2 Samuel 2
1 And it cometh to pass afterwards, that David asketh at Jehovah, saying, 'Do I go up into one of the cities of Judah?' and Jehovah saith unto him, 'Go up.' And David saith, 'Whither do I go up?' and He saith, 'To Hebron.'
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.
2 And David goeth up thither, and also his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail wife of Nabal the Carmelite;
So David went there with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel.
3 and his men who [are] with him hath David brought up — a man and his household — and they dwell in the cities of Hebron.
David also took the men who were with him, each with his household, and they settled in the towns near Hebron.
4 And the men of Judah come, and anoint there David for king over the house of Judah; and they declare to David, saying, 'The men of Jabesh-Gilead [are] they who buried Saul.'
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.”
5 And David sendeth messengers unto the men of Jabesh-Gilead, and saith unto them, 'Blessed [are] ye of Jehovah, in that ye have done this kindness with your lord, with Saul, that ye bury him.
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.
6 'And, now, Jehovah doth with you kindness and truth, and also, I do with you this good because ye have done this thing;
Now may the LORD show you loving devotion and faithfulness, and I will also show you the same favor because you have done this.
7 and now, are your hands strong, and be ye for sons of valour, for your lord Saul. [is] dead, and also — me have the house of Judah anointed for king over them.'
Now then, be strong and courageous, for though Saul your lord is dead, the house of Judah has anointed me as their king.”
8 And Abner, son of Ner, head of the host which Saul hath, hath taken Ish-Bosheth, son of Saul, and causeth him to pass over to Mahanaim,
Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, took Saul’s son Ish-bosheth, moved him to Mahanaim,
9 and causeth him to reign over Gilead, and over the Ashurite, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over Israel — all of it.
and made him king over Gilead, Asher, Jezreel, Ephraim, and Benjamin—over all Israel.
10 A son of forty years, [is] Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, in his reigning over Israel, and two years he hath reigned, only the house of Judah have been after David.
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.
11 And the number of the days that David hath been king in Hebron, over the house of Judah, is seven years and six months.
And the length of time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
12 And Abner son of Ner goeth out, and servants of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
One day Abner son of Ner and the servants of Ish-bosheth son of Saul marched out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
13 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.
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.
14 And Abner saith unto Joab, 'Let the youths rise, I pray thee, and they play before us;' and Joab saith, 'Let them rise.'
Then Abner said to Joab, “Let us have the young men get up and compete before us.” “Let them get up,” Joab replied.
15 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.
So they got up and were counted off—twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth son of Saul, and twelve for David.
16 And they lay hold, each on the head of his companion, and his sword [is] in the side of his companion, and they fall together, and [one] calleth that place Helkath-Hazzurim, which [is] in Gibeon,
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.
17 and the battle is very hard on that day, and Abner is smitten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David.
The battle that day was intense, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by the servants of David.
18 And there are there three sons of Zeruiah, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel, and Asahel [is] light on his feet, as one of the roes which [are] in the field,
The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was fleet of foot like a wild gazelle,
19 And Asahel pursueth after Abner, and hath not turned aside to go to the right or to the left, from after Abner.
and he chased Abner, not turning to the right or to the left in his pursuit.
20 And Abner looketh behind him, and saith, 'Art thou he — Asahel?' and he saith, 'I [am].'
And Abner glanced back and said, “Is that you, Asahel?” “It is,” Asahel replied.
21 And Abner saith to him, 'Turn thee aside to thy right hand or to thy left, and seize for thee one of the youths, and take to thee his armour;' and Asahel hath not been willing to turn aside from after him.
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.
22 And Abner addeth again, saying unto Asahel, 'Turn thee aside from after me, why do I smite thee to the earth? and how do I lift up my face unto Joab thy brother?'
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?”
23 And he refuseth to turn aside, and Abner smiteth him with the hinder part of the spear unto the fifth [rib], and the spear cometh out from behind him, and he falleth there, and dieth under it; and it cometh to pass, every one who hath come unto the place where Asahel hath fallen and dieth — they stand still.
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.
24 And Joab and Abishai pursue after Abner, and the sun hath gone in, and they have come in unto the height of Ammah, which [is] on the front of Giah, the way of the wilderness of Gibeon.
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.
25 And the sons of Benjamin gather themselves together after Abner, and become one troop, and stand on the top of a certain height,
The Benjamites rallied to Abner, formed a single unit, and took their stand atop a hill.
26 and Abner calleth unto Joab, and saith, 'For ever doth the sword consume? hast thou not known that it is bitterness in the latter end? and till when dost thou not say to the people to turn back from after their brethren?'
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?”
27 And Joab saith, 'God liveth! for unless thou hadst spoken, surely then from the morning had the people gone up each from after his brother.'
“As surely as God lives,” Joab replied, “if you had not spoken up, the troops would have continued pursuing their brothers until morning.”
28 And Joab bloweth with a trumpet, and all the people stand still, and pursue no more after Israel, nor have they added any more to fight.
So Joab blew the ram’s horn, and all the troops stopped; they no longer pursued Israel or continued to fight.
29 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 in to Mahanaim.
And all that night Abner and his men marched through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, marched all morning, and arrived at Mahanaim.
30 And Joab hath turned back from after Abner, and gathereth all the people, and there are lacking of the servants of David nineteen men, and Asahel;
When Joab returned from pursuing Abner, he gathered all the troops. In addition to Asahel, nineteen of David’s servants were missing,
31 and the servants of David have smitten of Benjamin, even among the men of Abner, three hundred and sixty men — they died.
but they had struck down 360 Benjamites who were with Abner.
32 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 it is light to them in Hebron.
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.
