2 Samuel 2
1 Sometime after this, David asked the Lord, “Should I go to one of the towns of Judah?” “Yes, do it,” the Lord replied. “Which one should I go to?” David asked. “Go to Hebron,” said 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 moved there with his two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, Nabal's widow from Carmel.
And David goes up there, and also his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail wife of Nabal the Carmelite;
3 He also brought the men who were with him, along with their families, and they settled in the villages 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 of the people of Judah. When David found out that it was the men from Jabesh Gilead who had 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 he sent messengers to them, saying, “May the Lord bless you, because you demonstrated your loyal love to Saul your master, and you buried him properly.
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 loyal love and trustworthiness, and I will also be good to you because of what you did for Saul.
And now YHWH does kindness and truth with you, and I also do this good with you because you have done this thing;
7 So be strong and be brave, for even though Saul your master is dead, the people of Judah have 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 However, Abner, son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, had taken Ishbosheth, son of Saul, 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 There he set up Ishbosheth as king over Gilead, Asher, Jezreel, Ephraim, and Benjamin, in fact 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 Ishbosheth, son of Saul, was forty when he became king over Israel, and he reigned for two years. However, the people of Judah were on David's side.
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 David ruled in Hebron as king over the people of Judah for 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 and Ishbosheth's men left Mahanaim and went to the town of Gibeon.
And Abner son of Ner goes out, and servants of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
13 Joab, son of Zeruiah, and David's men set off and met them at the pool of Gibeon, where they all sat down, facing each other across 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 Abner said to Joab, “Why not let's have some of the men fight in hand to hand combat before us.” “Fine,” Joab agreed.
And Abner says to Joab, “Now let the youths rise and they play before us”; and Joab says, “Let them rise.”
15 So twelve men came forward from each side—twelve for Benjamin and Ishbosheth, 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 Each man grabbed his opponent's head and drove his sword into his opponent's side so that they all fell down dead together. That's why this place in Gibeon is called the Field of Sword-edges.
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 followed was hard-fought, but eventually Abner and his men were defeated by David's men.
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. Asahel was a fast runner, like a gazelle racing across the open countryside.
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 He chased after Abner with single-minded determination.
and Asahel pursues after Abner, and has not turned aside to go to the right or to the left, from after Abner.
20 Abner looked back and asked, “Is that you, Asahel?” “Yes, it's me,” Asahel replied.
And Abner looks behind him and says, “Are you he—Asahel?” And he says, “I [am].”
21 Abner told him, “Leave me alone! Go and fight somebody else and take his weapons for yourself!” But Asahel refused to 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 Abner warned Asahel again. “Stop chasing me!” he shouted. “Why do you want me to kill you? How could I ever face 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 wouldn't stop chasing him, so Abner drove the handle of his spear into his belly. It came out the back, and he fell down dead right there. Everyone who passed by stopped at 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 set off to chase after Abner. By the time the sun went down they had got as far as the hill of Ammah near 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 Abner's men from the tribe of Benjamin rallied to him there, forming a tight group around him standing at the top of the 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 Abner shouted to Joab: “Do we have to keep killing each other forever? Don't you realize that if we go on it'll only get worse? How long are you going to wait before you order your men to stop chasing 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 God lives,” Joab replied, “if you had not said anything, my men would have continued chasing their brothers until the 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 Joab blew the horn so all the men stopped—they didn't continue chasing or fighting the Israelites.
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 All through the night Abner and his men marched through the Jordan Valley. They crossed the Jordan River, and continued all morning until they arrived back 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 got back from chasing Abner, he gathered all the men together. Nineteen of David's men were missing in addition to Asahel.
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 However, they had killed three hundred and sixty of Abner's men from the tribe of Benjamin.
and the servants of David have struck of Benjamin, even among the men of Abner, three hundred and sixty men—they died.
32 They took Asahel's body and buried him in his father's tomb in Bethlehem. Then they marched all through the night and reached Hebron at dawn.
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.
