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2 Samuel 2
Legacy Standard Bible

David Anointed King of Judah

2 Now it happened afterwards that (A)David asked of Yahweh, saying, “Shall I go up to one of the cities of Judah?” And Yahweh 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 wife of Nabal the Carmelite. 3 And (D)David brought up his men who were with him, each with his household; and they lived in the cities of Hebron. 4 Then the men of Judah came and there (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 And David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead, and said to them, “(G)May you be blessed of Yahweh because you have [a]shown this lovingkindness with your lord, with Saul, and have buried him. 6 So now, (H)may Yahweh [b]show lovingkindness and truth to you; and I also will [c]show this goodness to you, because you have done this thing. 7 So now, let your hands be strong and be [d]valiant; for Saul your lord is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”

Ish-bosheth Made King over Israel

8 Now (I)Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, had taken [e]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 (N)And the [f]time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

Abner Defeated Before David

12 Now Abner the son of Ner, went out 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 [g]them by the pool of Gibeon; and they sat down, [h]one on the one side of the pool and [i]the other on the other side of the pool. 14 Then Abner said to Joab, “Now let the young men arise and [j](Q)hold a contest before us.” And Joab said, “Let them arise.” 15 So they arose and went over by count, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of 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 And that day the battle was very severe, and (R)Abner and the men of Israel were [n]defeated before the servants of David.

18 Now (S)the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab and Abishai and Asahel; and Asahel was (T)as [o]swift-footed as one of the gazelles which is in the field. 19 And Asahel pursued Abner and did not [p]turn to the right or to the left from following Abner. 20 Then Abner turned to look behind him and said, “Is that you, Asahel?” And he answered, “It is I.” 21 So Abner said to him, “[q]Turn to your right or to your left, and seize one of the young men for yourself, and take for yourself his spoil.” But Asahel was not willing to turn aside from following him. 22 And Abner repeated again to Asahel, “Turn [r]aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? (U)How then could I lift up my face to your brother Joab?” 23 However, he refused to turn aside; therefore 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 to the place where (V)Asahel had fallen and died, stood still.

24 But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. Now the sun was going down, and they came to the hill of Ammah, which is in front of Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon. 25 And the sons of Benjamin gathered together behind Abner and became one band, and they stood on the top of a certain 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 end? How long will you [s]refrain from telling the people to turn back from following their brothers?” 27 And Joab said, “As God lives, if you had not spoken, surely then the people would have only gone away in the morning, each from following his brother.” 28 So Joab blew the trumpet; and all the people stood still and pursued Israel no longer, (W)nor did they continue to fight anymore. 29 But 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 Now Joab returned from following Abner. And he had gathered all the people together, and [t]nineteen of David’s servants besides Asahel were missing. 31 But the servants of David had struck down many of Benjamin and Abner’s men, so that 360 men died. 32 And they took up Asahel and buried him (Y)in his father’s tomb which was in Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men went all night until the day [u]dawned at Hebron.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 2:5 Lit done
  2. 2 Samuel 2:6 Lit do
  3. 2 Samuel 2:6 Lit do
  4. 2 Samuel 2:7 Lit sons of valor
  5. 2 Samuel 2:8 Lit man of shame, also known as Eshbaal, cf. 1 Chr 8:33
  6. 2 Samuel 2:11 Lit number of days
  7. 2 Samuel 2:13 Lit them together
  8. 2 Samuel 2:13 Lit these
  9. 2 Samuel 2:13 Lit these
  10. 2 Samuel 2:14 Lit make sport
  11. 2 Samuel 2:16 Lit fellow
  12. 2 Samuel 2:16 Lit fellow’s
  13. 2 Samuel 2:16 Lit the field of sword-edges
  14. 2 Samuel 2:17 Lit smitten
  15. 2 Samuel 2:18 Lit light in his feet
  16. 2 Samuel 2:19 Lit turn to go to
  17. 2 Samuel 2:21 Lit Turn for yourself
  18. 2 Samuel 2:22 Lit aside for yourself
  19. 2 Samuel 2:26 Lit not tell the people
  20. 2 Samuel 2:30 Lit nineteen men
  21. 2 Samuel 2:32 Lit lighted on them
Listen to 2 Samuel 2
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2 Samuel 2
New King James Version

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. 11 And (O)the [b]time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

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 (P)Gibeon. 13 And (Q)Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out and met them by (R)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 [c]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 (S)three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab and Abishai and Asahel. And Asahel was (T)as fleet of foot (U)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 (V)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 (W)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 [d]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, [e]unless (X)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 (Y)Bethlehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at daybreak.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 2:8 Esh-Baal, 1 Chr. 8:33; 9:39
  2. 2 Samuel 2:11 Lit. number of days
  3. 2 Samuel 2:16 Heb. Helkath Hazzurim
  4. 2 Samuel 2:25 one band
  5. 2 Samuel 2:27 if you had not spoken
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Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)

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New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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