2 Samuel 2
1 Some time later, David inquired of the LORD, “Should I go up to one of the towns of Judah?” “Go up,” the LORD answered. Then David asked, “Where should I go?” “To Hebron,” replied the LORD.
And it comes to pass afterward, that David inquires of YHWH, saying, “Do I go up into one of the cities of Judah?” And YHWH says to him, “Go up.” And David says, “To where do I go up?” And He says, “To Hebron.”
2 So David went there with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel.
And David goes up there, and also his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail wife of Nabal the Carmelite;
3 David also took the men who were with him, each with his household, and they settled in the towns near Hebron.
and David has brought up his men who [are] with him—a man and his household—and they dwell in the cities of Hebron.
4 Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.”
And the men of Judah come, and anoint David there for king over the house of Judah; and they declare to David, saying, “The men of Jabesh-Gilead [are] they who buried Saul.”
5 So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead to tell them, “The LORD bless you, because you showed this kindness to Saul your lord when you buried him.
And David sends messengers to the men of Jabesh-Gilead and says to them, “Blessed [are] you of YHWH, in that you have done this kindness with your lord, with Saul, that you bury him.
6 Now may the LORD show you loving devotion and faithfulness, and I will also show you the same favor because you have done this.
And now YHWH does kindness and truth with you, and I also do this good with you because you have done this thing;
7 Now then, be strong and courageous, for though Saul your lord is dead, the house of Judah has anointed me as their king.”
and now your hands are strong, and be for sons of valor, for your lord Saul [is] dead, and the house of Judah has also anointed me for king over them.”
8 Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, took Saul’s son Ish-bosheth, moved him to Mahanaim,
And Abner, son of Ner, head of the host which Saul has, has taken Ish-Bosheth, son of Saul, and causes him to pass over to Mahanaim,
9 and made him king over Gilead, Asher, Jezreel, Ephraim, and Benjamin—over all Israel.
and causes him to reign over Gilead, and over the Ashurite, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over Israel—all of it.
10 Saul’s son Ish-bosheth was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned for two years. The house of Judah, however, followed David.
Ish-Bosheth son of Saul [is] a son of forty years in his reigning over Israel, and he has reigned [for] two years; only the house of Judah has been after David.
11 And the length of time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
And the number of the days that David has been king in Hebron, over the house of Judah, is seven years and six months.
12 One day Abner son of Ner and the servants of Ish-bosheth son of Saul marched out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
And Abner son of Ner goes out, and servants of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
13 So Joab son of Zeruiah, along with the servants of David, marched out and met them by the pool of Gibeon. And the two camps took up positions on opposite sides of the pool.
And Joab son of Zeruiah, and servants of David, have gone out, and they meet by the pool of Gibeon together, and sit down, these by the pool on this [side], and these by the pool on that [side].
14 Then Abner said to Joab, “Let us have the young men get up and compete before us.” “Let them get up,” Joab replied.
And Abner says to Joab, “Now let the youths rise and they play before us”; and Joab says, “Let them rise.”
15 So they got up and were counted off—twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth son of Saul, and twelve for David.
And they rise and pass over, in number twelve of Benjamin, even of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.
16 Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his sword into his opponent’s side, and they all fell together. So this place, which is in Gibeon, is called Helkath-hazzurim.
And they each lay hold on the head of his companion, and his sword [is] in the side of his companion, and they fall together, and [one] calls that place Helkath-Hazzurim, which [is] in Gibeon,
17 The battle that day was intense, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by the servants of David.
and the battle is very hard on that day, and Abner is struck, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David.
18 The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was fleet of foot like a wild gazelle,
And there are three sons of Zeruiah there: Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel; and Asahel [is] light on his feet, as one of the roes which [are] in the field,
19 and he chased Abner, not turning to the right or to the left in his pursuit.
and Asahel pursues after Abner, and has not turned aside to go to the right or to the left, from after Abner.
20 And Abner glanced back and said, “Is that you, Asahel?” “It is,” Asahel replied.
And Abner looks behind him and says, “Are you he—Asahel?” And he says, “I [am].”
21 So Abner told him, “Turn to your right or to your left, seize one of the young men, and take his equipment for yourself.” But Asahel would not stop chasing him.
And Abner says to him, “Turn aside to your right hand or to your left, and seize one of the youths for yourself, and take his armor for yourself”; and Asahel has not been willing to turn aside from after him.
22 Once again, Abner warned Asahel, “Stop chasing me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How could I show my face to your brother Joab?”
And Abner adds again, saying to Asahel, “Turn aside from after me, why do I strike you to the earth? And how do I lift up my face to your brother Joab?”
23 But Asahel refused to turn away; so Abner thrust the butt of his spear into his stomach, and it came out his back, and he fell dead on the spot. And every man paused when he came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died.
And he refuses to turn aside, and Abner strikes him with the back part of the spear to the fifth [rib], and the spear comes out from behind him, and he falls there, and dies under it; and it comes to pass, everyone who has come to the place where Asahel has fallen and dies—they stand still.
24 But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. By sunset, they had gone as far as the hill of Ammah opposite Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon.
And Joab and Abishai pursue after Abner, and the sun has gone in, and they have come to the height of Ammah, which [is] on the front of Giah, the way of the wilderness of Gibeon.
25 The Benjamites rallied to Abner, formed a single unit, and took their stand atop a hill.
And the sons of Benjamin gather themselves together after Abner, and become one troop, and stand on the top of a certain height,
26 Then Abner called out to Joab: “Must the sword devour forever? Do you not realize that this will only end in bitterness? How long before you tell the troops to stop pursuing their brothers?”
and Abner calls to Joab and says, “Does the sword consume forever? Have you not known that it is bitterness in the latter end? And until when do you not say to the people to turn back from after their brothers?”
27 “As surely as God lives,” Joab replied, “if you had not spoken up, the troops would have continued pursuing their brothers until morning.”
And Joab says, “God lives! For unless you had spoken, surely then from the morning each of the people had gone up from after his brother.”
28 So Joab blew the ram’s horn, and all the troops stopped; they no longer pursued Israel or continued to fight.
And Joab blows with a horn, and all the people stand still, and no longer pursue after Israel, nor have they added to fight anymore.
29 And all that night Abner and his men marched through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, marched all morning, and arrived at Mahanaim.
And Abner and his men have gone through the plain all that night, and pass over the Jordan, and go on [through] all Bithron, and come to Mahanaim.
30 When Joab returned from pursuing Abner, he gathered all the troops. In addition to Asahel, nineteen of David’s servants were missing,
And Joab has turned back from after Abner, and gathers all the people, and there are lacking of the servants of David nineteen men, and Asahel;
31 but they had struck down 360 Benjamites who were with Abner.
and the servants of David have struck of Benjamin, even among the men of Abner, three hundred and sixty men—they died.
32 Later, they took Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb in Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched all night and reached Hebron at daybreak.
And they lift up Asahel, and bury him in the burying-place of his father, which [is] in Beth-Lehem, and they go all the night—Joab and his men—and [dawn’s light] shines on them in Hebron.
