2 Samuel 2
English Standard Version
David Anointed King of Judah
2 After this David (A)inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?” And the Lord said to him, “Go up.” David said, “To which shall I go up?” And he said, “To (B)Hebron.” 2 So David went up there, and (C)his two wives also, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 3 And David brought up (D)his men who were with him, everyone with his household, and they lived in the towns of Hebron. 4 And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David (E)king over the house of Judah.
When they told David, (F)“It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul,” 5 David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, (G)“May you be blessed by the Lord, because you showed this loyalty to Saul your lord and buried him. 6 Now may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you. And I will do good to you because you have done this thing. 7 Now therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant, for Saul your lord is dead, and (H)the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”
Ish-bosheth Made King of Israel
8 But (I)Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, took Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to (J)Mahanaim, 9 and he made him king over Gilead and the Ashurites and Jezreel and Ephraim and Benjamin and all Israel. 10 Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David. 11 (K)And the time that David was king in Hebron over (L)the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
The Battle of Gibeon
12 Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. 13 And Joab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and met them at (M)the pool of Gibeon. And they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool. 14 And Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men arise and compete before us.” And Joab said, “Let them arise.” 15 Then they arose and passed over by number, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. 16 And each caught his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent's side, so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim,[a] which is at Gibeon. 17 And the battle was very fierce that day. And Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David.
18 And the (N)three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was (O)as swift of foot as a wild gazelle. 19 And Asahel pursued Abner, and as he went, he turned neither to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner. 20 Then Abner looked behind him and said, “Is it you, Asahel?” And he answered, “It is I.” 21 Abner said to him, “Turn aside to your right hand or to your left, and seize one of the young men and take his spoil.” But Asahel would not turn aside from following him. 22 And Abner said again to Asahel, “Turn aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I lift up my face to your brother Joab?” 23 But he refused to turn aside. Therefore Abner struck him (P)in the stomach with the butt of his spear, so that the spear came out at his back. And he fell there and died where he was. And all who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died, stood still.
24 But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. And as the sun was going down they came to the hill of Ammah, which lies before Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon. 25 And the people of Benjamin gathered themselves together behind Abner and became one group and took their stand on the top of a hill. 26 Then Abner called to Joab, “Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that the end will be bitter? How long will it be before you tell your people to turn from the pursuit of their brothers?” 27 And Joab said, “As God lives, if (Q)you had not spoken, surely the men would not have given up the pursuit of their brothers until the morning.” 28 So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the men stopped and pursued Israel no more, nor did they fight anymore.
29 And Abner and his men went all that night through (R)the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, and marching the whole morning, they came to (S)Mahanaim. 30 Joab returned from the pursuit of Abner. And when he had gathered all the people together, there were missing from David's servants nineteen men besides Asahel. 31 But the servants of David had struck down of Benjamin 360 of Abner's men. 32 And they took up Asahel and buried him in the tomb of his father, which was at Bethlehem. And Joab and his men marched all night, and the day broke upon them at Hebron.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 2:16 Helkath-hazzurim means the field of sword-edges
2 Samuel 2
New Century Version
David Is Made King of Judah
2 Later, David prayed to the Lord, saying, “Should I go up to any of the cities of Judah?”
The Lord said to David, “Go.”
David asked, “Where should I go?”
The Lord answered, “To Hebron.”
2 So David went up to Hebron with his two wives: Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel. 3 David also brought his men and their families, and they all made their homes in the cities of Hebron. 4 Then the men of Judah came to Hebron and appointed David king over Judah.
They told David that the men of Jabesh Gilead had buried Saul. 5 So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead and said to them, “The Lord bless you. You have shown loyalty to your master Saul by burying him. 6 May the Lord now be loyal and true to you. I will also treat you well because you have done this. 7 Now be strong and brave. Saul your master is dead, and the people of Judah have appointed me their king.”
War Between Judah and Israel
8 Abner son of Ner was the commander of Saul’s army. Abner took Saul’s son Ish-Bosheth to Mahanaim 9 and made him king of Gilead, Ashuri, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and all Israel. 10 Saul’s son Ish-Bosheth was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he ruled two years. But the people of Judah followed David. 11 David was king in Hebron for seven years and six months.
12 Abner son of Ner and the servants of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul left Mahanaim and went to Gibeon. 13 Joab son of Zeruiah and David’s men also went there and met Abner and Ish-Bosheth’s men at the pool of Gibeon. Abner’s group sat on one side of the pool; Joab’s group sat on the other.
14 Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men have a contest here.”
Joab said, “Yes, let them have a contest.”
15 Then the men got up and were counted—twelve from the people of Benjamin for Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, and twelve from David’s men. 16 Each man grabbed the one opposite him by the head and stabbed him in the side with a knife. So the men fell down together. For that reason, that place in Gibeon is called the Field of Knives. 17 That day there was a terrible battle, and David’s men defeated Abner and the Israelites.
Abner Kills Asahel
18 Zeruiah’s three sons, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel, were there. Now Asahel was a fast runner, as fast as a deer in the field. 19 Asahel chased Abner, going straight toward him. 20 Abner looked back and asked, “Is that you, Asahel?”
Asahel said, “Yes, it is.”
21 Then Abner said to Asahel, “Turn to your right or left and catch one of the young men and take his armor.” But Asahel refused to stop chasing him.
22 Abner again said to Asahel, “Stop chasing me! If you don’t stop, I’ll have to kill you! Then I won’t be able to face your brother Joab again!”
23 But Asahel refused to stop chasing Abner. So using the back end of his spear, Abner stabbed Asahel in the stomach, and the spear came out of his back. Asahel died right there, and everyone stopped when they came to the place where Asahel’s body lay.
24 But Joab and Abishai continued chasing Abner. As the sun was going down, they arrived at the hill of Ammah, near Giah on the way to the desert near Gibeon. 25 The men of Benjamin came to Abner, and all stood together at the top of the hill.
26 Abner shouted to Joab, “Must the sword kill forever? Surely you must know this will only end in sadness! Tell the people to stop chasing their own brothers!”
27 Then Joab said, “As surely as God lives, if you had not said anything, the people would have chased their brothers until morning.” 28 Then Joab blew a trumpet, and his people stopped chasing the Israelites. They did not fight them anymore.
29 Abner and his men marched all night through the Jordan Valley. They crossed the Jordan River, and after marching all day, arrived at Mahanaim.
30 After he had stopped chasing Abner, Joab came back and gathered the people together. Asahel and nineteen of David’s men were missing. 31 But David’s men had killed three hundred sixty Benjaminites who had followed Abner. 32 David’s men took Asahel and buried him in the tomb of his father at Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched all night. The sun came up as they reached Hebron.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
