2 Samuel 2
Holman Christian Standard Bible
David, King of Judah
2 Some time later, David inquired of the Lord:(A) “Should I go to one of the towns of Judah?”
The Lord answered him, “Go.”
Then David asked, “Where should I go?”
“To Hebron,”(B) the Lord replied.
2 So David went there with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail, the widow of Nabal the Carmelite.(C) 3 In addition, David brought the men who were with him, each one with his household, and they settled in the towns near Hebron.(D) 4 Then the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.(E) They told David: “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.”(F)
5 David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, “The Lord bless you, because you have shown this kindness to Saul your lord when you buried him. 6 Now, may the Lord show kindness and faithfulness to you, and I will also show the same goodness to you because you have done this deed. 7 Therefore, be strong and courageous, for though Saul your lord is dead, the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”
8 Abner son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army,(G) took Saul’s son Ish-bosheth[a][b] and moved him to Mahanaim. 9 He made him king over Gilead, Asher, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin—over all Israel. 10 Saul’s son Ish-bosheth was 40 years old when he began his reign over Israel; he ruled for two years. The house of Judah, however, followed David. 11 The length of time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.(H)
12 Abner son of Ner and soldiers of Ish-bosheth son of Saul marched out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. 13 So Joab son of Zeruiah and David’s soldiers marched out and met them by the pool of Gibeon.(I) The two groups took up positions on opposite sides of the pool.
14 Then Abner said to Joab, “Let’s have the young men get up and compete in front of us.”
“Let them get up,” Joab replied.
15 So they got up and were counted off—12 for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth son of Saul, and 12 from David’s soldiers. 16 Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his sword into his opponent’s side so that they all died together. So this place, which is in Gibeon, is named Field of Blades.[c]
17 The battle that day was extremely fierce, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by David’s soldiers. 18 The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel.(J) Asahel was a fast runner, like one of the wild gazelles.(K) 19 He chased Abner and did not turn to the right or the left in his pursuit of him. 20 Abner glanced back and said, “Is that you, Asahel?”
“Yes it is,” Asahel replied.
21 Abner said to him, “Turn to your right or left, seize one of the young soldiers, and take whatever you can get from him.” But Asahel would not stop chasing him. 22 Once again, Abner warned Asahel, “Stop chasing me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How could I ever look your brother Joab in the face?”(L)
23 But Asahel refused to turn away, so Abner hit him in the stomach with the end of his spear. The spear went through his body, and he fell and died right there. When all who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died, they stopped, 24 but Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. By sunset, they had gone as far as the hill of Ammah, which is opposite Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon.
25 The Benjaminites rallied to Abner; they formed a single unit and took their stand on top of a hill. 26 Then Abner called out to Joab: “Must the sword devour forever? Don’t you realize this will only end in bitterness? How long before you tell the troops to stop pursuing their brothers?”
27 “As God lives,” Joab replied, “if you had not spoken up, the troops wouldn’t have stopped pursuing their brothers until morning.”(M) 28 Then Joab blew the ram’s horn, and all the troops stopped; they no longer pursued Israel or continued to fight. 29 So Abner and his men marched through the Arabah all that night. They crossed the Jordan, marched all morning,[d] and arrived at Mahanaim.(N)
30 When Joab had turned back from pursuing Abner, he gathered all the troops. In addition to Asahel, 19 of David’s soldiers were missing, 31 but they had killed 360 of the Benjaminites and Abner’s men. 32 Afterward, they carried Asahel to his father’s tomb in Bethlehem and buried him. Then Joab and his men marched all night and reached Hebron at dawn.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 2:8 Some LXX mss read Ishbaal; 1Ch 8:33; 9:39
- 2 Samuel 2:8 = Man of Shame
- 2 Samuel 2:16 Or Helkath-hazzurim
- 2 Samuel 2:29 Or marched through the Bithron
2 Samuel 2
International Standard Version
David Becomes King over Judah
2 Some time later, David inquired of the Lord to ask, “Am I to move[a] to any one of the cities of Judah?”
The Lord told him, “Go.”
So David asked, “To which one?”
He replied, “To Hebron.”
2 So David went there, along with his two wives Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, widow of Nabal from Carmel. 3 David brought his army[b] with him, each soldier accompanied by his household, and they settled in the cities of Hebron. 4 After this, the army of Judah arrived, and they anointed David king over the house of Judah.
There they informed David, “The men of Jabesh-gilead buried Saul.”
5 So David sent messengers to the people[c] of Jabesh-gilead and told them, “May the Lord bless you, because you showed gracious love like[d] this to your lord Saul by burying him. 6 Now may the Lord reward you with gracious love, as well as faithfulness, to you, too! And I will also reward you because you did this good thing. 7 So strengthen yourselves, and be valiant in heart, because your lord Saul has died, and the household of Judah has anointed me to be king over them.”
Abner’s Rebellion and the Battle at Gibeon
8 Meanwhile, Ner’s son Abner, the commander of Saul’s army, had taken Saul’s son Ish-bosheth[e] and brought him to Mahanaim. 9 He installed him as king over Gilead, the Ashurites, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and all of the rest of[f] Israel. 10 Ish-bosheth began to reign over Israel at the age of 40 years, and he reigned for two years, even though Judah’s lineage followed David. 11 The period of David’s kingship in Hebron lasted seven years and six months.
12 Ner’s son Abner and the servants of Saul’s son Ish-bosheth set out from Mahanaim for Gibeon. 13 Zeruiah’s son Joab and some of David’s staff went out to meet them at the pool of Gibeon. One side encamped on one side of the pool while the other encamped on the other side of the pool.
14 Abner told Joab, “Let’s have the young men get up and fight in our presence.”
Joab replied, “Let them come.”
15 So they got up and twelve were counted to represent Benjamin and Saul’s son Ish-bosheth and twelve to represent members of David’s staff. 16 Each man grabbed his opponent by the head, plunged[g] his sword into his opponent’s side, and then they both fell together. That’s why the place at Gibeon was named The Field of Swords.[h] 17 The battle was very violent that day, with Abner and the men of Israel being defeated in the presence of David’s servants.
Abner Kills Joab’s Brother Asahel
18 Zeruiah’s three sons Joab, Abishai, and Asahel were there. As a runner, Asahel was fast, like one of the wild gazelles. 19 So Asahel ran straight[i] after Abner, following him. 20 When Abner looked behind him, he said, “Is that you, Asahel?”
He answered, “I am.”
21 Abner told him, “Go off to your right or left after one of the young men and grab some war spoils.” But Asahel would not stop following him, 22 so Abner told Asahel again, “Stop following me. Why should I strike you down? How could I show my face to your brother Joab?”
23 But Asahel[j] refused to turn away, so Abner struck Asahel in the abdomen with the butt end of his spear, and the spear protruded through his back. He collapsed to the ground and died where he fell. Everyone gathered round the place where Asahel had collapsed and died, and stood still there.
24 Meanwhile, Joab and Abishai continued to chase Abner. At dusk, as they approached the hill of Ammah that is located near Giah on the way to the Gibeon desert, 25 the descendants of Benjamin rallied around Abner, forming a single military force. They took their stand on top of the hill.
26 Then Abner called out to Joab, “Must the battle sword keep on devouring forever? Don’t you realize that the end result is bitterness? How long will it take for you to order your army[k] to stop pursuing their own relatives?”
27 Joab answered, “As God lives, if you hadn’t spoken up, by morning my army would have broken off their pursuit of their own relatives.” 28 So Joab sounded his battle trumpet, his entire army stopped pursuing Israel any longer, and they quit fighting.
29 Abner and his army traveled through the Arabah by night, crossed the Jordan, and arrived at Mahanaim after marching all morning. 30 Joab returned from his pursuit of Abner, and when he had mustered his entire army, nineteen of David’s soldiers[l] were missing besides Asahel. 31 Meanwhile, other[m] soldiers of David had killed 360 of Abner’s men from the tribe of[n] Benjamin. 32 They retrieved Asahel’s body and buried him in his father’s tomb at Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched all night until daybreak and arrived back in Hebron.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 2:1 Lit. to go up
- 2 Samuel 2:3 Lit. men
- 2 Samuel 2:5 Lit. men
- 2 Samuel 2:5 The Heb. lacks like
- 2 Samuel 2:8 MT means Shameful Man; cf. 1Chr 8:33, where he is named Esh-baal
- 2 Samuel 2:9 The Heb. lacks the rest of
- 2 Samuel 2:16 The Heb. lacks plunged
- 2 Samuel 2:16 Lit. Helkath-hazzurim
- 2 Samuel 2:19 Lit. ran turning neither to the right nor to the left
- 2 Samuel 2:23 Lit. he
- 2 Samuel 2:26 Lit. people; and so throughout the chapter
- 2 Samuel 2:30 Lit. servants
- 2 Samuel 2:31 The Heb. lacks other
- 2 Samuel 2:31 The Heb. lacks the tribe of
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