2 Samuel 2:1-16
New American Standard Bible
David Made King over Judah
2 Then it came about afterward that (A)David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up to one of the cities of Judah?” And the Lord 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 [a]widow of Nabal the Carmelite. 3 And (D)David brought up his men who were with him, each with his household; and they settled in the cities of Hebron. 4 Then the men of Judah came, and there they (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 So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead, and said to them, “(G)May you be blessed of the Lord because you have [b]shown this kindness to Saul your lord, and have buried him. 6 And now (H)may the Lord [c]show kindness and truth to you; and I also will [d]show this goodness to you, because you have done this thing. 7 Now then, let your hands be strong and be [e]valiant, since Saul your lord is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”
Ish-bosheth Made King over Israel
8 But (I)Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, had taken [f]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 And (N)the [g]time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
Civil War
12 Now Abner the son of Ner, went 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 [h]them by the pool of Gibeon; and they sat down, [i]Abner’s men on the one side of the pool and [j]Joab’s men on the other side of the pool. 14 Then Abner said to Joab, “Now have the young men arise and (Q)hold a martial skills match in our presence.” And Joab said, “Have them arise!” 15 So they got up and went over by count, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve from 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.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Samuel 2:2 Lit wife
- 2 Samuel 2:5 Lit done
- 2 Samuel 2:6 Lit do
- 2 Samuel 2:6 Lit do
- 2 Samuel 2:7 Lit sons of valor
- 2 Samuel 2:8 I.e., man of shame; cf. 1 Chr 8:33, Eshbaal
- 2 Samuel 2:11 Lit number of days
- 2 Samuel 2:13 Lit them together
- 2 Samuel 2:13 Lit these on
- 2 Samuel 2:13 Lit these on
- 2 Samuel 2:16 Lit fellow
- 2 Samuel 2:16 Lit fellow’s
- 2 Samuel 2:16 I.e., the field of sword-edges
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