David Anointed King of Judah

2 It happened after this that David ^(A)inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up to any of the cities of Judah?”

And the Lord said to him, “Go up.”

David said, “Where shall I go up?”

And He said, “To ^(B)Hebron.”

² So David went up there, and his ^(C)two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. ³ And David brought up ^(D)the men who were with him, every man with his household. So they dwelt in the cities of Hebron.

^4 (E)Then the men of Judah came, and there they ^(F)anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, ^(G)“The men of Jabesh Gilead were the ones who buried Saul.” ⁵ So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead, and said to them, ^(H)“You are blessed of the Lord, for you have shown this kindness to your lord, to Saul, and have buried him. ⁶ And now may ^(I)the Lord show kindness and truth to you. I also will repay you this kindness, because you have done this thing. ⁷ Now therefore, let your hands be strengthened, and be valiant; for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”

Ishbosheth Made King of Israel

⁸ But ^(J)Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, took ^[a]Ishbosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to ^(K)Mahanaim; ⁹ and he made him king over ^(L)Gilead, over the ^(M)Ashurites, over ^(N)Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin, and over all Israel. ¹⁰ Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. Only the house of Judah followed David.

Israel and Judah at War

¹² Now Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to ^(A)Gibeon. ¹³ And ^(B)Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out and met them by ^(C)the pool of Gibeon. So they sat down, one on one side of the pool and the other on the other side of the pool. ¹⁴ Then Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men now arise and compete before us.”

And Joab said, “Let them arise.”

¹⁵ So they arose and went over by number, twelve from Benjamin, followers of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David. ¹⁶ And each one grasped his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent’s side; so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called ^[a]the Field of Sharp Swords, which is in Gibeon. ¹⁷ So there was a very fierce battle that day, and Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David.

¹⁸ Now the ^(D)three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab and Abishai and Asahel. And Asahel was ^(E)as fleet of foot ^(F)as a wild gazelle. ¹⁹ So Asahel pursued Abner, and in going he did not turn to the right hand or to the left from following Abner.

²⁰ Then Abner looked behind him and said, “Are you Asahel?”

He answered, “I am.”

²¹ And Abner said to him, “Turn aside to your right hand or to your left, and lay hold on one of the young men and take his armor for yourself.” But Asahel would not turn aside from following him. ²² So Abner said again to Asahel, “Turn aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I face your brother Joab?” ²³ However, he refused to turn aside. Therefore Abner struck him ^(G)in the stomach with the blunt end of the spear, so that the spear came out of his back; and he fell down there and died on the spot. So it was that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died, stood ^(H)still.

²⁴ Joab and Abishai also pursued Abner. And the sun was going down when they came to the hill of Ammah, which is before Giah by the road to the Wilderness of Gibeon. ²⁵ Now the children of Benjamin gathered together behind Abner and became ^[b]a unit, and took their stand on top of a hill. ²⁶ Then Abner called to Joab and said, “Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that it will be bitter in the latter end? How long will it be then until you tell the people to return from pursuing their brethren?”

²⁷ And Joab said, “As God lives, ^[c]unless ^(I)you had spoken, surely then by morning all the people would have given up pursuing their brethren.” ²⁸ So Joab blew a trumpet; and all the people stood still and did not pursue Israel anymore, nor did they fight anymore. ²⁹ Then Abner and his men went on all that night through the plain, crossed over the Jordan, and went through all Bithron; and they came to Mahanaim.

³⁰ So Joab returned from pursuing Abner. And when he had gathered all the people together, there were missing of David’s servants nineteen men and Asahel. ³¹ But the servants of David had struck down, of Benjamin and Abner’s men, three hundred and sixty men who died. ³² Then they took up Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb, which was in ^(J)Bethlehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at daybreak.

Joab Kills Abner

3 Now there was a long ^(K)war between the house of Saul and the house of David. But David grew stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.

Sons of David

² Sons were born ^(L)to David in Hebron: His firstborn was Amnon ^(M)by Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; ³ his second, ^[d]Chileab, by Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite; the third, ^(N)Absalom the son of Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king ^(O)of Geshur; ⁴ the fourth, ^(P)Adonijah the son of Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; ⁵ and the sixth, Ithream, by David’s wife Eglah. These were born to David in Hebron.

Abner Joins Forces with David

⁶ Now it was so, while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, that Abner was strengthening his hold on the house of Saul.

⁷ And Saul had a concubine, whose name was ^(Q)Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. So Ishbosheth said to Abner, “Why have you ^(R)gone in to my father’s concubine?”

⁸ Then Abner became very angry at the words of Ishbosheth, and said, “Am I ^(S)a dog’s head that belongs to Judah? Today I show loyalty to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not delivered you into the hand of David; and you charge me today with a fault concerning this woman? ^9 (T)May God do so to Abner, and more also, if I do not do for David ^(U)as the Lord has sworn to him— ¹⁰ to transfer the kingdom from the ^[e]house of Saul, and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, ^(V)from Dan to Beersheba.” ¹¹ And he could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him.

¹² Then Abner sent messengers on his behalf to David, saying, “Whose is the land?” saying also, “Make your covenant with me, and indeed my hand shall be with you to bring all Israel to you.”

¹³ And David said, “Good, I will make a covenant with you. But one thing I require of you: ^(W)you shall not see my face unless you first bring ^(X)Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see my face.” ¹⁴ So David sent messengers to ^(Y)Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, saying, “Give me my wife Michal, whom I betrothed to myself ^(Z)for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.” ¹⁵ And Ishbosheth sent and took her from her husband, from ^[f]Paltiel the son of Laish. ¹⁶ Then her husband went along with her to ^(AA)Bahurim, ^[g]weeping behind her. So Abner said to him, “Go, return!” And he returned.

¹⁷ Now Abner had communicated with the elders of Israel, saying, “In time past you were seeking for David to be king over you. ¹⁸ Now then, do it! ^(AB)For the Lord has spoken of David, saying, ‘By the hand of My servant David, ^[h]I will save My people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and the hand of all their enemies.’ ” ¹⁹ And Abner also spoke in the hearing of ^(AC)Benjamin. Then Abner also went to speak in the hearing of David in Hebron all that seemed good to Israel and the whole house of Benjamin.

²⁰ So Abner and twenty men with him came to David at Hebron. And David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him. ²¹ Then Abner said to David, “I will arise and go, and ^(AD)gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may ^(AE)reign over all that your heart desires.” So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.

Joab Murders Abner

²² At that moment the servants of David and Joab came from a raid and brought much ^[i]spoil with them. But Abner was not with David in Hebron, for he had sent him away, and he had gone in peace. ²³ When Joab and all the troops that were with him had come, they told Joab, saying, “Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he sent him away, and he has gone in peace.” ²⁴ Then Joab came to the king and said, “What have you done? Look, Abner came to you; why is it that you sent him away, and he has already gone? ²⁵ Surely you realize that Abner the son of Ner came to deceive you, to know ^(AF)your going out and your coming in, and to know all that you are doing.”

²⁶ And when Joab had gone from David’s presence, he sent messengers after Abner, who brought him back from the well of Sirah. But David did not know it. ²⁷ Now when Abner had returned to Hebron, Joab ^(AG)took him aside in the gate to speak with him privately, and there ^[j]stabbed him ^(AH)in the stomach, so that he died for the blood of ^(AI)Asahel his brother.

²⁸ Afterward, when David heard it, he said, “My kingdom and I are ^[k]guiltless before the Lord forever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner. ^29 (AJ)Let it rest on the head of Joab and on all his father’s house; and let there never fail to be in the ^[l]house of Joab one ^(AK)who has a discharge or is a leper, who leans on a staff or falls by the sword, or who lacks bread.”

Ishbosheth Is Murdered

4 When Saul’s ^[a]son heard that Abner had died in Hebron, ^(A)he^[b] lost heart, and all Israel was ^(B)troubled. ² Now Saul’s son had two men who were captains of troops. The name of one was Baanah and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin. (For ^(C)Beeroth also was ^[c]part of Benjamin, ³ because the Beerothites fled to ^(D)Gittaim and have been sojourners there until this day.)

⁵ Then the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, set out and came at about the heat of the day to the ^(A)house of Ishbosheth, who was lying on his bed at noon.