²⁸ And all that Samuel ^(A)the seer, Saul the son of Kish, Abner the son of Ner, and Joab the son of Zeruiah had dedicated, every dedicated thing, was under the hand of Shelomith and his brethren.

⁹ (Formerly in Israel, when a man ^(A)went ^[a]to inquire of God, he spoke thus: “Come, let us go to the seer”; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called ^(B)a seer.)

⁹ When Joab saw that the battle line was against him before and behind, he chose some of Israel’s best and put them in battle array against the Syrians. ¹⁰ And the rest of the people he put under the command of ^(A)Abishai his brother, that he might set them in battle array against the people of Ammon. ¹¹ Then he said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the people of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come and help you. ^12 (B)Be of good courage, and let us ^(C)be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may ^(D)the Lord do what is good in His sight.”

¹³ So Joab and the people who were with him drew near for the battle against the Syrians, and they fled before him. ¹⁴ When the people of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fleeing, they also fled before Abishai, and entered the city. So Joab returned from the people of Ammon and went to ^(E)Jerusalem.

⁵⁵ When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to ^(A)Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, ^(B)whose son is this youth?”

And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.”

Saul’s Continuing Wars

⁴⁷ So Saul established his sovereignty over Israel, and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, against the people of ^(A)Ammon, against Edom, against the kings of ^(B)Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he ^[a]harassed them. ⁴⁸ And he gathered an army and ^(C)attacked^[b] the Amalekites, and delivered Israel from the hands of those who plundered them.

^49 (D)The sons of Saul were Jonathan, ^[c]Jishui, and Malchishua. And the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn Merab, and the name of the younger ^(E)Michal. ⁵⁰ The name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the commander of his army was Abner the son of Ner, Saul’s ^(F)uncle. ^51 (G)Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.