³¹ David ordered Joab and all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn for Abner.” King David walked behind the funeral procession, ³² and they buried Abner at Hebron. The king wept loudly at Abner’s grave, and all the people wept, too. ³³ The king composed this mourning song for Abner:

Then all the people cried again because of him. ³⁵ Everyone tried to persuade David to have a meal while there was still daylight, but David took an oath by saying, “May God to do like this to me and more, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets!”

³⁶ Everybody took note of this and was very pleased, just as everything else the king did pleased everyone. ³⁷ As a result, the entire army and all of Israel understood that day that the king had nothing to do with the murder of Ner’s son Abner.

³⁸ The king reminded his staff,^[a] “Don’t you know that a prince and a great man has fallen today in Israel? ³⁹ Today, even though I’m anointed as king, I’m weak. These men, sons of Zeruiah, are too difficult^[b] for me. May the Lord repay the one who acts wickedly in accordance with his wickedness!”