Chapter 1

Report of Saul’s Death. ¹ After the death of Saul, David returned from his victory over the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days.^{(A) 2} On the third day a man came from the field of battle, one of Saul’s people, with his garments torn and his head covered with dirt. Going to David, he fell to the ground in homage. ³ David asked him, “Where have you come from?” He replied, “From the Israelite camp: I have escaped.” ⁴ “What happened?” David said. “Tell me.” He answered that the soldiers had fled the battle and many of them had fallen and were dead; and that Saul and his son Jonathan were dead. ⁵ Then David said to the youth who was reporting to him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” ^6 (B)The youth reporting to him replied: “I happened to find myself on Mount Gilboa and saw Saul leaning on his spear, with chariots and horsemen closing in on him. ⁷ He turned around and saw me, and called me to him. When I said, ‘Here I am,’ ⁸ he asked me, ‘Who are you?’ and I replied, ‘An Amalekite.’ ⁹ Then he said to me, ‘Stand over me, please, and put me to death, for I am in great suffering, but still alive.’ ¹⁰ So I stood over him and put him to death, for I knew that he could not survive his wound. I removed the crown from his head and the armlet from his arm and brought them here to my lord.”

¹¹ David seized his garments and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him.^{(C) 12} They mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the people of the Lord and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.^{(D) 13} David said to the youth who had reported to him, “Where are you from?” He replied, “I am the son of a resident alien, an Amalekite.” ¹⁴ David said to him, “How is it that you were not afraid to put forth your hand to desecrate the Lord’s anointed?”^{(E) 15} David then called one of the attendants and said to him, “Come, strike him down”; so he struck him and he died. ¹⁶ David said to him, “Your blood is on your head, for you testified against yourself when you said, ‘I put the Lord’s anointed to death.’”

Lament for Saul and Jonathan. ¹⁷ Then David chanted this lament for Saul and his son Jonathan ¹⁸ (he commanded that it be taught to the Judahites; it is recorded in the Book of Jashar):^(F)

Chapter 2

David Is Anointed King. ¹ After this, David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go up into one of the cities of Judah?” The Lord replied to him: Go up. Then David asked, “Where shall I go?” He replied: To Hebron. ² So David went up there, with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the wife of Nabal of Carmel.^{(K) 3} David also brought up his men with their families, and they dwelt in the towns of Hebron. ⁴ Then the men of Judah came there and anointed David king over the house of Judah.

A report reached David that the people of Jabesh-gilead had buried Saul.^{(L) 5} So David sent messengers to the people of Jabesh-gilead and said to them: “May you be blessed by the Lord for having done this kindness to your lord Saul in burying him. ⁶ And now may the Lord show you kindness and fidelity. For my part, I will show generosity to you for having done this. ⁷ So take courage and prove yourselves valiant, for though your lord Saul is dead, the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”

IV. The Reign of David

Ishbaal King of Israel. ⁸ Abner, son of Ner, captain of Saul’s army, took Ishbaal,^[c] son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim,^{(M) 9} where he made him king over Gilead, the Asherites, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and the rest of Israel. ¹⁰ Ishbaal, son of Saul, was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he reigned two years; but the house of Judah followed David. ¹¹ In all, David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah seven years and six months.^(N)

Combat near Gibeon. ¹² Now Abner, son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbaal, Saul’s son, set out from Mahanaim for Gibeon. ¹³ Joab, son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David also set out and encountered them at the pool of Gibeon. And they sat down, one group on one side of the pool and the other on the opposite side. ¹⁴ Then Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men rise and perform for us.”^[d] Joab replied, “All right.” ¹⁵ So they rose and were counted off: twelve of the Benjaminites of Ishbaal, son of Saul, and twelve of David’s servants. ¹⁶ Then each one grasped his opponent’s head and thrust his sword into his opponent’s side, and they all fell down together.^[e] And so that place was named the Field of the Sides; it is in Gibeon.

Death of Asahel. ¹⁷ The battle that day was very fierce, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by David’s servants. ¹⁸ The three sons of Zeruiah were there—Joab, Abishai, and Asahel.^(O) Asahel, who was as fleet of foot as a gazelle in the open field, ¹⁹ set out after Abner, turning neither right nor left in his pursuit. ²⁰ Abner turned around and said, “Is that you, Asahel?” He replied, “Yes.” ²¹ Abner said to him, “Turn right or left; seize one of the young men and take what you can strip from him.” But Asahel would not stop pursuing him. ²² Once more Abner said to Asahel: “Stop pursuing me! Why must I strike you to the ground? How could I show my face to your brother Joab?”^{(P) 23} Still he refused to stop. So Abner struck him in the abdomen with the heel of his spear, and the weapon protruded from his back. He fell there and died on the spot. All who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died, halted. ²⁴ But Joab and Abishai continued the pursuit of Abner. The sun had gone down when they came to the hill of Ammah which lies east of the valley toward the wilderness near Geba.

Truce Between Joab and Abner. ²⁵ Here the Benjaminites rallied around Abner, forming a single group, and made a stand on a hilltop. ²⁶ Then Abner called to Joab and said: “Must the sword devour forever? Do you not know that afterward there will be bitterness? How long before you tell the people to stop pursuing their brothers?” ²⁷ Joab replied, “As God lives, if you had not spoken, it would be morning before the people would be stopped from pursuing their brothers.” ²⁸ Joab then sounded the horn, and all the people came to a halt, pursuing Israel no farther and fighting no more. ²⁹ Abner and his men marched all night long through the Arabah, crossed the Jordan, marched all through the morning, and came to Mahanaim. ³⁰ Joab, coming from the pursuit of Abner, assembled all the men. Nineteen other servants of David were missing, besides Asahel. ³¹ But David’s servants had struck down and killed three hundred and sixty men of Benjamin, followers of Abner. ³² They took up Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb in Bethlehem. Joab and his men made an all-night march, and dawn found them in Hebron.

Psalm 131^[a]

Humble Trust in God

¹ A song of ascents. Of David.

¹⁵ They came to Jerusalem,^(A) and on entering the temple area he began to drive out those selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. ¹⁶ He did not permit anyone to carry anything through the temple area. ¹⁷ Then he taught them saying, “Is it not written:

¹⁸ The chief priests and the scribes came to hear of it and were seeking a way to put him to death, yet they feared him because the whole crowd was astonished at his teaching. ¹⁹ When evening came, they went out of the city.^(C)

The Withered Fig Tree. ^20 (D)Early in the morning, as they were walking along, they saw the fig tree withered to its roots. ²¹ Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” ²² Jesus said to them in reply, “Have faith in God. ²³ Amen, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it shall be done for him.^{(E) 24} Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours.^{(F) 25} When you stand to pray, forgive anyone against whom you have a grievance, so that your heavenly Father may in turn forgive you your transgressions.”^(G) [²⁶ ]^[a]

The Authority of Jesus Questioned.^{[b] 27} They returned once more to Jerusalem.^(H) As he was walking in the temple area, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders approached him ²⁸ and said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things? Or who gave you this authority to do them?” ²⁹ Jesus said to them, “I shall ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ³⁰ Was John’s baptism of heavenly or of human origin? Answer me.” ³¹ They discussed this among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say, ‘[Then] why did you not believe him?’ ³² But shall we say, ‘Of human origin’?”—they feared the crowd, for they all thought John really was a prophet. ³³ So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.” Then Jesus said to them, “Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”