David Anointed King Over Judah

2 In the course of time, David inquired^(A) of the Lord. “Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?” he asked.

The Lord said, “Go up.”

David asked, “Where shall I go?”

“To Hebron,”^(B) the Lord answered.

² So David went up there with his two wives,^(C) Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail,^(D) the widow of Nabal of Carmel. ³ David also took the men who were with him,^(E) each with his family, and they settled in Hebron^(F) and its towns. ⁴ Then the men of Judah came to Hebron,^(G) and there they anointed^(H) David king over the tribe of Judah.

When David was told that it was the men from Jabesh Gilead^(I) who had buried Saul, ⁵ he sent messengers to them to say to them, “The Lord bless^(J) you for showing this kindness to Saul your master by burying him. ⁶ May the Lord now show you kindness and faithfulness,^(K) and I too will show you the same favor because you have done this. ⁷ Now then, be strong^(L) and brave, for Saul your master is dead, and the people of Judah have anointed me king over them.”

War Between the Houses of David and Saul^(M)

⁸ Meanwhile, Abner^(N) son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ish-Bosheth^(O) son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim.^{(P) 9} He made him king over Gilead,^(Q) Ashuri^(R) and Jezreel, and also over Ephraim, Benjamin and all Israel.^(S)

¹⁰ Ish-Bosheth son of Saul was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he reigned two years. The tribe of Judah, however, remained loyal to David. ¹¹ The length of time David was king in Hebron over Judah was seven years and six months.^(T)

¹² Abner son of Ner, together with the men of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, left Mahanaim and went to Gibeon.^{(U) 13} Joab^(V) son of Zeruiah and David’s men went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. One group sat down on one side of the pool and one group on the other side.

¹⁴ Then Abner said to Joab, “Let’s have some of the young men get up and fight hand to hand in front of us.”

“All right, let them do it,” Joab said.

¹⁵ So they stood up and were counted off—twelve men for Benjamin and Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, and twelve for David. ¹⁶ Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his dagger^(W) into his opponent’s side, and they fell down together. So that place in Gibeon was called Helkath Hazzurim.^[a]

¹⁷ The battle that day was very fierce, and Abner and the Israelites were defeated^(X) by David’s men.^(Y)

¹⁸ The three sons of Zeruiah^(Z) were there: Joab,^(AA) Abishai^(AB) and Asahel.^(AC) Now Asahel was as fleet-footed as a wild gazelle.^{(AD) 19} He chased Abner, turning neither to the right nor to the left as he pursued him. ²⁰ Abner looked behind him and asked, “Is that you, Asahel?”

“It is,” he answered.

²¹ Then Abner said to him, “Turn aside to the right or to the left; take on one of the young men and strip him of his weapons.” But Asahel would not stop chasing him.

²² Again Abner warned Asahel, “Stop chasing me! Why should I strike you down? How could I look your brother Joab in the face?”^(AE)

²³ But Asahel refused to give up the pursuit; so Abner thrust the butt of his spear into Asahel’s stomach,^(AF) and the spear came out through his back. He fell there and died on the spot. And every man stopped when he came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died.^(AG)

²⁴ But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner, and as the sun was setting, they came to the hill of Ammah, near Giah on the way to the wasteland of Gibeon. ²⁵ Then the men of Benjamin rallied behind Abner. They formed themselves into a group and took their stand on top of a hill.

²⁶ Abner called out to Joab, “Must the sword devour^(AH) forever? Don’t you realize that this will end in bitterness? How long before you order your men to stop pursuing their fellow Israelites?”

²⁷ Joab answered, “As surely as God lives, if you had not spoken, the men would have continued pursuing them until morning.”

²⁸ So Joab^(AI) blew the trumpet,^(AJ) and all the troops came to a halt; they no longer pursued Israel, nor did they fight anymore.

²⁹ All that night Abner and his men marched through the Arabah.^(AK) They crossed the Jordan, continued through the morning hours^[b] and came to Mahanaim.^(AL)

³⁰ Then Joab stopped pursuing Abner and assembled the whole army. Besides Asahel, nineteen of David’s men were found missing. ³¹ But David’s men had killed three hundred and sixty Benjamites who were with Abner. ³² They took Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb^(AM) at Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched all night and arrived at Hebron by daybreak.

3 The war between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted a long time.^(AN) David grew stronger and stronger,^(AO) while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.^(AP)

The Church and Its Leaders

3 Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit^(A) but as people who are still worldly^(B)—mere infants^(C) in Christ. ² I gave you milk, not solid food,^(D) for you were not yet ready for it.^(E) Indeed, you are still not ready. ³ You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling^(F) among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? ⁴ For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,”^(G) are you not mere human beings?

⁵ What, after all, is Apollos?^(H) And what is Paul? Only servants,^(I) through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. ⁶ I planted the seed,^(J) Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. ⁷ So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. ⁸ The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor.^{(K) 9} For we are co-workers in God’s service;^(L) you are God’s field,^(M) God’s building.^(N)

¹⁰ By the grace God has given me,^(O) I laid a foundation^(P) as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. ¹¹ For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.^{(Q) 12} If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³ their work will be shown for what it is,^(R) because the Day^(S) will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work.^{(T) 14} If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward.^{(U) 15} If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.^(V)

¹⁶ Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple^(W) and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?^{(X) 17} If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.

¹⁸ Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise^(Y) by the standards of this age,^(Z) you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. ¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is foolishness^(AA) in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”^[a];^{(AB) 20} and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”^{[b](AC) 21} So then, no more boasting about human leaders!^(AD) All things are yours,^{(AE) 22} whether Paul or Apollos^(AF) or Cephas^[c](AG) or the world or life or death or the present or the future^(AH)—all are yours, ²³ and you are of Christ,^(AI) and Christ is of God.

¹⁷ Abner conferred with the elders^(A) of Israel and said, “For some time you have wanted to make David your king. ¹⁸ Now do it! For the Lord promised David, ‘By my servant David I will rescue my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines^(B) and from the hand of all their enemies.^(C)’”

¹⁹ Abner also spoke to the Benjamites in person. Then he went to Hebron to tell David everything that Israel and the whole tribe of Benjamin^(D) wanted to do. ²⁰ When Abner, who had twenty men with him, came to David at Hebron, David prepared a feast^(E) for him and his men. ²¹ Then Abner said to David, “Let me go at once and assemble all Israel for my lord the king, so that they may make a covenant^(F) with you, and that you may rule over all that your heart desires.”^(G) So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.

Joab Murders Abner

²² Just then David’s men and Joab returned from a raid and brought with them a great deal of plunder. But Abner was no longer with David in Hebron, because David had sent him away, and he had gone in peace. ²³ When Joab and all the soldiers with him arrived, he was told that Abner son of Ner had come to the king and that the king had sent him away and that he had gone in peace.

²⁴ So Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Look, Abner came to you. Why did you let him go? Now he is gone! ²⁵ You know Abner son of Ner; he came to deceive you and observe your movements and find out everything you are doing.”

²⁶ Joab then left David and sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern at Sirah. But David did not know it. ²⁷ Now when Abner^(H) returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into an inner chamber, as if to speak with him privately. And there, to avenge the blood of his brother Asahel, Joab stabbed him^(I) in the stomach, and he died.^(J)

²⁸ Later, when David heard about this, he said, “I and my kingdom are forever innocent^(K) before the Lord concerning the blood of Abner son of Ner. ²⁹ May his blood^(L) fall on the head of Joab and on his whole family!^(M) May Joab’s family never be without someone who has a running sore^(N) or leprosy^[a] or who leans on a crutch or who falls by the sword or who lacks food.”

³⁰ (Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.)

³¹ Then David said to Joab and all the people with him, “Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth^(O) and walk in mourning^(P) in front of Abner.” King David himself walked behind the bier. ³² They buried Abner in Hebron, and the king wept^(Q) aloud at Abner’s tomb. All the people wept also.

³³ The king sang this lament^(R) for Abner:

And all the people wept over him again.

³⁵ Then they all came and urged David to eat something while it was still day; but David took an oath, saying, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely,^(T) if I taste bread^(U) or anything else before the sun sets!”

³⁶ All the people took note and were pleased; indeed, everything the king did pleased them. ³⁷ So on that day all the people there and all Israel knew that the king had no part^(V) in the murder of Abner son of Ner.

³⁸ Then the king said to his men, “Do you not realize that a commander and a great man has fallen^(W) in Israel this day? ³⁹ And today, though I am the anointed king, I am weak, and these sons of Zeruiah^(X) are too strong^(Y) for me.^(Z) May the Lord repay^(AA) the evildoer according to his evil deeds!”

Samaritan Opposition

⁵¹ As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven,^(A) Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.^{(B) 52} And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan^(C) village to get things ready for him; ⁵³ but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ When the disciples James and John^(D) saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them^[a]?”^{(E) 55} But Jesus turned and rebuked them. ⁵⁶ Then he and his disciples went to another village.

The Cost of Following Jesus^(F)

⁵⁷ As they were walking along the road,^(G) a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

⁵⁸ Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man^(H) has no place to lay his head.”

⁵⁹ He said to another man, “Follow me.”^(I)

But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

⁶⁰ Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”^(J)

⁶¹ Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”^(K)

⁶² Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”