Responses to Saul’s Death

1 After the death of Saul,^(A) David returned from defeating the Amalekites^(B) and stayed at Ziklag two days. ² On the third day a man with torn clothes and dust on his head^(C) came from Saul’s camp. When he came to David, he fell to the ground and paid homage. ³ David asked him, “Where have you come from?”

He replied to him, “I’ve escaped from the Israelite camp.”

⁴ “What was the outcome? Tell me,” David asked him.

“The troops fled from the battle,” he answered. “Many of the troops have fallen and are dead. Also, Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.”^(D)

⁵ David asked the young man who had brought him the report, “How do you know Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”

⁶ “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,”^(E) he replied, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear. At that very moment the chariots and the cavalry were closing in on him. ⁷ When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, so I answered: I’m at your service. ⁸ He asked me, ‘Who are you?’ I told him: I’m an Amalekite.^{(F) 9} Then he begged me, ‘Stand over me and kill me, for I’m mortally wounded,^[a] but my life still lingers.’^{(G) 10} So I stood over him and killed him because I knew that after he had fallen he couldn’t survive. I took the crown that was on his head and the armband that was on his arm, and I’ve brought them here to my lord.”

¹¹ Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them,^(H) and all the men with him did the same. ¹² They mourned, wept, and fasted until the evening^(I) for those who died by the sword—for Saul, his son Jonathan, the Lord’s people, and the house of Israel.

¹³ David inquired of the young man who had brought him the report, “Where are you from?”

“I’m the son of a resident alien,” he said. “I’m an Amalekite.”

¹⁴ David questioned him, “How is it that you were not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?” ^{(J) 15} Then David summoned one of his servants and said, “Come here and kill him!” The servant struck him, and he died.^{(K) 16} For David had said to the Amalekite, “Your blood is on your own head^(L) because your own mouth testified against you by saying, ‘I killed the Lord’s anointed.’”

¹⁷ David sang the following lament^(M) for Saul and his son Jonathan, ¹⁸ and he ordered that the Judahites be taught The Song of the Bow. It is written in the Book of Jashar:^[b](N)

David, King of Judah

2 Some time later, David inquired of the Lord:^(T) “Should I go to one of the towns of Judah?”

The Lord answered him, “Go.”

Then David asked, “Where should I go?”

“To Hebron,”^(U) the Lord replied.

² So David went there with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail, the widow of Nabal the Carmelite.^{(V) 3} In addition, David brought the men who were with him, each one with his family, and they settled in the towns near Hebron.^{(W) 4} Then the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.^(X) They told David, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.”^(Y)

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^[f] and valiant, 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,^(Z) took Saul’s son Ish-bosheth^[g][h] 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 forty years old when he became king over Israel; he reigned 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.^(AA)

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.^(AB) 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—twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth son of Saul, and twelve 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.^[i]

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.^(AC) Asahel was a fast runner, like one of the wild gazelles.^{(AD) 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?” ^(AE)

²³ But Asahel refused to turn away, so Abner hit him in the stomach with the butt of his spear. The spear went through his body, and he fell and died right there. As they all came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died, they stopped,^{(AF) 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 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.”^{(AG) 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,^[j] and arrived at Mahanaim.^(AH)

³⁰ When Joab had turned back from pursuing Abner, he gathered all the troops. In addition to Asahel, nineteen 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.

Civil War

3 During the long war between the house of Saul and the house of David,^(AI) David was growing stronger^(AJ) and the house of Saul was becoming weaker.

² Sons were born to David in Hebron:

These were born to David in Hebron.^(AQ)

⁶ During the war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner kept acquiring more power in the house of Saul.^{(AR) 7} Now Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah^(AS) daughter of Aiah, and Ish-bosheth questioned Abner, “Why did you sleep with my father’s concubine?”

⁸ Abner was very angry about Ish-bosheth’s accusation. “Am I a dog’s head^[k](AT) who belongs to Judah?” he asked. “All this time I’ve been loyal to the family of your father Saul, to his brothers, and to his friends and haven’t betrayed you to David, but now you accuse me of wrongdoing with this woman! ⁹ May God punish Abner and do so severely if I don’t do for David what the Lord swore to him: ¹⁰ to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and establish the throne of David over Israel and Judah^(AU) from Dan to Beer-sheba.” ¹¹ Ish-bosheth did not dare respond to Abner because he was afraid of him.

¹² Abner sent messengers as his representatives to say to David, “Whose land is it? Make your covenant with me, and you can be certain I am on your side to turn all Israel over to you.”

¹³ David replied, “Good, I will make a covenant with you. However, there’s one thing I require of you: You will not see my face unless you first bring Saul’s daughter Michal^(AV) when you come to see me.”

¹⁴ Then David sent messengers to say to Ish-bosheth son of Saul, “Give me back my wife Michal. I was engaged to her for the price of a hundred Philistine foreskins.”^(AW)

¹⁵ So Ish-bosheth sent someone to take her away from her husband, Paltiel son of Laish.^{(AX) 16} Her husband followed her, weeping all the way to Bahurim. Abner said to him, “Go back.” So he went back.

The Assassination of Abner

¹⁷ Abner conferred with the elders of Israel: “In the past you wanted David to be king over you. ¹⁸ Now take action, because the Lord has spoken concerning David: ‘Through my servant David I will save my people Israel from the power of the Philistines and the power of all Israel’s enemies.’”

¹⁹ Abner also informed the Benjaminites and went to Hebron to inform David about all that was agreed on by Israel and the whole house of Benjamin.^{(AY) 20} When Abner and twenty men came to David at Hebron, David held a banquet for him and his men.

²¹ Abner said to David, “Let me now go and I will gather all Israel to my lord the king. They will make a covenant with you,^(AZ) and you will reign over all you desire.” So David dismissed Abner, and he went in peace.

²² Just then David’s soldiers and Joab returned from a raid and brought a large amount of plundered goods with them. Abner was not with David in Hebron because David had dismissed him, and he had gone in peace. ²³ When Joab and his whole army arrived, Joab was informed, “Abner son of Ner came to see the king, the king dismissed him, and he went in peace.”

²⁴ Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Look here, Abner came to you. Why did you dismiss him? Now he’s getting away. ²⁵ You know that Abner son of Ner came to deceive you and to find out about your military activities^[l] and everything you’re doing.” ²⁶ Then Joab left David and sent messengers after Abner. They brought him back from the well^[m] of Sirah, but David was unaware of it. ²⁷ When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab pulled him aside to the middle of the city gate, as if to speak to him privately, and there Joab stabbed him in the stomach. So Abner died in revenge for the death of Asahel,^[n] Joab’s brother.^(BA)

²⁸ David heard about it later and said, “I and my kingdom are forever innocent before the Lord concerning the blood of Abner son of Ner. ²⁹ May it hang over Joab’s head and his father’s whole family, and may the house of Joab never be without someone who has a discharge or a skin disease,^(BB) or a man who can only work a spindle,^[o] or someone who falls by the sword or starves.” ³⁰ Joab and his brother Abishai killed Abner because he had put their brother Asahel to death in the battle at Gibeon.^(BC)

³¹ David then ordered Joab and all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes, put on sackcloth,^(BD) and mourn over Abner.” And King David walked behind the coffin.^[p]

³² When they buried Abner in Hebron, the king wept aloud at Abner’s tomb. All the people wept, ³³ and the king sang a lament for Abner:^(BE)

And all the people wept over him even more.

³⁵ Then they came to urge David to eat food while it was still day, but David took an oath: “May God punish me and do so severely if I taste bread or anything else before sunset!” ^{(BF) 36} All the people took note of this, and it pleased them. In fact, everything the king did pleased them. ³⁷ On that day all the troops and all Israel were convinced that the king had no part in the killing of Abner son of Ner.

³⁸ Then the king said to his soldiers, “You must know that a great leader has fallen in Israel today. ³⁹ As for me, even though I am the anointed king, I have little power today. These men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too fierce for me.^(BG) May the Lord repay the evildoer according to his evil!” ^(BH)

The Assassination of Ish-bosheth

4 When Saul’s son Ish-bosheth heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he gave up,^[q] and all Israel was dismayed. ² Saul’s son had two men who were leaders of raiding parties: one named Baanah and the other Rechab, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite of the Benjaminites. Beeroth is also considered part of Benjamin, ³ and the Beerothites fled to Gittaim and still reside there as aliens today.

⁴ Saul’s son Jonathan had a son whose feet were crippled. He was five years old when the report about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nanny picked him up and fled, but as she was hurrying to flee, he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.^(BI)

⁵ Rechab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, set out and arrived at Ish-bosheth’s house during the heat of the day while the king was taking his midday nap. ⁶ They entered the interior of the house as if to get wheat and stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rechab and his brother Baanah escaped. ⁷ They had entered the house while Ish-bosheth was lying on his bed in his bedroom and stabbed and killed him. They removed his head, took it, and traveled by way of the Arabah^(BJ) all night. ⁸ They brought Ish-bosheth’s head to David at Hebron and said to the king, “Here’s the head of Ish-bosheth son of Saul, your enemy who intended to take your life. Today the Lord has granted vengeance to my lord the king against Saul and his offspring.”

⁹ But David answered Rechab and his brother Baanah, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As the Lord lives, the one who has redeemed my life from every distress,^{(BK) 10} when the person told me, ‘Look, Saul is dead,’ he thought he was a bearer of good news, but I seized him and put him to death at Ziklag.^(BL) That was my reward to him for his news! ¹¹ How much more when wicked men kill a righteous man in his own house on his own bed! So now, should I not require his blood from you and purge you from the earth?” ^(BM)

¹² So David gave orders to the young men, and they killed Rechab and Baanah. They cut off their hands and feet and hung their bodies by the pool in Hebron, but they took Ish-bosheth’s head and buried it in Abner’s tomb in Hebron.^(BN)

David’s Anointing as King

11 All Israel^(A) came together to David at Hebron and said, “Here we are, your own flesh and blood.^{[a] 2} Even previously when Saul was king, you were leading Israel out to battle and bringing us back. The Lord your God also said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will be ruler over my people Israel.’”

³ So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron. David made a covenant with them at Hebron in the Lord’s presence, and they anointed David king over Israel, in keeping with the Lord’s word through Samuel.^(B)

David’s Capture of Jerusalem

⁴ David^(C) and all Israel marched to Jerusalem (that is, Jebus); the Jebusites who inhabited the land were there.^{(D) 5} The inhabitants of Jebus said to David, “You will never get in here.” Yet David did capture the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David.

⁶ David said, “Whoever is the first to kill a Jebusite will become chief commander.” Joab^(E) son of Zeruiah went up first, so he became the chief.

⁷ Then David took up residence in the stronghold; therefore, it was called the city of David. ⁸ He built up the city all the way around, from the supporting terraces to the surrounding parts, and Joab restored the rest of the city. ⁹ David steadily grew more powerful,^(F) and the Lord of Armies was with him.

Exploits of David’s Warriors

¹⁰ The following were the chiefs of David’s warriors who, together with all Israel, strongly supported him in his reign to make him king according to the Lord’s word about Israel.^{(G) 11} This^(H) is the list of David’s warriors:

Jashobeam son of Hachmoni was chief^(I) of the Thirty;^[b] he wielded his spear against three hundred and killed them at one time.

¹² After him, Eleazar son of Dodo^(J) the Ahohite was one of the three warriors. ¹³ He was with David at Pas-dammim when the Philistines had gathered there for battle. There was a portion of a field full of barley, where the troops had fled from the Philistines.^{(K) 14} But Eleazar and David^[c] took their stand in the middle of the field and defended it. They killed the Philistines, and the Lord gave them a great victory.

¹⁵ Three of the thirty chief men went down to David, to the rock at the cave of Adullam,^(L) while the Philistine army was encamped in Rephaim Valley.^{(M) 16} At that time David was in the stronghold,^(N) and a Philistine garrison^(O) was at Bethlehem. ¹⁷ David was extremely thirsty^[d] and said, “If only someone would bring me water to drink from the well at the city gate of Bethlehem!” ¹⁸ So the Three broke through the Philistine camp and drew water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem. They brought it back to David, but he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out to the Lord. ¹⁹ David said, “I would never do such a thing in the presence of my God! How can I drink the blood of these men who risked their lives?” For they brought it at the risk of their lives. So he would not drink it. Such were the exploits of the three warriors.

²⁰ Abishai,^(P) Joab’s brother, was the leader of the Three.^[e] He raised his spear against three hundred men and killed them, gaining a reputation among the Three. ²¹ He was more honored than the Three and became their commander even though he did not become one of the Three.

²² Benaiah son of Jehoiada^(Q) was the son of a brave man^[f] from Kabzeel, a man of many exploits. Benaiah killed two sons of Ariel of Moab,^[g] and he went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. ²³ He also killed an Egyptian who was seven and a half feet tall.^[h] Even though the Egyptian had a spear in his hand like a weaver’s beam,^(R) Benaiah went down to him with a staff, snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and then killed him with his own spear. ²⁴ These were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who had a reputation among the three warriors. ²⁵ He was the most honored of the Thirty, but he did not become one of the Three. David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

²⁶ The best soldiers^(S) were

David’s First Supporters

12 The following were the men who came to David at Ziklag while he was still banned from the presence of Saul son of Kish.^(V) They were among the warriors who helped him in battle. ² They were archers who could use either the right or left hand, both to sling stones and shoot arrows from a bow.^(W) They were Saul’s relatives^(X) from Benjamin:

⁸ Some Gadites defected to David at his stronghold in the desert. They were valiant warriors, trained for battle, expert with shield and spear. Their faces were like the faces of lions, and they were as swift as gazelles on the mountains.^(Y)

¹⁴ These Gadites were army commanders; the least of them was a match for a hundred, and the greatest of them for a thousand.^{(Z) 15} These are the men who crossed the Jordan in the first month^[j] when it was overflowing all its banks,^(AA) and put to flight all those in the valleys to the east and to the west.

¹⁶ Other Benjaminites and men from Judah also went to David at the stronghold.^{(AB) 17} David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come in peace to help me, my heart will be united with you, but if you have come to betray me to my enemies even though my hands have done no wrong, may the God of our ancestors look on it and judge.”

¹⁸ Then the Spirit enveloped^[k](AC) Amasai,^(AD) chief of the Thirty, and he said:

So David received them and made them leaders of his troops.

¹⁹ Some Manassites defected to David when he went with the Philistines to fight against Saul. However, they did not help the Philistines because the Philistine rulers sent David away after a discussion. They said, “It will be our heads if he defects to his master Saul.”^{(AF) 20} When David went to Ziklag, some men from Manasseh defected to him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, chiefs of thousands in Manasseh. ²¹ They helped David against the raiders,^(AG) for they were all valiant warriors and commanders in the army. ²² At that time, men came day after day to help David until there was a great army, like an army of God.^[l](AH)

David’s Soldiers in Hebron

²³ The numbers of the armed troops who came to David at Hebron to turn Saul’s kingdom over to him,^(AI) according to the Lord’s word,^(AJ) were as follows:

³⁸ All these warriors, lined up in battle formation, came to Hebron wholeheartedly determined to make David king over all Israel. All the rest of Israel was also of one mind to make David king.^{(AO) 39} They spent three days there eating and drinking with David, for their relatives had provided for them. ⁴⁰ In addition, their neighbors from as far away as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali came and brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen—abundant provisions of flour, fig cakes, raisins, wine and oil, herds, and flocks.^(AP) Indeed, there was joy in Israel.