2 Samuel 3

1 Now there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David: David prospering and growing always stronger and stronger, but the house of Saul decaying daily.

There was a long war between those who wanted Saul’s son to be their king and those who wanted David to be their king. But more and more people began to want David to be the king, while the number of people who wanted Saul’s son to be the king continued to become smaller.

2 And sons were born to David in Hebron: and his firstborn was Amnon of Achinoam the Jezrahelitess:

David’s wives gave birth to six sons at Hebron. The oldest was Amnon, whose mother was Ahinoam, from Jezreel [city].

3 And his second Cheleab of Abigail the wife of Nabal of Carmel: and the third Absalom the son of Maacha the daughter of Tholmai king of Gessur:

The next one was Kileab, whose mother was Abigail, the widow of Nabal, from Carmel [city]. The next one was Absalom, whose mother was Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, the king of [the] Geshur [region].

4 And the fourth Adonias, the son of Haggith: and the fifth Saphathia the son of Abital:

The next one was Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith. The next one was Shephatiah, whose mother was Abital.

5 And the sixth Jethraam of Egla the wife of David: these were born to David in Hebron.

The youngest one was Ithream, whose mother was Eglah, [another one of] David’s wives. Those sons of David were all born in Hebron.

6 Now while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner the son of Ner ruled the house of Saul.

While those who wanted Saul’s son to rule over them and those who wanted David to rule over them continued to fight against each other, Abner was becoming more influential among those who wanted Saul’s son to be the king.

7 And Saul had a concubine named Respha, the daughter of Aia. And Isboseth said to Abner:

When Saul was alive, he had as one of his wives a slave woman named Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. [But one day Abner had sexual relations with her]. So Ishbosheth said to Abner, “Why have you had sexual relations with [EUP] my father’s slave wife?”

8 Why didst thou go in to my father’s concubine? And he was exceedingly angry for the words of Isboseth, and said: Am I a dog’s head against Juda this day, who have shewn mercy to the house of Saul thy father, and to his brethren and friends, and have not delivered thee into the hands of David, and hast thou sought this day against me to charge me with a matter concerning a woman?

Abner became very angry about what Ishbosheth said to him. He said to Ishbosheth, “(Do you think that I am a [worthless] dog [MET] from Judah?/You are treating me as though I am a [worthless] dog [MET] from Judah.) [RHQ] From the beginning, I have been loyal to Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends. And I have prevented you from being defeated by David’s army. So now (why are you criticizing me about [what I have done with] some woman?/you should not be criticizing me about [what I have done with] some woman.) [RHQ]

9 So do God to Abner, and more also, unless as the Lord hath sworn to David, so I do to him,

Yahweh solemnly promised that he would not allow Saul and his descendants to continue to rule. He promised that he would cause David to rule over all the tribes of Israel and Judah, from Dan [city] far in the north to Beersheba [city] far in the south. So I hope/desire that God will punish me severely [HYP] if I do not enable that to happen!”

10 That the kingdom be translated from the house of Saul, and the throne of David be set up over Israel, and over Juda from Dan to Bersabee.

11 And he could not answer him a word, because he feared him.

Ishbosheth was very afraid of Abner, so he did not say anything in reply to Abner.

12 Abner therefore sent messengers to David for himself, saying: Whose is the land? and that they should say: Make a league with me, and my hand shall be with thee: and I will bring all Israel to thee.

Then Abner sent messengers to David [when he was at Hebron], to say to him, “[Either you or I] should be [RHQ] the ruler of this entire nation, [but not Isbosheth. However, ] if you make an agreement with me, I will help you by encouraging all the people of Israel to (be want you to be their king/start to support) you.”

13 And he said: Very well: I will make a league with thee: but one thing I require of thee, saying: Thou shalt not see my face before thou bring Michol the daughter of Saul: and so thou shalt come, and see me.

David sent back this reply: “Good! I am willing to make an agreement with you. But before that happens, there is one thing that you must do. When you come to see me, you must bring my wife Michal, Saul’s daughter.”

14 And David sent messengers to Isboseth the son of Saul, saying: Restore my wife Michol, whom I espoused to me for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.

Then David sent messengers to Ishbosheth, to say to him, “I [had to kill] 100 men from Philistia [and cut off] their foreskins to give to Saul to pay for Michal [to be my wife]. So now give her back to me!”

15 And Isboseth sent, and took her from her husband Phaltiel, the son of Lais.

So Ishbosheth sent some men to take Michal from her husband Palti. But [when they took her, ] her husband followed them all the way to Bahurim [town], crying as he went.

16 And her husband followed her, weeping as far as Bahurim: and Abner said to him: Go and return. And he returned.

Then Abner [turned and] said to him, “Go back [home]!”, so he did.

17 Abner also spoke to the ancients of Israel, saying: Both yesterday and the day before you sought for David that he might reign over you.

Abner went to the Israeli leaders and talked with them. He said, “For a long time you have wanted David to be your king.

18 Now then do it: because the Lord hath spoken to David, saying: By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel from the hands of the Philistines, and of all their enemies.

So now you have an opportunity to do that. Keep in mind that Yahweh promised this: ‘With the help of David, who serves me [well], I will rescue my people from the people of Philistia, and from the power [MTY] of all their other enemies’.”

19 And Abner spoke also to Benjamin. And he went to speak to David in Hebron all that seemed good to Israel, and to all Benjamin.

Abner also spoke to the people of the tribe of Benjamin. Then he went to Hebron, to tell David what all the people of Israel and the people of the tribe of Benjamin had agreed to do.

20 And he came to David in Hebron with twenty men: and David made a feast for Abner, and his men that came with him.

When Abner came with 20 of his soldiers to see David at Hebron, David made a feast for all of them.

21 And Abner said to David: I will rise, that I may gather all Israel unto thee my lord the king, and may enter into a league with thee, and that thou mayst reign over all as thy soul desireth. Now when David bad brought Abner on his way, and he was gone in peace,

Afterwards, Abner said to David, “Sir/Your majesty, I will now go and encourage all the people of Israel to accept you to be their king, as you have desired.” Then Abner left, peacefully.

22 Immediately David’s servants and Joab came, after having slain the robbers, with an exceeding great booty: and Abner, was not with David in Hebron, for he had now sent him away, and he was gone in peace.

Soon after that, Joab and some of David’s other soldiers returned [to Hebron] after raiding [one of their enemies’ villages], bringing with them a lot of things that they had captured. But Abner was not there at Hebron, because David had sent him safely home.

23 And Joab and all the army that was with him, came afterwards: and it was told Joab, that Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he hath sent him away, and he is gone in peace.

When Joab and the soldiers who were with him arrived, someone told him that Abner had come there and talked with the king, and that the king allowed to go home safely.

24 And Joab went in to the king, and said: What hast thou done? Behold Abner came to thee: Why didst thou send him away, and he is gone and departed?

So Joab went to the king and said, “Why have you done that? Listen to me! Abner [is your enemy, but] when he came to you, you allowed him [RHQ] to leave!

25 Knowest thou not Abner the son of Ner, that to this end he came to thee, that he might deceive thee, and to know thy going out, and thy coming in, and to know all thou dost?

Do you not know that he came to you to deceive you and to find out everything that you are doing, and all the places that you go to?”

26 Then Joab going out from David, sent messengers after Abner, and brought him back from the cistern of Sira, David knowing nothing of it.

After Joab left David, he sent some messengers to get Abner. They found him at Sirah Well, and brought him back to Hebron, but David did not know that they had done that.

27 And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside to the middle of the gate, to speak to him treacherously: and he stabbed him there in the groin, and he died, in revenge of the blood of Asael his brother.

So when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab met him at the city gate, and took him aside as though he wanted to speak with him privately. Then he stabbed Abner in the stomach [with his knife/sword]. In that way he murdered Abner because Abner had killed [MTY] Joab’s brother Asahel.

28 And when David heard of it, after the thing was now done, he said: I, and my kingdom are innocent before the Lord for ever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner:

Later, after David heard what had happened, he said, “Yahweh knows that I and the people of my kingdom are not at all (responsible for/guilty of) murdering [MTY] Abner.

29 And may it come upon the head of Joab, and upon all his father’s house: and let there not fail from the house of Joab one that hath an issue of seed, or that is a leper, or that holdeth the distaff, or that falleth by the sword, or that wanteth bread.

I hope/desire that Joab and all his family will be punished [MTY] for doing that! I hope/desire that there will always be someone in his family who has sores, or someone who is a leper, or some man who is forced to do women’s work, or someone who is killed in a battle, or someone who does not have enough food to eat!”

30 So Joab and Abisai his brother slew Abner, because he had killed their brother Asael at Gabaon in the battle.

That is how Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner, because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.

31 And David said to Joab, and to all the people that were with him: Rend your garments, and gird yourselves with sackcloths, and mourn before the funeral of Abner. And king David himself followed the bier.

Then David said to Joab and to all Joab’s soldiers, “Tear your clothes and put on coarse cloth [to show that you are sad], and mourn for Abner!” And [at the funeral], King David walked behind [the men who were carrying] the coffin.

32 And when they had buried Abner in Hebron, king David lifted up his voice, and wept at the grave of Abner: and all the people also wept.

They buried Abner’s body at Hebron. And at the grave, the king cried loudly, and all the other people also cried.

33 And the king mourning and lamenting over Abner, said: Not as cowards are wont to die, hath Abner died.

David sang this sad song to lament for Abner: “It is not right that [RHQ] Abner died like outlaws die!

34 Thy hands were not bound, nor thy feet laden with fetters: but as men fall before the children of iniquity, so didst thou fall. And all the people repeating it wept over him.

No one tied his hands or put chains on his feet, [like they do to criminals]. No, he was murdered by wicked men!”

35 And when all the people came to take meat with David, while it was yet broad day, David swore, saying: So do God to me, and more also, if I taste bread or any thing else before sunset.

Then many [HYP] people came to David to tell him to eat some food before sunset, but David refused. He said, “I hope/desire that God will punish me severely [HYP] if I eat any food before the sun goes down!”

36 And all the people heard, and they were pleased, and all that the king did seemed good in the sight of all the people.

All the people saw what David did, and they were pleased. Truly, everything that the king did pleased the people.

37 And all the people, and all Israel understood that day that it was not the king’s doing, that Abner the son of Ner was slain.

So all the people realized that the king had not wanted Abner to be killed.

38 The king also said to his servants: Do you not know that a prince and great man is slain this day in Israel?

The king said to his officials, “(Do you not realize that a leader and a great man has died today in Israel?/You should realize that a leader and a great man has died today in Israel.) [RHQ]

39 But I as yet am tender, though anointed king. And these men the sons of Sarvia are too hard for me: the Lord reward him that doth evil according to his wickedness.

Even though Yahweh appointed me to be the king, today I feel weak. These two sons of Zeruiah, [Joab and Abishai], are very violent; I cannot control them. So I hope/desire that Yahweh will punish them severely in return for this wicked thing that they have done!”