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David Finds Out about Saul's Death

Saul was dead.

Meanwhile, David had defeated the Amalekites and returned to Ziklag. Three days later, a soldier came from Saul's army. His clothes were torn, and dirt was on his head.[a] He went to David and knelt down in front of him.

David asked, “Where did you come from?”

The man answered, “From Israel's army. I barely escaped with my life.”

“Who won the battle?” David asked.

The man said, “Our army turned and ran, but many were wounded and died. Even King Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.”

David asked, “How do you know Saul and Jonathan are dead?”

(A) The young man replied:

I was on Mount Gilboa and saw King Saul leaning on his spear. The enemy's war chariots and cavalry were closing in on him. When he turned around and saw me, he called me over. I went and asked what he wanted.

Saul asked me, “Who are you?”

“An Amalekite,” I answered.

Then he said, “Kill me! I'm dying, and I'm in terrible pain.”[b]

10 So I killed him. I knew he was too badly wounded to live much longer. Then I took his crown and his arm-band, and I brought them to you, Your Majesty. Here they are.

11 At once, David and his soldiers tore their clothes in sorrow. 12 They cried all day long and would not eat anything. Everyone was sad because Saul, his son Jonathan, and many of the Lord's people had been killed in the battle.

13 David asked the young man, “Where is your home?”

The man replied, “My father is an Amalekite, but we live in Israel.”

14-16 David said to him, “Why weren't you afraid to kill the Lord's chosen king? And you even told what you did. It's your own fault that you're going to die!”

Then David told one of his soldiers, “Come here and kill this man!”

David Sings in Memory of Saul

17 David sang a song in memory of Saul and Jonathan, 18 (B) and he ordered his men to teach the song to everyone in Judah. He called it “The Song of the Bow,” and it can be found in The Book of Jashar.[c] This is the song:

19 Israel, your famous hero
    lies dead on the hills,
and your mighty warriors
    have fallen!
20 Don't tell it in Gath
or spread the news
    on the streets of Ashkelon.
The godless Philistine women
will be happy
    and jump for joy.
21 Don't let dew or rain fall
    on the hills of Gilboa.
Don't let its fields
    grow offerings for God.[d]
There the warriors' shields
    were smeared with mud,
and Saul's own shield
    was left unpolished.[e]

22 The arrows of Jonathan struck,
    and warriors died.
The sword of Saul cut
    the enemy apart.

23 It was easy to love Saul
    and Jonathan.
Together in life,
    together in death,
they were faster than eagles
    and stronger than lions.

24 Women of Israel, cry for Saul.
He brought you fine red cloth
    and jewelry made of gold.
25 Our warriors have fallen
    in the heat of battle,
and Jonathan lies dead
    on the hills of Gilboa.

26 Jonathan, I miss you most!
I loved you
    like a brother.
You were truly loyal to me,
more faithful than a wife
    to her husband.[f]

27 Our warriors have fallen,
and their weapons[g]
    are destroyed.

David Becomes King of Judah

Later, David asked the Lord, “Should I go back to one of the towns of Judah?”

The Lord answered, “Yes.”

David asked, “Which town should I go to?”

“Go to Hebron,” the Lord replied.

(C) David went to Hebron with his two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail. Ahinoam was from Jezreel, and Abigail was the widow of Nabal from Carmel. David also told his men and their families to come and live in the villages near Hebron.

(D) The people of Judah met with David at Hebron and poured olive oil on his head to show that he was their new king. Then they told David, “The people from Jabesh in Gilead buried Saul.”

David sent messengers to tell them:

The Lord bless you! You were kind enough to bury Saul your ruler, and I pray that the Lord will be kind and faithful to you. I will be your friend because of what you have done. Saul is dead, but the tribe of Judah has made me their king. So be strong and have courage.

Ishbosheth Becomes King of Israel

Abner the son of Ner[h] had been the general of Saul's army. He took Saul's son Ishbosheth[i] across the Jordan River to Mahanaim and made him king of Israel,[j] including the areas of Gilead, Asher,[k] Jezreel, Ephraim, and Benjamin. 10 Ishbosheth was 40 years old at the time, and he ruled for two years. But the tribe of Judah made David their king, 11 and he ruled from Hebron for seven and a half years.

The War between David and Ishbosheth

12 One day, Abner and the soldiers of Ishbosheth[l] left Mahanaim and went to Gibeon. 13 Meanwhile, Joab the son of Zeruiah[m] was leading David's soldiers, and the two groups met at the pool in Gibeon.[n] Abner and his men sat down on one side of the pool, while Joab and his men sat on the other side. 14 Abner yelled to Joab, “Let's get some of our best soldiers to stand up and fight each other!”

Joab agreed, 15 and twelve of Ishbosheth's men from the tribe of Benjamin got up to fight twelve of David's men. 16 They grabbed each other by the hair and stabbed each other in the side with their daggers. They all died right there! That's why the place in Gibeon is called “Field of Daggers.”[o] 17 Then everyone started fighting. Both sides fought very hard, but David's soldiers defeated Abner and the soldiers of Israel.

18 Zeruiah's three sons were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel could run as fast as a deer in an open field, 19 and he ran straight after Abner, without looking to the right or to the left.

20 When Abner turned and saw him, he said, “Is that you, Asahel?”

Asahel answered, “Yes it is.”

21 Abner said, “There are soldiers all around. Stop chasing me and fight one of them! Kill him and take his clothes and weapons for yourself.”

But Asahel refused to stop.

22 Abner said, “If you don't turn back, I'll have to kill you! Then I could never face your brother Joab again.”

23 But Asahel would not turn back, so Abner struck him in the stomach with the back end of his spear. The spear went all the way through and came out of his back. Asahel fell down and died. Everyone who saw Asahel lying dead just stopped and stood still. 24 But Joab and Abishai went after Abner. Finally, about sunset, they came to the hill of Ammah, not far from Giah on the road to Gibeon Desert. 25 Abner brought the men of Benjamin together in one group on top of a hill, and they got ready to fight.

26 Abner shouted to Joab, “Aren't we ever going to stop killing each other? Don't you know that the longer we keep on doing this, the worse it's going to be when it's all over? When are you going to order your men to stop chasing their own relatives?”

27 Joab shouted back, “I swear by the living God, if you hadn't spoken, my men would have chased their relatives all night!” 28 Joab took his trumpet and blew the signal for his soldiers to stop chasing the soldiers of Israel. At once, the fighting stopped.

29 Abner and his troops marched through the Jordan River valley all that night. Then they crossed the river and marched all morning[p] until they arrived back at Mahanaim.

30 As soon as Joab stopped chasing Abner, he got David's troops together and counted them. There were 19 missing besides Asahel. 31 But David's soldiers had killed 360 of Abner's men from the tribe of Benjamin. 32 Joab and his troops carried Asahel's body to Bethlehem and buried him in the family burial place. Then they marched all night and reached Hebron before sunrise.

Footnotes

  1. 1.2 His clothes … his head: People tore their clothes and put dirt on their heads to show they were sad because someone had died.
  2. 1.9 in terrible pain: Or “very weak.”
  3. 1.18 The Book of Jashar: This book may have been a collection of ancient war songs.
  4. 1.21 Don't let its fields … for God: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  5. 1.21 unpolished: Some shields were made of leather and were polished with olive oil.
  6. 1.26 You … husband: Or “You loved me more than a wife could possibly love her husband.”
  7. 1.27 weapons: This may refer to Saul and Jonathan.
  8. 2.8 son of Ner: Abner was Saul's cousin (see 1 Samuel 14.50).
  9. 2.8 Ishbosheth: One ancient translation has “Ishbaal” (see also 1 Chronicles 8.33). In Hebrew “baal” means “lord” and was used as the name of a Canaanite god. The people of Israel often changed “baal” to “bosheth” (which means “shame”) in personal names. Ishbosheth was probably called Ishvi or Ishyo in 1 Samuel 14.49.
  10. 2.9 Israel: Sometimes “Israel” means the northern tribes and does not include the tribes of Judah and Simeon. That is how it is used in this verse.
  11. 2.9 Asher: The Hebrew text has “Ashur,” which is the Hebrew name for the Assyrians. It may be another spelling for Asher (one of the tribes of Israel) or it may refer to Geshur (a small area between Gilead and Jezreel, east of Lake Galilee).
  12. 2.12 Ishbosheth: See the note at 2.8.
  13. 2.13 the son of Zeruiah: Zeruiah was David's older sister, so Joab was David's nephew (see 1 Chronicles 2.12-17 and the note at 2 Samuel 17.25).
  14. 2.13 pool in Gibeon: This pool was located just inside the city wall and was used for storing water. It was in the shape of a circle and was eleven meters wide and eleven meters deep.
  15. 2.16 Field of Daggers: Or “Field of Opponents” or “Battlefield.”
  16. 2.29 all morning: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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