Beginning

1 And it was done, after that Saul was dead, that David turned again from the slaying of Amalek, and he dwelled two days in Ziklag. (And it was done, after Saul died, that David returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and he stayed in Ziklag for two days.)

² And in the third day a man appeared, coming from the tents of Saul with a cloth rent, and his head sprinkled with dust; and as he came to David, he felled upon his face, and worshipped him. (And on the third day a man appeared, coming from Saul’s camp with a torn cloak, and his head sprinkled with dirt, or with earth; and when he came to David, he fell on his face, and honoured him.)

³ And David said to him, From whence comest thou? And he said to David, I fled from the tents of Israel.

⁴ And David said to him, What is the word that is done there; show thou to me (What happened there; tell thou to me). And he said, The people of Israel hath fled from the battle, and many of the people felled (by the sword), and be dead; but also Saul, and Jonathan, his son, have perished.

⁵ And David said to the young man, that told to him, Whereof knowest thou, that Saul is dead, and Jonathan, his son? (And David said to the young man, who told him this, How knowest thou that Saul, and his son Jonathan, be dead?)

⁶ And the young man said, that told to him, By hap I came into the hill of Gilboa, and Saul leaned upon his spear; and chariots and horsemen nighed to him; (And the young man, who told him this, said, By happenstance I was on Mount Gilboa, and Saul was leaning on his spear; and the chariots and the horsemen came towards him;)

⁷ and he turned behind his back, and saw me, and called. To whom when I had answered, I am present; (and he looked behind his back, and saw me, and called to me. To whom when I had answered, I am here;)

⁸ he said to me, Who art thou? And I said to him, I am a man of Amalek.

⁹ And he spake to me, (and said,) Stand thou upon me, and slay me (and kill me); for anguishes hold me, and yet all my life is in me.

¹⁰ And (so) I stood upon him, and I slew him; for I knew that he might not live after the falling (for I knew that he could not live as soon as he fell); and I took the diadem, that was on his head, and the band from his arm, and I have brought them hither to thee, my lord.

¹¹ Forsooth David took and rent his clothes, and (likewise) [all] the men that were with him;

¹² and they wailed, and wept, and fasted till to eventide, on Saul, and Jonathan, his son, and on the people of the Lord, and on the house of Israel, for they had felled by sword. (and they wailed, and wept, and fasted until evening, for Saul, and for Jonathan, his son, and for the people of the Lord, and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.)

¹³ And David said to the young man, that told to him, Of whence art thou? And he answered, I am the son of a man comeling, of a man of Amalek. (And David said to the young man, who told him the news, Where art thou from? And he answered, I am the son of a newcomer, or of a foreigner, I am an Amalekite.)

¹⁴ And David said to him, Why dreadest thou not to send thine hand, that thou shouldest slay the christ of the Lord? (And David said to him, Why fearest thou not, to put forth thy hand to kill the Lord’s anointed?)

¹⁵ And David called one of his young men, and said, Go thou, and fall on him. And he smote that young man, and he was dead (And he struck that young man, and he died).

¹⁶ And David said to him, Thy blood be on thine head; for thy mouth spake against thee, and said, I killed the christ of the Lord/I killed the anointed of the Lord.

¹⁷ Forsooth David bewailed such a wailing on Saul, and on Jonathan, his son; (And David bewailed this wailing, or this lament, for Saul, and for his son Jonathan;)

¹⁸ and he commanded, that they should teach the sons of Judah the bow, that is, the craft of shooting, as it is written in the Book of Just Men. (and he commanded, that they should teach the sons of Judah the use of the bow, that is, the craft of shooting arrows, as it is written in the Book of Jasher.)

¹⁹ And (so) David said, Israel, behold thou, for these that be dead, be wounded on thine high places; the noble men of Israel be slain upon thine hills. How have fallen [the] strong men? (How the strong have fallen!)

²⁰ do not ye tell this in Gath, neither tell ye (it) in the way-lots of Askelon; lest peradventure the daughters of Philistines be glad, lest the daughters of uncircumcised men joy.

²¹ Hills of Gilboa, neither dew, neither rain come upon you, neither be they the fields of first fruits (nor be ye the fields of the first fruits); for the shield of (the) strong men was cast away there, the shield of Saul, as if he had not been anointed with oil.

²² Of the blood of slain men, of the fatness of strong men, the arrow of Jonathan went never aback, and the sword of Saul turned not again void.

²³ Saul and Jonathan, amiable, and fair in their life, were not parted also in their death; they were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions. (Saul and Jonathan were so loved, and delightful, in their lives, and were not separated in their deaths; they were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions.)

²⁴ Daughters of Israel, weep ye on Saul, that clothed you with fine red, and in (other) delights, that gave golden ornaments to your attire. (Daughters of Israel, weep ye for Saul, who clothed you in fine red, and in other delights, who gave gold ornaments for your attire.)

²⁵ How have strong men fallen down in battle? Jonathan was slain in the high places. (How the strong have fallen in battle! Jonathan was killed on the hills.)

²⁶ I make sorrow upon thee, my brother Jonathan, full fair and amiable more than the love of women; as a mother loveth her only son, so I loved thee. (I have sorrow for thee, my brother Jonathan, so delightful, and whose love for me was more than even the love of women; like a mother loveth her only son, so I loved thee.)

²⁷ How therefore felled down strong men, and armours of battle perished? (How the strong have fallen, and the arms, or the weapons, of battle have perished!)

2 Therefore after these things David counselled with the Lord, and said, Whether I shall go up into one of the cities of Judah? (And after these things David counselled with the Lord, and said, Shall I go up into one of the cities of Judah?) And the Lord said to him, Go thou up. And David said to the Lord, Whither shall I go up? And the Lord answered to him, Into Hebron.

² Therefore David went up, and his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail, the wife of Nabal of Carmel.

³ But also David led the men that were with him, each man with his house(hold) (each man with his family); and they dwelled in the towns of Hebron.

⁴ And the men of Judah came, and anointed there David, that he should reign upon the house of Judah (And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David to reign upon the house of Judah). And it was told to David, that [the] men of Jabesh of Gilead had buried Saul.

⁵ Therefore David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh of Gilead, and said to them, Blessed be ye of the Lord, that did this mercy with your lord Saul, and buried him. (And so David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh of Gilead, and said to them, May the Lord bless you, who have shown this kindness to your lord Saul, and have buried him.)

⁶ And now soothly the Lord shall yield to you mercy and truth, but also I shall yield thanking, for ye did this word. (And now surely the Lord shall show truth and kindness to you, and I shall also give you thanks, for ye did this thing.)

⁷ Your hands be comforted, and be ye the sons of strength; for though your lord Saul is dead, nevertheless the house of Judah hath anointed me king to him. (May your hands be strengthened, and may ye be the sons of strength; for though your lord Saul is dead, nevertheless the house of Judah hath anointed me king upon them.)

⁸ Forsooth Abner, the son of Ner, prince of the host of Saul, took Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, and led him about by the castles, (Then Abner, the son of Ner, the leader of Saul’s army, took Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim,)

⁹ and made him king on Gilead, and on Ashurites, and on Jezreel, and on Ephraim, and on Benjamin, and on all Israel.

¹⁰ Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, was of forty years, when he began to reign upon Israel; and he reigned two years. Soothly the house alone of Judah followed David. (Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, was forty years old when he began to reign upon Israel; and he reigned for two years. Only the house of Judah followed David.)

¹¹ And the number of days, by which David dwelled reigning in Hebron on the house of Judah, was of seven years and six months.

¹² And Abner, the son of Ner, went out, and the servants of Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, from the castles in[to] Gibeon. (And Abner, the son of Ner, and the men of Ishbosheth, 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 they came to them beside the cistern of Gibeon. And when they had come together into one place even against either other, these sat on one part of the cistern, and they on the tother. (And Joab, the son of Zeruiah, and David’s men, went out, and they came to them beside the pool of Gibeon. And when they had come together at a place opposite each other, those men sat on one side of the pool, and they sat on the other side.)

¹⁴ And Abner said to Joab, The children rise, and play before us^[a] (And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men rise up, and slay, or kill, each other). And Joab answered, Rise they up.

¹⁵ Then they rose up, and passed forth twelve in number of Benjamin, of the part of Ishbosheth, the son of Saul; and twelve of the servants of David. (Then they rose up, and came forth twelve in number for Benjamin, on the part of Ishbosheth, Saul’s son; and twelve of David’s men.)

¹⁶ And each man, when he had taken his fellow by the head, fixed his sword into the side of his adversary; and they felled down together. And (so) the name of that place was called The Field of Men Slain Together, (which is) in Gibeon.

¹⁷ And full hard battle rose in that day; and Abner and the sons of Israel were driven (away) of the servants of David. (And a hard fought battle arose that day; and Abner and the men of Israel were driven back by David’s men.)

¹⁸ Forsooth (the) three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel; and Asahel was a full swift runner, as one of the caprets that dwell in woods (like one of the gazelles that live in the forest).

¹⁹ And Asahel pursued Abner, and he bowed neither to the right side, nor to the left side, ceasing to pursue Abner.

²⁰ Therefore Abner beheld behind his back, and said, Whether thou art Asahel? Which answered, I am.

²¹ And Abner said to him, Go thou to the right side, either to the left side; and take (down) one of the young men, and take to thee his spoils. But Asahel would not cease, that not he pursued him (But Asahel would not cease from pursuing Abner).

²² And again Abner spake to Asahel, (and said,) Go thou away; do not thou pursue me, lest I be compelled to pierce thee into the earth, and I shall not be able to raise then my face to Joab, thy brother. (And again Abner said to Asahel, Go thou away; do not thou pursue me, lest I be compelled to pierce thee through to the ground, and then I shall not be able to face thy brother Joab.)

²³ And Asahel despised to hear, and would not bow away. Therefore Abner smote him with the spear turned away, that is, turned against him, in the share-bone, that is, behind the maw, in the fifth rib, under which be the members of life, and pierced [him] through, and he was dead in the same place; and all men that passed by the place, in which place Asahel felled down, and was dead, stood still. (And Asahel despised to hear him, and would not turn away. And so Abner struck him with the spear turned against him, in the belly, at the fifth rib, under which be the members of life, and pierced him through, and he died there; and all those who came to the place, where Asahel fell down, and died, stopped and stood there, and gawked.)

²⁴ And while Joab and Abishai pursued Abner fleeing, the sun went down; and they came to the little hill of a water conduit, that is even against the valley, and the way of desert in Gibeon. (And while Joab and Abishai pursued after Abner, the sun went down; and they came to the hill of Ammah, that is opposite Giah, on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon.)

²⁵ And the sons of Benjamin were gathered to Abner, and they were gathered together into one company, and they stood in the height of an heap of earth (and they stood on the top of a hill).

²⁶ And Abner cried to Joab, and said, Whether thy sword shall be fierce unto slaying? Whether thou knowest not, that despair is perilous? How long sayest thou not to the people, that it cease to pursue his brethren? (How long before thou sayest to thy people, that they should cease pursuing their kinsmen?)

²⁷ And Joab said, The Lord liveth, for if thou haddest spoken thus early, the people pursuing his brother had gone away. (And Joab said, As the Lord liveth, if thou haddest not spoken, the people would have continued pursuing their kinsmen until morning.)

²⁸ And Joab sounded with a clarion, and all the host stood still; and they pursued no further Israel, neither began battle. (And then Joab sounded with a trumpet, and all the army stood in place; and they no longer pursued the men of Israel, and the fighting ceased.)

²⁹ And Abner and his men went (from) thence by the field places of Moab in all that night, and they passed [over] Jordan; and when all Bithron was compassed, they came to the castles. (And Abner and his men went from there through the fields of Moab all that night, and then they crossed over the Jordan River; and when all Bithron had been traversed, they came to Mahanaim.)

³⁰ And when Abner was left, Joab turned again, and gathered together all his people; and ten men and nine, besides Asahel, failed of the servants of David. (And when Joab left off pursuing Abner, he returned, and gathered together all his people; and he found that nineteen of David’s men, besides Asahel, were missing.)

³¹ Forsooth the servants of David smited of Benjamin, and of the men that were with Abner, three hundred men and sixty, which also were dead. (But David’s men struck and killed three hundred and sixty of the Benjaminites, and of Abner’s men.)

³² And they took Asahel, and buried him in the sepulchre of his father in Bethlehem. And Joab, and the men that were with him, went in all that night, and in that morrowtide they came into Hebron (and in the morning they came to Hebron).

3 Therefore a long strife was made betwixt the house of David and the house of Saul; and David profited and ever[more] was stronger than himself, in comparison of time passed, for his power increased ever, but the house of Saul decreased each day. (And so for a long time there was strife between the house of David and the house of Saul; and David grew in strength, that is, as more time that passed, the more his power increased, but the house of Saul grew ever weaker.)

² And sons were born to David in Hebron; and his first begotten son was Amnon, of Ahinoam of Jezreel;

³ and after him was Chileab, of Abigail, the wife of Nabal of Carmel; and the third was Absalom, the son of Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur;

⁴ and the fourth was Adonijah, the son of Haggith; and the fifth was Shephatiah, the son of Abital;

⁵ and the sixth was Ithream, of Eglah, the wife of David. These (sons) were born to David in Hebron.

⁶ Therefore when battle was betwixt the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner, the son of Ner, governed the house of Saul.

⁷ And to Saul was a concubine, that is, a secondary wife, Rizpah by name, the daughter of Aiah; and Abner entered [in] to her. And Ishbosheth said to Abner, Why hast thou entered [in] to the concubine of my father?

⁸ And Abner was wroth greatly for the words of Ishbosheth, and said, Whether I am the head of a dog against Judah today, and I have done mercy on the house of Saul, thy father, and on his brethren, and neighbours, and I betook not thee into the hands of David, and (yet) thou hast sought in me that, that thou shouldest reprove for a woman today? (And Abner was greatly angered by Ishbosheth’s words, and said, Am I the head of a dog, that is, a traitor, and do I serve Judah today? have I not shown mercy, or loyalty, to the house of Saul, thy father, and to his brothers, and to his neighbours? I did not deliver thee into the hands of David, and yet today thou hast sought that for which thou wouldest reprove me for, yea, for but a woman!)

⁹ God do these things to Abner, and add these things to him, no but as the Lord swore to David, so I do with him (so I shall do for him),

¹⁰ that the realm be translated from the house of Saul (that the kingdom be transferred from the house of Saul), and (that) the throne of David be raised on Israel and on Judah, from Dan till to Beersheba.

¹¹ And Ishbosheth might not answer anything to Abner, for he dreaded Abner (for he feared Abner).

¹² Therefore Abner sent messengers to David, and they said for him, Whose is the land? and that the messengers should (also) speak thus, Make thou friendships with me, and mine hand shall be with thee, and I shall bring (over) all Israel to thee.

¹³ And David said, Best, I shall make friendships with thee; but I ask of thee one thing, and say, Thou shalt not see my face, before that thou bring Michal, the daughter of Saul, and so thou shalt come, and shalt see me. (And David answered, Very well, I shall be friends with thee; but I require one thing from thee, and that is, that thou shalt not see my face, until thou bring Saul’s daughter Michal to me; only then shalt thou come, and see me.)

¹⁴ Therefore David sent messengers to Ishbosheth (And David also sent messengers to Ishbosheth), the son of Saul, and said, Yield thou my wife Michal, whom I espoused to me for an hundred prepuces of Philistines.

¹⁵ Therefore Ishbosheth sent, and took her from her husband, Phaltiel, the son of Laish; (And so Ishbosheth sent some men, and took her away from her husband, Phaltiel, the son of Laish;)

¹⁶ and her husband followed her, and wept till to Bahurim. And Abner said to him, Go thou, and turn again; and he turned again. (and her husband followed her, and wept all the way to Bahurim. But Abner said to him, Go thou back home! and so he went home.)

¹⁷ Also Abner brought in a word to the elder men of Israel, and said, Both yesterday and the third day ago ye sought David, that he should reign upon you.

¹⁸ Now therefore do ye; for the Lord spake to David, and said, In the hand of my servant David I shall save my people Israel from the hand of Philistines, and of all his enemies. (And so now do ye it; for the Lord spoke to David, and said, By my servant David I shall save my people Israel from the hands of the Philistines, and from all their enemies.)

¹⁹ And also Abner spake to Benjamin; and he went, that he should speak to David, in Hebron, (of) all things that pleased Israel and all Benjamin. (And Abner also spoke to the Benjaminites; and then he went to speak to David in Hebron, about all that the Israelites and the Benjaminites had agreed to do.)

²⁰ And he came to David, in Hebron, with twenty men. And David made a feast to Abner, and to the men that came with him (And David made a feast for Abner, and the men who came with him).

²¹ And Abner said to David, I shall rise up, that I gather all Israel to thee, my lord the king, and that I make (a) bond of peace with thee, and that thou reign on all, as thy soul desireth. Therefore when David had led forth Abner, and he had gone in peace, (And Abner said to David, I shall rise up, and gather all Israel to thee, my lord the king, and they shall make a covenant with thee, and thou shalt reign upon all of them, as thy soul desireth. And after David had let Abner go away, with a guarantee of surety, or of safety,)

²² anon the servants of David and Joab came with a full great prey, when the thieves were slain; and Abner was not then with David, in Hebron, for David had let him go, and he went forth in peace. (shortly thereafter David’s men and Joab came back from a raid, with a great deal of prey; and Abner was then not with David, in Hebron, for David had let him go away, with a guarantee of safety.)

²³ And Joab, and the hosts that were with him, came afterward; therefore it was told to Joab of tellers, (saying,) Abner, the son of Ner, came to the king, and the king let go him, and he went forth in peace. (And so Joab, and the men who were with him, came shortly thereafter; and people said to Joab, Abner, the son of Ner, came to the king, and the king let him go away, with a guarantee of safety.)

²⁴ And Joab entered to the king, and said, What hast thou done? Lo! Abner came to thee; why lettest go thou him (why hast thou let him go), and he went, and departed from thee?

²⁵ Knowest thou not (that) Abner, the son of Ner, for hereto he came to thee, that he should deceive thee, and that he should know thy going out and thine entering, and should know all things which thou doest? (Thou must know that Abner, the son of Ner, came to thee so that he could deceive thee, and learn thy going out and thy coming in, and so know all the things that thou doest.)

²⁶ Therefore Joab went out from David, and sent messengers after Abner; and led him again from the cistern of Sirah (and they brought him back from the Well of Sirah), while David knew not.

²⁷ And when Abner had come again into Hebron, Joab led him asides half to the middle of the gate, (as if) that he should speak to him in guile; and he smote Abner there in the share-bone, and he was dead, into vengeance of the blood of his brother Asahel (and Joab struck, or stabbed, Abner in the belly, and he died there, in revenge for killing Joab’s brother Asahel).

²⁸ That when David had heard this thing done, he said, I am clean, and my realm, with God into without end from the blood of Abner, the son of Ner; (And when David had heard that this thing was done, he said, I and my kingdom, be clean with God forevermore, of the blood, or of the murder, of Abner, the son of Ner;)

²⁹ and come it on the head of Joab, and upon all the house of his father; and fail there not from the house of Joab a man suffering flowing of seed, and a leprous man, (and a man) holding a spindle, and a man falling by sword, and (a man) having need to bread. (yea, let it come upon Joab’s head, and upon all his father’s family; and let there never fail to be in the house of Joab a man suffering the flowing out of his seed, or a leprous man, or a man holding a spindle, or a man falling by the sword, or a man having need of bread.)

³⁰ Therefore Joab, and Abishai, his brother, killed Abner, for he had slain Asahel, their brother (for he had killed their brother Asahel), in Gibeon, in battle.

³¹ And David said to Joab, and to all the people that was with him, Rend ye your clothes, and be ye gird with sackcloths, and bewail ye before the hearses, either dirge, of Abner. Forsooth king David followed the bier. (And David said to Joab, and to all the people who were with him, Tear ye your clothes, and be ye gird with sackcloths, and bewail ye the dirge for Abner. And King David himself followed the bier.)

³² And when they had buried Abner in Hebron, king David raised (up) his voice, and wept on the burial of Abner; and certainly all the people wept.

³³ And the king bewailed, and bemourned Abner, and said, Abner, thou diedest not as dreadful men, either cowards, be wont to die (Abner, thou hast not died like fearful men, or like cowards, be wont to die).

³⁴ Thine hands were not bound, and thy feet were not grieved with stocks, but thou hast fallen down, as men be wont to fall before the sons of wickedness. And all the people doubled together, and wept on him. (Thy hands were not bound, and thy feet were not put in the stocks, but thou hast fallen, like men be wont to fall before the sons of wickedness. And all the people wept again for him.)

³⁵ And when all the multitude came to take meat with David, while the day was yet clear, David swore, and said, God do to me these things, and add these things too, if I shall taste bread, either any other thing, before the going down of the sun.

³⁶ And all the people heard this; and all things which the king did in the sight of all the people pleased them;

³⁷ and all the common people and all Israel knew in that day, that it was not done of the king (that it was not done by the king), that Abner, the son of Ner, was slain.

³⁸ Also the king said to his servants, Whether ye know not, that the prince and the greatest (man) hath fallen down today in Israel?

³⁹ And I am yet tender, and anointed king; and these sons of Zeruiah be (too) hard to me; the Lord yield to him that doeth evil after his (own) malice. (And I am yet weak, though anointed the king; and these sons of Zeruiah be too hard for me; may the Lord yield to him who doeth evil after his own malice.)