David Made King over Judah

2 Then it came about afterward that ^(A)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, “^(B)To Hebron.” ² So David went up there, and ^(C)his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the ^[a]widow of Nabal the Carmelite. ³ And ^(D)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 ^(E)anointed David king over the house of Judah.

And they told David, saying, “It was ^(F)the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.” ⁵ So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead, and said to them, “^(G)May you be blessed of the Lord because you have ^[b]shown this kindness to Saul your lord, and have buried him. ⁶ And now ^(H)may the Lord ^[c]show kindness and truth to you; and I also will ^[d]show this goodness to you, because you have done this thing. ⁷ Now then, let your hands be strong and be ^[e]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 ^(I)Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, had taken ^[f]Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to ^(J)Mahanaim. ⁹ And he made him king over ^(K)Gilead, over the ^(L)Ashurites, over ^(M)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 ^(N)the ^[g]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 ^(O)Gibeon with the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul. ¹³ And ^(P)Joab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and met ^[h]them by the pool of Gibeon; and they sat down, ^[i]Abner’s men on the one side of the pool and ^[j]Joab’s men on the other side of the pool. ¹⁴ Then Abner said to Joab, “Now have the young men arise and ^(Q)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 ^[k]opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his ^[l]opponent’s side; so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called ^[m]Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon. ¹⁷ That day the battle was very severe, and ^(R)Abner and the men of Israel were defeated ^[n]by the servants of David.

¹⁸ Now ^(S)the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel; and Asahel was ^(T)as ^[o]swift-footed as one of the gazelles that is in the field. ¹⁹ Asahel pursued Abner and did not turn ^[p]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? ^(U)How then could I ^[q]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 ^(V)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 ^[r]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, ^(W)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 ^(X)Mahanaim.

³⁰ Then Joab returned from pursuing Abner; but he gathered all the people together, and ^[s]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 ^(Y)in his father’s tomb, which was in Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men traveled all night until the day ^[t]dawned at Hebron.

The House of David Strengthened

3 Now ^(Z)there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David; and David became steadily stronger, while the house of Saul became steadily weaker.

Foundations for Living

3 And I, brothers and sisters, could not speak to you as ^(A)spiritual people, but only as ^(B)fleshly, as to ^(C)infants in Christ. ² I gave you ^(D)milk to drink, not solid food; for you ^(E)were not yet able to consume it. But even now you are not yet able, ³ for you are still fleshly. For since there is ^(F)jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking ^(G)like ordinary people? ⁴ For when ^(H)one person says, “I am ^[a]with Paul,” and another, “I am ^[b]with Apollos,” are you not ordinary ^(I)people?

⁵ What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? ^(J)Servants through whom you believed, even ^(K)as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. ^6 (L)I planted, ^(M)Apollos watered, but ^(N)God was causing the growth. ⁷ So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. ⁸ Now the one who plants and the one who waters are one; but each will ^(O)receive his own ^[c]reward according to his own labor. ⁹ For we are God’s ^(P)fellow workers; you are God’s ^[d](Q)field, God’s ^(R)building.

¹⁰ According to ^(S)the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder ^(T)I laid a foundation, and ^(U)another is building on it. But each person must be careful how he builds on it. ¹¹ For no one can lay a ^(V)foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, ^13 (W)each one’s work will become evident; for ^(X)the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test ^[e]the quality of each one’s work. ¹⁴ If anyone’s work which he has built on it remains, he will ^(Y)receive a reward. ¹⁵ If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet only ^(Z)so as through fire.

^16 (AA)Do you not know that ^(AB)you are a ^[f]temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? ¹⁷ If anyone destroys the ^[g]temple of God, God will destroy ^[h]that person; for the ^[i]temple of God is holy, ^[j]and that is what you are.

^18 (AC)Take care that no one deceives himself. ^(AD)If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in ^(AE)this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. ¹⁹ For ^(AF)the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the sight of God. For it is written: “He is ^(AG)the one who catches the wise by their craftiness”; ²⁰ and again, “^(AH)The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are useless.” ²¹ So then, ^(AI)no one is to be boasting in people. For ^(AJ)all things belong to you, ^22 (AK)whether Paul or Apollos or ^[k]Cephas, or the world or ^(AL)life or death, or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, ²³ and ^(AM)you belong to Christ, and ^(AN)Christ belongs to God.

¹⁷ Now Abner had a ^[a]consultation with ^(A)the elders of Israel, saying, “In times past you were seeking for David to be king over you. ¹⁸ Now then, do it! For the Lord has spoken regarding David, saying, ‘^(B)By the hand of My servant David ^[b]I will save My people Israel from the hand of the Philistines, and from the hands of all their enemies.’” ¹⁹ Abner also spoke ^[c]to Benjamin; and in addition Abner went to speak ^[d]to David in Hebron everything that seemed good to Israel and to ^(C)the entire house of Benjamin.

²⁰ Then Abner and twenty men with him came to David at Hebron. And David held a feast for Abner and the men who were with him. ²¹ Abner said to David, “Let me set out and go and ^(D)gather all Israel to my lord the king, so that they may make a covenant with you, and that ^(E)you may be king over all that your soul desires.” So David let Abner go, and he went in peace.

²² And behold, ^(F)the servants of David and Joab came from a raid and brought a large amount of plunder with them; but Abner was not with David in Hebron, since he had let him go, and he had gone in peace. ²³ When Joab and all the army that was with him arrived, they informed Joab, saying, “Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has let him go on his way, 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 then have you let him go, so that he is already gone? ²⁵ You know Abner the son of Ner, that he came to gain your confidence, and to learn of ^(G)your ^[e]going out and coming in and to find out everything that you are doing.”

Joab Murders Abner

²⁶ When Joab left David’s presence, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the well of Sirah; but David did not know about it. ²⁷ So when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the middle of the gate to speak with him privately, and there ^(H)he struck him in the belly, so that he died on account of the blood of his brother Asahel. ²⁸ Afterward, when David heard about this, he said, “I and my kingdom are innocent before the Lord forever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner. ^29 (I)May it turn upon the head of Joab and on all his father’s house; and may there not be eliminated from the house of Joab ^(J)someone who suffers a discharge, or has leprosy, or ^[f]holds the spindle, or falls by the sword, or lacks bread.” ³⁰ So Joab and his brother Abishai killed Abner ^(K)because he had put their brother Asahel to death in the battle at Gibeon.

David Mourns Abner

³¹ Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, “^(L)Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner.” And King David walked behind the bier. ³² And they buried Abner in Hebron; and the king raised his voice and wept at ^(M)the grave of Abner, and all the people wept. ³³ And ^(N)the king sang a song of mourning for Abner and said,

And all the people wept over him again. ³⁵ Then all the people came ^(O)to provide ^[h]food for David in his distress while it was still day; but David vowed, saying, “^(P)May God do so to me, and more so, if I taste bread or anything else ^(Q)before the sun goes down.” ³⁶ Now all the people took note of David’s vow, and it ^[i]pleased them, just as everything that the king did ^[j]pleased all the people. ³⁷ So all the people and all Israel understood on that day that it had not been the desire 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 leader and a great man has fallen in Israel this day? ³⁹ And I am ^(R)weak today, though anointed king; and these men, ^(S)the sons of Zeruiah, are too difficult for me. ^(T)May the Lord repay the evildoer in proportion to his evil.”

⁵¹ When the days were approaching for ^(A)His ^[a]ascension, He ^[b]was determined ^(B)to go to Jerusalem; ⁵² and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the ^(C)Samaritans to ^[c]make arrangements for Him. ⁵³ And they did not receive Him, ^(D)because ^[d]He was traveling toward Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ When His disciples ^(E)James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to ^(F)command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” ⁵⁵ But He turned and rebuked them.^{[e] 56} And they went on to another village.

Exacting Discipleship

^57 (G)As they were going on the road, ^(H)someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” ⁵⁸ And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the sky have nests, but ^(I)the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” ⁵⁹ And He said to another, “^(J)Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and ^(K)proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but ^(L)first permit me to say goodbye to those at my home.” ⁶² But Jesus said to him, “^(M)No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”