³¹ David said to Joab, and to all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes, and clothe yourselves with sackcloth, and mourn in front of Abner.” King David followed the bier. ³² They buried Abner in Hebron; and the king lifted up his voice, and wept at Abner’s grave; and all the people wept. ³³ The king lamented for Abner, and said, “Should Abner die as a fool dies? ³⁴ Your hands weren’t bound, and your feet weren’t put into fetters. As a man falls before the children of iniquity, so you fell.”

All the people wept again over him. ³⁵ All the people came to urge David to eat bread while it was yet day; but David swore, saying, “God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or anything else, until the sun goes down.”

³⁶ All the people took notice of it, and it pleased them; as whatever the king did pleased all the people. ³⁷ So all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not of the king to kill Abner the son of Ner. ³⁸ The king said to his servants, “Don’t you know that a prince and a great man has fallen today in Israel? ³⁹ I am weak today, though anointed king. These men, the sons of Zeruiah are too hard for me. May Yahweh reward the evildoer according to his wickedness.”