Beginning

Chapter 1

The Report of Saul’s Death. ¹ Shortly after the death of Saul, David returned from defeating the Amalekites, and he stayed for two days in Ziklag. ² On the third day a man appeared from Saul’s camp, with his clothes in tatters and dirt on his head. Upon coming into David’s presence, he fell to the ground and paid him homage.

³ David asked him: “Where have you come from?” And he replied: “I have escaped from the Israelite camp.” ⁴ David then inquired: “What has happened there? Tell me!” The man answered: “The soldiers fled from the battle, but many of them fell and died. Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.”

⁵ David then asked the young man who had brought the news: “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” ⁶ The young man replied: “By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and I beheld Saul leaning on his spear as the chariots and the horsemen were closing in on him. ⁷ When he happened to turn around and saw me, he summoned me to him. I said: ‘Here I am.’ ⁸ Saul then said to me: ‘Who are you?’ And I told him: ‘I am an Amalekite.’ ⁹ Then he gave me this order: ‘Come here, stand over me, and kill me. The throes of death have overcome me, yet I am still alive.’

¹⁰ “Therefore, I stood over him and slew him, for I knew that he could not possibly survive because of the wounds he had suffered. Then I removed the crown that was on his head and the armlet from his arm, and I have brought them here to you, my lord.”

^11 [a]Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and the men who were with him did the same. ¹² They mourned and wept, and they fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, as well as for the army of the Lord and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

¹³ David then said to the young man who had brought him the report: “Where do you come from?” He answered: “I am the son of a resident alien, an Amalekite.” ¹⁴ David thereupon asked him: “How was it that you were not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?”

¹⁵ Then David summoned one of his young soldiers and gave him this order: “Come here and strike him down!” The young man struck him down, and he died. ¹⁶ As he fell, David said to him: “Your blood be on your own head. You convicted yourself by your own testimony when you said: ‘I killed the Lord’s anointed.’ ”

¹⁷ Elegy for Saul and Jonathan. David chanted the following lament over Saul and his son Jonathan, ¹⁸ and he ordered that this dirge over them be taught to the people of Judah. It is recorded in the Book of Jashar.

Chapter 2

David Is Anointed King.^{[c] 1} After this, David inquired of the Lord, asking: “Shall I go up into one of the towns of Judah?” The Lord replied to him: “Go up.” Then David asked: “To which one stall I go?” The Lord answered: “Hebron.”

² Therefore, David went up to Hebron with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. ³ David also brought up the men who were with him, along with their families, and they settled in the towns of Hebron. Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and there they anointed David as king of the house of Judah.

⁴ When David received a report that the men of Jabesh-gilead were the ones who had buried Saul, ⁵ he sent messengers to the people of Jabesh-gilead to say to them: “May you be blessed by the Lord for having done this act of kindness to your lord Saul by burying him. ⁶ Now may the Lord bestow his love and faithfulness upon you. Moreover, I too will treat you with kindness because you have done this charitable deed. ⁷ Therefore, have courage and be valiant, for even though your lord, Saul, is dead, the house of Judah has anointed me as their king.”

The Reign of David

Ishbaal as King of Israel.^{[d] 8} Meanwhile the commander of Saul’s army, Abner, the son of Ner, had taken Ishbaal, the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim. ⁹ There he made him king over Gilead, the Ashurites, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and all Israel. ¹⁰ Ishbaal, the son of Saul, was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he reigned for two years. However, the house of Judah followed David. ¹¹ The length of time that David was in Hebron as king of the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

¹² Combat near Gibeon. Abner, the son of Ner, departed from Mahanaim with the servants of Ishbaal and went to Gibeon. ¹³ Joab, the son of Zeruiah, also set forth with David’s servants and encountered them at the pool of Gibeon. One group sat down on one side of the pool, while the other group sat on the opposite side.

¹⁴ Then Abner suggested to Joab: “Let us have the young men come forward and engage in hand-to-hand combat before us.” Joab replied: “Let them come forward.” ¹⁵ Therefore, they came forward and were counted: twelve men from Benjamin for Ishbaal, the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. ¹⁶ Each one grasped his opponent by the head and thrust his sword into his opponent’s side. Thus they all fell down together. Therefore, that place, which is in Gibeon, was called the Field of Swords.

¹⁷ Death of Asahel. On that day the battle was extremely fierce, and when it was finally over, Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by David’s forces. ¹⁸ The three sons of Zeruiah were there—Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Then Asahel, who was as fleet of foot as a wild gazelle, ¹⁹ pursued Abner, turning neither to the left nor to the right as he followed him.

²⁰ Abner looked back and said: “Is that you, Asahel?” He replied: “Yes, it is.” ²¹ Abner then said to him: “Turn to your right or left, seize one of the young men, and take from him what is of value.” However, Asahel had no intention of forsaking his pursuit.

²² Abner once again tried to dissuade him: “Cease your pursuit of me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I look your brother Joab in the face?” ²³ Nevertheless Asahel refused to turn away. Therefore, Abner struck him in the stomach with the butt of his spear, and the spear protruded through his back. He fell there and died instantaneously.

All those who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died came to a halt. ²⁴ However, Joab and Abishai continued the pursuit of Abner until, as the sun was going down, they came to the hill of Ammah, which lies east of Giah on the road toward the wilderness of Gibeon.

²⁵ Truce between Joab and Abner. The Benjaminites rallied to the support of Abner, gathering in a tightly knit formation behind Abner and taking their stand at the top of a hill. ²⁶ Then Abner called out to Joab: “Will this slaughter never end? Do you not realize how bitter the end will be? How long will it take before you order your people to cease from the pursuit of their brothers?”

²⁷ Joab replied: “As God lives, if you had not spoken, the soldiers would not have relented in their pursuit of their brothers until morning.” ²⁸ Then Joab sounded the trumpet, and all the troops came to a halt. They abandoned their pursuit of the Israelites and did not engage in battle any further.

²⁹ Abner and his men traveled all that night through the Arabah. Then they crossed the Jordan and continued their journey the entire morning until they came to Mahanaim. ³⁰ After returning from the pursuit of Abner, Joab gathered his people together and discovered that, aside from Asahel, nineteen other servants of David were missing. ³¹ However, the forces of David had killed three hundred and sixty Benjaminites, followers of Abner. ³² They took up Asahel and buried him in the tomb of his father at Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched throughout the night, and they reached Hebron at daybreak.

Chapter 3

¹ A lengthy war ensued between the house of Saul and the house of David. As time went on, David grew steadily stronger, while the house of Saul became notably weaker.

Sons Born in Hebron.^{[e] 2} Sons were born to David at Hebron. His firstborn was Amnon, whose mother was Ahinoam of Jezreel; ³ his second was Chileab, whose mother was Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel; his third was Absalom, whose mother was Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, the king of Geshur; ⁴ the fourth was Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith; the fifth was Shephatiah, the son of Abital; ⁵ the sixth was Ithream, the son of David’s wife Eglah. These were born to David in Hebron.

Ishbaal and Abner Quarrel. ⁶ During the war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner had gradually been gaining power in the house of Saul. ⁷ Now Saul had had a concubine whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. And Ishbaal said to Abner: “Why have you slept with my father’s concubine?”

⁸ Abner became enraged at this insult of Ishbaal, and he said: “Am I nothing more than a dog’s head in Judah? I have continued to be loyal to the house of your father Saul and to his brothers and friends, and I have not betrayed you into the hands of David. Yet now you charge me with a crime involving a woman.

⁹ “May God punish Abner severely, and inflict even greater ills, if I fail to accomplish for David what the Lord swore to him. ¹⁰ I shall take the kingdom from the house of Saul and establish the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan to Beer-sheba.” ¹¹ And Ishbaal did not dare to say another word in response, because he was afraid of him.

¹² Abner and David Reconciled. Abner sent messengers on his own behalf to say to David: “Who should control the land? If you come to an agreement with me, I will give you my support in bringing all Israel over to you.” ^13 [f]David replied: “Good! I will negotiate an agreement with you. However, I will impose one condition. You will not be allowed to appear in my presence unless you bring back Saul’s daughter, Michal, when you come to see me.”

¹⁴ Then David also sent messengers to Ishbaal, the son of Saul, with this demand: “Return to me my wife Michal whom I espoused after paying the ransom of one hundred foreskins of the Philistines.” ¹⁵ Therefore, Ishbaal summoned Michal and took her away from her husband Paltiel, the son of Laish. ¹⁶ However, her husband, weeping copiously, followed her as far as Horonaim, at which time Abner commanded him: “Go back,” and he returned home.

¹⁷ Abner then proceeded to confer with the elders of Israel. “For a long time now,” he said, “you have wanted David to be your king. ¹⁸ Now is the time for you to make that wish a reality, for the Lord has said of David: ‘By means of my servant David I will deliver my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and from all their enemies.’ ” ¹⁹ Abner also spoke personally to the Benjaminites. After that he went to Hebron to notify David about everything that the people of Israel and the house of Benjamin had agreed to do.

²⁰ When Abner, accompanied by twenty men, came to David at Hebron, David prepared a feast for Abner and the men who were with him. ²¹ Abner then said to David: “Allow me now to go and assemble all Israel for my lord the king, in order that they may make a covenant with you, and thus you will reign over all that your heart desires.” Therefore, David dismissed Abner, who went away in peace.

²² The Death of Abner. Just then, David’s men returned with Joab from a raid, bringing with them a large amount of plunder. By then Abner had been dismissed by David and was no longer in Hebron, for he had gone his way in peace. ²³ When Joab and all of the soldiers with him arrived, Joab was informed that Abner, the son of Ner, had come to the king, and that the king had sent him on his way in peace.

²⁴ Then Joab went to the king and said: “What have you done? Abner came to you. What motivated you to dismiss him and allow him to go away as an innocent man? ²⁵ You must be aware that Abner, the son of Ner, came here with the purpose of deceiving you, in order to learn about your movements and to find out what you are doing.”

²⁶ When Joab left David’s presence, he sent messengers to pursue Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern of Sirah. However, David knew nothing at all about this. ²⁷ When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab pretended that he wanted to speak to him privately and took him aside at the city gate, where he stabbed him fatally in the stomach. Thus Abner died in retaliation for the murder of Asahel, the brother of Joab.

²⁸ Later, when David heard the news, he said: “Before the Lord, I and my kingdom are forever innocent of the blood of Abner, the son of Ner. ²⁹ May the guilt for this act fall on the head of Joab and his entire family. May the house of Joab never be unafflicted by men who suffer from running sores or leprosy or effeminacy or who are doomed to die by the sword or are in need of bread.” ( ³⁰ Joel and his brother Abishai had murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel at the battle of Gibeon.)

³¹ David Mourns Abner. Then David said to Joab and all the people who were with him: “Tear off your clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn over Abner.” King David himself walked behind the bier. ³² After they buried Abner at Hebron, the king wept aloud at the grave of Abner, and all the people also wept. ³³ Then the king sang this lament for Abner:

And all the people continued to weep for him.

³⁵ After that, the people tried to persuade David to eat something while it was still day, but David swore: “May God deal with me severely, and even more terribly, if I eat bread or anything else prior to sunset.” ³⁶ All the people took note of his pledge with approval, just as everything that the king did truly pleased them. ³⁷ Therefore, on that day the people and all Israel were fully convinced that the king had no part in the killing of Abner, the son of Ner.

³⁸ Then the king said to his servants: “You surely must realize that a prince and a great warrior has fallen this day in Israel. ³⁹ And today, even though I have been anointed as the king, I feel weak and powerless with the realization that these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too strong for me. May the Lord repay the evildoer as his evil crimes deserve.”