainly hand them over to you.” 20 So David came to Baal-perazim, and he defeated them there, and said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water.” So he named that place Baal-perazim (master of breakthroughs). 21 The Philistines abandoned their [pagan] idols there, so David and his men took them away [to be burned].
22 The Philistines came up once again and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim. 23 When David inquired of the Lord, He said, “You shall not go up, but circle around behind them and come at them in front of the balsam trees. 24 And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then you shall pay attention and act promptly, for at that time the Lord will have gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines.” 25 David did just as the Lord had commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer.
Discipleship Tested
25 Now large crowds were going along with Jesus; and He turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not [a]hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life [in the sense of indifference to or relative disregard for them in comparison with his attitude toward God]—he cannot be My disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry his own cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow after Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me] cannot be My disciple. 28 For which one of you, when he wants to build a watchtower [for his guards], does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to finish it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is unable to finish [the building], all who see it will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish!’ 31 Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one who is coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else [if he feels he is not powerful enough], while the other [king] is still a far distance away, he sends an envoy and asks for terms of peace. 33 So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not [carefully consider the cost and then for My sake] [b]give up all his own possessions.
34 “Therefore, salt is good; but if salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear and heed My words.”
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.