Abner Defects to David

3 There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David; David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul became weaker and weaker.

² Sons were born to David at Hebron: his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam of Jezreel; ³ his second, Chileab, of Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; the third, Absalom son of Maacah, daughter of King Talmai of Geshur; ⁴ the fourth, Adonijah son of Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah son of Abital; ⁵ and the sixth, Ithream, of David’s wife Eglah. These were born to David in Hebron.

⁶ While there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner was making himself strong in the house of Saul. ⁷ Now Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah daughter of Aiah. And Ishbaal^[a] said to Abner, “Why have you gone in to my father’s concubine?” ⁸ The words of Ishbaal^[b] made Abner very angry; he said, “Am I a dog’s head for Judah? Today I keep showing loyalty to the house of your father Saul, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not given you into the hand of David; and yet you charge me now with a crime concerning this woman. ⁹ So may God do to Abner and so may he add to it! For just what the Lord has sworn to David, that will I accomplish for him, ¹⁰ to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan to Beer-sheba.” ¹¹ And Ishbaal^[c] could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him.

¹² Abner sent messengers to David at Hebron,^[d] saying, “To whom does the land belong? Make your covenant with me, and I will give you my support to bring all Israel over to you.” ¹³ He said, “Good; I will make a covenant with you. But one thing I require of you: you shall never appear in my presence unless you bring Saul’s daughter Michal when you come to see me.” ¹⁴ Then David sent messengers to Saul’s son Ishbaal,^[e] saying, “Give me my wife Michal, to whom I became engaged at the price of one hundred foreskins of the Philistines.” ¹⁵ Ishbaal^[f] sent and took her from her husband Paltiel the son of Laish. ¹⁶ But her husband went with her, weeping as he walked behind her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go back home!” So he went back.

¹⁷ Abner sent word to the elders of Israel, saying, “For some time past you have been seeking David as king over you. ¹⁸ Now then bring it about; for the Lord has promised David: Through my servant David I will save my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines, and from all their enemies.” ¹⁹ Abner also spoke directly to the Benjaminites; then Abner went to tell David at Hebron all that Israel and the whole house of Benjamin were ready to do.

²⁰ When Abner came with twenty men to David at Hebron, David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him. ²¹ Abner said to David, “Let me go and rally all Israel to my lord the king, in order that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may reign over all that your heart desires.” So David dismissed Abner, and he went away in peace.

Abner Is Killed by Joab

²² Just then the servants of David arrived with Joab from a raid, bringing much spoil with them. But Abner was not with David at Hebron, for David^[g] had dismissed him, and he had gone away in peace. ²³ When Joab and all the army that was with him came, it was told Joab, “Abner son of Ner came to the king, and he has dismissed him, and he has gone away in peace.” ²⁴ Then Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Abner came to you; why did you dismiss him, so that he got away? ²⁵ You know that Abner son of Ner came to deceive you, and to learn your comings and goings and to learn all that you are doing.”

²⁶ When Joab came out from David’s presence, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern of Sirah; but David did not know about it. ²⁷ When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gateway to speak with him privately, and there he stabbed him in the stomach. So he died for shedding^[h] the blood of Asahel, Joab’s^[i] brother. ²⁸ Afterward, when David heard of it, he said, “I and my kingdom are forever guiltless before the Lord for the blood of Abner son of Ner. ²⁹ May the guilt^[j] fall on the head of Joab, and on all his father’s house; and may the house of Joab never be without one who has a discharge, or who is leprous,^[k] or who holds a spindle, or who falls by the sword, or who lacks food!” ³⁰ So 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 to all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes, and put on sackcloth, and mourn over Abner.” And King David followed the bier. ³² They buried Abner at Hebron. The king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept. ³³ The king lamented for Abner, saying,

And all the people wept over him again. ³⁵ Then all the people came to persuade David to eat something while it was still day; but David swore, saying, “So may God do to me, and more, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun goes down!” ³⁶ All the people took notice of it, and it pleased them; just as everything the king did pleased all the people. ³⁷ So all the people and all Israel understood that day that the king had no part in the killing of Abner son of Ner. ³⁸ And the king said to his servants, “Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel? ³⁹ Today I am powerless, even though anointed king; these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too violent for me. The Lord pay back the one who does wickedly in accordance with his wickedness!”

Ishbaal Assassinated

4 When Saul’s son Ishbaal^[l] heard that Abner had died at Hebron, his courage failed, and all Israel was dismayed. ² Saul’s son had two captains of raiding bands; the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab. They were sons of Rimmon a Benjaminite from Beeroth—for Beeroth is considered to belong to Benjamin. ³ (Now the people of Beeroth had fled to Gittaim and are there as resident aliens to this day).

⁴ Saul’s son Jonathan had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled; and, in her haste to flee, it happened that he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.^[m]

⁵ Now the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, set out, and about the heat of the day they came to the house of Ishbaal,^[n] while he was taking his noonday rest. ⁶ They came inside the house as though to take wheat, and they struck him in the stomach; then Rechab and his brother Baanah escaped.^{[o] 7} Now they had come into the house while he was lying on his couch in his bedchamber; they attacked him, killed him, and beheaded him. Then they took his head and traveled by way of the Arabah all night long. ⁸ They brought the head of Ishbaal^[p] to David at Hebron and said to the king, “Here is the head of Ishbaal,^[q] son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life; the Lord has avenged my lord the king this day on Saul and on his offspring.”

⁹ David answered Rechab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity, ¹⁰ when the one who told me, ‘See, Saul is dead,’ thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag—this was the reward I gave him for his news. ¹¹ How much more then, when wicked men have killed a righteous man on his bed in his own house! And now shall I not require his blood at your hand, and destroy you from the earth?” ¹² So David commanded the young men, and they killed them; they cut off their hands and feet, and hung their bodies beside the pool at Hebron. But the head of Ishbaal^[r] they took and buried in the tomb of Abner at Hebron.

Psalm 132

The Eternal Dwelling of God in Zion

A Song of Ascents.

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

12 Then he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the wine press, and built a watchtower; then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. ² When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce of the vineyard. ³ But they seized him, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. ⁴ And again he sent another slave to them; this one they beat over the head and insulted. ⁵ Then he sent another, and that one they killed. And so it was with many others; some they beat, and others they killed. ⁶ He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ⁷ But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ⁸ So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. ⁹ What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰ Have you not read this scripture:

¹² When they realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowd. So they left him and went away.

The Question about Paying Taxes

¹³ Then they sent to him some Pharisees and some Herodians to trap him in what he said. ¹⁴ And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not? ¹⁵ Should we pay them, or should we not?” But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why are you putting me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me see it.” ¹⁶ And they brought one. Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” They answered, “The emperor’s.” ¹⁷ Jesus said to them, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at him.

The Question about the Resurrection

¹⁸ Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question, saying, ¹⁹ “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, the man^[b] shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. ²⁰ There were seven brothers; the first married and, when he died, left no children; ²¹ and the second married the widow^[c] and died, leaving no children; and the third likewise; ²² none of the seven left children. Last of all the woman herself died. ²³ In the resurrection^[d] whose wife will she be? For the seven had married her.”

²⁴ Jesus said to them, “Is not this the reason you are wrong, that you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God? ²⁵ For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. ²⁶ And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the story about the bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? ²⁷ He is God not of the dead, but of the living; you are quite wrong.”