Βασιλειῶν Βʹ 2
1 καὶ ἐγένετο μετὰ ταῦτα καὶ ἐπηρώτησεν Δαυιδ ἐν κυρίῳ λέγων εἰ ἀναβῶ εἰς μίαν τῶν πόλεων Ιουδα καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρὸς αὐτόν ἀνάβηθι καὶ εἶπεν Δαυιδ ποῦ ἀναβῶ καὶ εἶπεν εἰς Χεβρων
Some time after that, David asked Yahweh, “Should I go back to [live in] one of the towns in Judah?” Yahweh replied, “Yes, go up there.” Then David asked, “To which town should I go?” Yahweh replied, “To Hebron.”
2 καὶ ἀνέβη ἐκεῖ Δαυιδ εἰς Χεβρων καὶ ἀμφότεραι αἱ γυναῖκες αὐτοῦ Αχινοομ ἡ Ιεζραηλῖτις καὶ Αβιγαια ἡ γυνὴ Ναβαλ τοῦ Καρμηλίου
So David went up there, taking his two wives, Ahinoam who was from Jezreel [city], and Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel [city].
3 καὶ οἱ ἄνδρες οἱ μετ’ αὐτοῦ ἕκαστος καὶ ὁ οἶκος αὐτοῦ καὶ κατῴκουν ἐν ταῖς πόλεσιν Χεβρων
He also took the men who had been with him, and their families. They all started to live in villages near Hebron.
4 καὶ ἔρχονται ἄνδρες τῆς Ιουδαίας καὶ χρίουσιν τὸν Δαυιδ ἐκεῖ τοῦ βασιλεύειν ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον Ιουδα καὶ ἀπήγγειλαν τῷ Δαυιδ λέγοντες ὅτι οἱ ἄνδρες Ιαβις τῆς Γαλααδίτιδος ἔθαψαν τὸν Σαουλ
Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and [one of] them poured olive oil on David’s head [to show they were appointing him to be] [MTY] the king of the tribe [MTY] of Judah. When David found out that the people of Jabesh [town] in [the] Gilead [region] had buried Saul’s body,
5 καὶ ἀπέστειλεν Δαυιδ ἀγγέλους πρὸς τοὺς ἡγουμένους Ιαβις τῆς Γαλααδίτιδος καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς εὐλογημένοι ὑμεῖς τῷ κυρίῳ ὅτι πεποιήκατε τὸ ἔλεος τοῦτο ἐπὶ τὸν κύριον ὑμῶν ἐπὶ Σαουλ τὸν χριστὸν κυρίου καὶ ἐθάψατε αὐτὸν καὶ Ιωναθαν τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ
he sent messengers to the men of Jabesh to tell them this: “I desire/hope that Yahweh will bless you for having shown, by burying the body of Saul your king, that you were loyal to him.
6 καὶ νῦν ποιήσαι κύριος μεθ’ ὑμῶν ἔλεος καὶ ἀλήθειαν καί γε ἐγὼ ποιήσω μεθ’ ὑμῶν τὰ ἀγαθὰ ταῦτα ὅτι ἐποιήσατε τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο
Now I also desire/hope that Yahweh will faithfully love you and be loyal to you. And I will do good things for you because of what you have done [for Saul].
7 καὶ νῦν κραταιούσθωσαν αἱ χεῖρες ὑμῶν καὶ γίνεσθε εἰς υἱοὺς δυνατούς ὅτι τέθνηκεν ὁ κύριος ὑμῶν Σαουλ καί γε ἐμὲ κέχρικεν ὁ οἶκος Ιουδα ἐφ’ ἑαυτοὺς εἰς βασιλέα
Now, although Saul your king is dead, be strong and courageous, like the people of Judah, who have appointed me to be their king.”
8 καὶ Αβεννηρ υἱὸς Νηρ ἀρχιστράτηγος τοῦ Σαουλ ἔλαβεν τὸν Ιεβοσθε υἱὸν Σαουλ καὶ ἀνεβίβασεν αὐτὸν ἐκ τῆς παρεμβολῆς εἰς Μαναεμ
[While this was happening], Ner’s son Abner, the commander of Saul’s army, took Saul’s son Ishbosheth and went across [the Jordan River] to Mahanaim [town].
9 καὶ ἐβασίλευσεν αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὴν Γαλααδῖτιν καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν Θασιρι καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν Ιεζραελ καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν Εφραιμ καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν Βενιαμιν καὶ ἐπὶ πάντα Ισραηλ
There Abner proclaimed that Ishbosheth was now the king of [the] Gilead [region] and of the tribe of Asher and the region of Jezreel and the tribes of Ephraim and Benjamin. That meant that he was the king of all of the people of Israel.
10 τεσσαράκοντα ἐτῶν Ιεβοσθε υἱὸς Σαουλ ὅτε ἐβασίλευσεν ἐπὶ τὸν Ισραηλ καὶ δύο ἔτη ἐβασίλευσεν πλὴν τοῦ οἴκου Ιουδα οἳ ἦσαν ὀπίσω Δαυιδ
Ishbosheth was 40 years old when he started to rule over the people of Israel. He ruled them for two years. But the tribe of Judah (was loyal to David/wanted David to be their king),
11 καὶ ἐγένοντο αἱ ἡμέραι ἃς Δαυιδ ἐβασίλευσεν ἐν Χεβρων ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον Ιουδα ἑπτὰ ἔτη καὶ ἓξ μῆνας
and he ruled them for seven and a half years while he was living in Hebron.
12 καὶ ἐξῆλθεν Αβεννηρ υἱὸς Νηρ καὶ οἱ παῖδες Ιεβοσθε υἱοῦ Σαουλ ἐκ Μαναεμ εἰς Γαβαων
[One day] Abner and the officials of Isbosheth went from Mahanaim [across the Jordan River] to Gibeon [city].
13 καὶ Ιωαβ υἱὸς Σαρουιας καὶ οἱ παῖδες Δαυιδ ἐξήλθοσαν ἐκ Χεβρων καὶ συναντῶσιν αὐτοῖς ἐπὶ τὴν κρήνην τὴν Γαβαων ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό καὶ ἐκάθισαν οὗτοι ἐπὶ τὴν κρήνην τὴν Γαβαων ἐντεῦθεν καὶ οὗτοι ἐπὶ τὴν κρήνην ἐντεῦθεν
Joab, whose mother was Zeruiah, and some of David’s officials [went from Hebron to Gibeon, and] met at the pool there. They all sat down, the one group on one side of the pool and the other group on the other side.
14 καὶ εἶπεν Αβεννερ πρὸς Ιωαβ ἀναστήτωσαν δὴ τὰ παιδάρια καὶ παιξάτωσαν ἐνώπιον ἡμῶν καὶ εἶπεν Ιωαβ ἀναστήτωσαν
Abner said to Joab, “Let’s tell some of our young men to fight each other!” Joab replied, “Okay!”
15 καὶ ἀνέστησαν καὶ παρῆλθον ἐν ἀριθμῷ τῶν παίδων Βενιαμιν δώδεκα τῶν Ιεβοσθε υἱοῦ Σαουλ καὶ δώδεκα ἐκ τῶν παίδων Δαυιδ
So twelve men from the tribe of Benjamin fought for Ishbosheth, against twelve of David’s soldiers.
16 καὶ ἐκράτησαν ἕκαστος τῇ χειρὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν τοῦ πλησίον αὐτοῦ καὶ μάχαιρα αὐτοῦ εἰς πλευρὰν τοῦ πλησίον αὐτοῦ καὶ πίπτουσιν κατὰ τὸ αὐτό καὶ ἐκλήθη τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ τόπου ἐκείνου μερὶς τῶν ἐπιβούλων ἥ ἐστιν ἐν Γαβαων
Each of them grabbed the head of the man against whom he was fighting, and thrust his sword into that man’s side. The result was that all 24 of them fell down dead. So that area in Gibeon is now called ‘Field of Swords’.
17 καὶ ἐγένετο ὁ πόλεμος σκληρὸς ὥστε λίαν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ καὶ ἔπταισεν Αβεννηρ καὶ ἄνδρες Ισραηλ ἐνώπιον παίδων Δαυιδ
Then [the others started to fight]. It was a very fierce battle. Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by David’s soldiers.
18 καὶ ἐγένοντο ἐκεῖ τρεῖς υἱοὶ Σαρουιας Ιωαβ καὶ Αβεσσα καὶ Ασαηλ καὶ Ασαηλ κοῦφος τοῖς ποσὶν αὐτοῦ ὡσεὶ μία δορκὰς ἐν ἀγρῷ
Zeruiah’s three sons were there [on that day]: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel was able to run very fast; he could run as fast as a wild gazelle/antelope.
19 καὶ κατεδίωξεν Ασαηλ ὀπίσω Αβεννηρ καὶ οὐκ ἐξέκλινεν τοῦ πορεύεσθαι εἰς δεξιὰ οὐδὲ εἰς ἀριστερὰ κατόπισθεν Αβεννηρ
Asahel started to pursue Abner. He ran straight toward Abner, without stopping.
20 καὶ ἐπέβλεψεν Αβεννηρ εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶπεν εἰ σὺ εἶ αὐτὸς Ασαηλ καὶ εἶπεν ἐγώ εἰμι
Abner looked behind him, and said “Is that you, Asahel?” Asahel replied, “Yes!”
21 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Αβεννηρ ἔκκλινον σὺ εἰς τὰ δεξιὰ ἢ εἰς τὰ ἀριστερὰ καὶ κάτασχε σαυτῷ ἓν τῶν παιδαρίων καὶ λαβὲ σεαυτῷ τὴν πανοπλίαν αὐτοῦ καὶ οὐκ ἠθέλησεν Ασαηλ ἐκκλῖναι ἐκ τῶν ὄπισθεν αὐτοῦ
Abner yelled at him, “Turn to one side or the other, [and pursue someone else]!” But Asahel would not stop pursuing Abner.
22 καὶ προσέθετο ἔτι Αβεννηρ λέγων τῷ Ασαηλ ἀπόστηθι ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ ἵνα μὴ πατάξω σε εἰς τὴν γῆν καὶ πῶς ἀρῶ τὸ πρόσωπόν μου πρὸς Ιωαβ καὶ ποῦ ἐστιν ταῦτα ἐπίστρεφε πρὸς Ιωαβ τὸν ἀδελφόν σου
So Abner yelled at him again, “Stop (chasing after/pursuing) me! (Why should I kill you?/It would not be good for me to kill you!) [RHQ] If I did that, (how could I (face/be reconciled with) your brother Joab?/it would be very difficult for me to (face/be reconciled with) your brother Joab.) [RHQ]”
23 καὶ οὐκ ἐβούλετο τοῦ ἀποστῆναι καὶ τύπτει αὐτὸν Αβεννηρ ἐν τῷ ὀπίσω τοῦ δόρατος ἐπὶ τὴν ψόαν καὶ διεξῆλθεν τὸ δόρυ ἐκ τῶν ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ καὶ πίπτει ἐκεῖ καὶ ἀποθνῄσκει ὑποκάτω αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐγένετο πᾶς ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἕως τοῦ τόπου οὗ ἔπεσεν ἐκεῖ Ασαηλ καὶ ἀπέθανεν καὶ ὑφίστατο
But Asahel refused to stop pursuing Abner. So Abner [suddenly turned and] thrust the butt end of his spear into Asahel’s stomach. Because he thrust it very strongly, that end of the spear [went though Asahel’s body and] came out at his back, and he fell to the ground, dead. All the other soldiers who came to the place where his body was lying stopped and stood there, [stunned].
24 καὶ κατεδίωξεν Ιωαβ καὶ Αβεσσα ὀπίσω Αβεννηρ καὶ ὁ ἥλιος ἔδυνεν καὶ αὐτοὶ εἰσῆλθον ἕως τοῦ βουνοῦ Αμμαν ὅ ἐστιν ἐπὶ προσώπου γαι ὁδὸν ἔρημον Γαβαων
But Joab and Abishai continued to pursue Abner. At sunset they came to Ammah Hill, which is east of Giah, along the road to the desert near Gibeon.
25 καὶ συναθροίζονται υἱοὶ Βενιαμιν οἱ ὀπίσω Αβεννηρ καὶ ἐγενήθησαν εἰς συνάντησιν μίαν καὶ ἔστησαν ἐπὶ κεφαλὴν βουνοῦ ἑνός
The men from the tribe of Benjamin gathered around Abner in one group, and stood at the top of a hill.
26 καὶ ἐκάλεσεν Αβεννηρ Ιωαβ καὶ εἶπεν μὴ εἰς νῖκος καταφάγεται ἡ ῥομφαία ἦ οὐκ οἶδας ὅτι πικρὰ ἔσται εἰς τὰ ἔσχατα καὶ ἕως πότε οὐ μὴ εἴπῃς τῷ λαῷ ἀναστρέφειν ἀπὸ ὄπισθεν τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἡμῶν
Then Abner called out to Joab, saying “Are we going to continue to fight forever [RHQ]? Do you not realize that [if we continue fighting], the result will be very bad [RHQ]? We are all descendants of Jacob. [So we should stop fighting each other] (How long will it be until you tell your soldiers to stop pursuing us?/Tell your soldiers to stop pursuing us.)” [RHQ]
27 καὶ εἶπεν Ιωαβ ζῇ κύριος ὅτι εἰ μὴ ἐλάλησας διότι τότε ἐκ πρωίθεν ἀνέβη ὁ λαὸς ἕκαστος κατόπισθεν τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ
Joab replied, “Just as surely as God lives, if you had not said that, my soldiers would have continued pursuing your men until tomorrow morning!”
28 καὶ ἐσάλπισεν Ιωαβ τῇ σάλπιγγι καὶ ἀπέστησαν πᾶς ὁ λαὸς καὶ οὐ κατεδίωξαν ὀπίσω τοῦ Ισραηλ καὶ οὐ προσέθεντο ἔτι τοῦ πολεμεῖν
So Joab blew a trumpet [to signal that they should stop fighting]. So all his men did that. They did not pursue the soldiers of Israel any more, and they stopped fighting.
29 καὶ Αβεννηρ καὶ οἱ ἄνδρες αὐτοῦ ἀπῆλθον εἰς δυσμὰς ὅλην τὴν νύκτα ἐκείνην καὶ διέβαιναν τὸν Ιορδάνην καὶ ἐπορεύθησαν ὅλην τὴν παρατείνουσαν καὶ ἔρχονται εἰς τὴν παρεμβολήν
That night Abner and his soldiers went through the Jordan [River] Valley. They crossed the Jordan [River] and marched all the next morning, and they finally arrived at Mahanaim.
30 καὶ Ιωαβ ἀνέστρεψεν ὄπισθεν ἀπὸ τοῦ Αβεννηρ καὶ συνήθροισεν πάντα τὸν λαόν καὶ ἐπεσκέπησαν τῶν παίδων Δαυιδ ἐννεακαίδεκα ἄνδρες καὶ Ασαηλ
Joab [and his soldiers] stopped pursuing Abner. And when he gathered all his soldiers together, he found out that in addition to Asahel, only 19 of them had been killed in the battle.
31 καὶ οἱ παῖδες Δαυιδ ἐπάταξαν τῶν υἱῶν Βενιαμιν τῶν ἀνδρῶν Αβεννηρ τριακοσίους ἑξήκοντα ἄνδρας παρ’ αὐτοῦ
But David’s soldiers had killed 360 of Abner’s men, all from the tribe of Benjamin.
32 καὶ αἴρουσιν τὸν Ασαηλ καὶ θάπτουσιν αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ τάφῳ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ ἐν Βαιθλεεμ καὶ ἐπορεύθη Ιωαβ καὶ οἱ ἄνδρες οἱ μετ’ αὐτοῦ ὅλην τὴν νύκτα καὶ διέφαυσεν αὐτοῖς ἐν Χεβρων
[Some of Joab’s soldiers] took Asahel’s body and buried it in the tomb where his father had been buried, in Bethlehem. Then they marched all during the night, and at dawn they arrived [back home] at Hebron.
