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“Where have you come from?” David asked him. He answered, “I have escaped from the Israelite camp.”
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“What happened?” David asked. “Tell me.” “The men fled from the battle,” he replied. “Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.”
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When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, and I said, ‘What can I do?’
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“He asked me, ‘Who are you?’ “‘An Amalekite,’ I answered.
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“Then he said to me, ‘Stand here by me and kill me! I’m in the throes of death, but I’m still alive.’
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Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them.
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Then David called one of his men and said, “Go, strike him down!” So he struck him down, and he died.
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I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women.
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David also took the men who were with him, each with his family, and they settled in Hebron and its towns.
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Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and there they anointed David king over the tribe of Judah. When David was told that it was the men from Jabesh Gilead who had buried Saul,
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he sent messengers to them to say to them, “The Lord bless you for showing this kindness to Saul your master by burying him.
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Now then, be strong and brave, for Saul your master is dead, and the people of Judah have anointed me king over them.”
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War Between the Houses of David and Saul
Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ish-Bosheth son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim.
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Abner son of Ner, together with the men of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, left Mahanaim and went to Gibeon.
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Joab son of Zeruiah and David’s men went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. One group sat down on one side of the pool and one group on the other side.
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Then Abner said to Joab, “Let’s have some of the young men get up and fight hand to hand in front of us.” “All right, let them do it,” Joab said.
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So they stood up and were counted off—twelve men for Benjamin and Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, and twelve for David.
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The battle that day was very fierce, and Abner and the Israelites were defeated by David’s men.
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Then Abner said to him, “Turn aside to the right or to the left; take on one of the young men and strip him of his weapons.” But Asahel would not stop chasing him.
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Again Abner warned Asahel, “Stop chasing me! Why should I strike you down? How could I look your brother Joab in the face?”
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Then the men of Benjamin rallied behind Abner. They formed themselves into a group and took their stand on top of a hill.
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Abner called out to Joab, “Must the sword devour forever? Don’t you realize that this will end in bitterness? How long before you order your men to stop pursuing their fellow Israelites?”
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Joab answered, “As surely as God lives, if you had not spoken, the men would have continued pursuing them until morning.”
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All that night Abner and his men marched through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, continued through the morning hours and came to Mahanaim.
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Then Joab stopped pursuing Abner and assembled the whole army. Besides Asahel, nineteen of David’s men were found missing.
