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2 Samuel 1-4
Common English Bible
2 Samuel 1-4
Common English Bible
David learns of Saul’s death
1 After Saul’s death, when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, he stayed in Ziklag two days. 2 On the third day, a man showed up from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. When he reached David, he fell to the ground, bowing low out of respect.
3 “Where have you come from?” David asked him.
“I’ve escaped from the Israelite army!” he answered.
4 “What’s the report?” David asked him. “Tell me!”
The man answered, “The troops fled from the battle! Many of the soldiers have fallen and died. What’s more, Saul and his son Jonathan have also died!”
5 “How do you know,” David asked the young man who brought the news, “that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”
6 The young man who brought the news replied, “I just happened to be on Mount Gilboa and Saul was there, leaning on his spear, with chariots and horsemen closing in on him. 7 He turned around and saw me, then he called to me. ‘Yes, sir,’ I answered. 8 ‘Who are you?’ he asked, and I told him, ‘I’m an Amalekite.’ 9 He said to me, ‘Please come over here and kill me, because convulsions have come over me but I’m still alive.’[a] 10 So I went over to him and killed him, because I knew he couldn’t survive after being wounded like that. I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and I’ve brought them here to you, my master.”
11 Then David grabbed his clothes and ripped them—and all his soldiers did the same. 12 They mourned and cried and fasted until evening for Saul, his son Jonathan, the Lord’s army, and the whole house of Israel, because they had died by the sword.
13 “Where are you from?” David asked the young man who brought him the news.
“I’m the son of an immigrant,” he answered. “An Amalekite.”
14 Then David said to him, “How is it that you weren’t afraid to raise your hand and destroy the Lord’s anointed?” 15 Then David called for one of the young servants. “Come here!” he said. “Strike him down!” So the servant struck the Amalekite down, and he died.
16 “Your blood is on your own head,” David said to the Amalekite, “because your own mouth testified against you when you admitted, ‘I killed the Lord’s anointed.’”
David mourns Saul and Jonathan
17 Then David sang this funeral song[b] for Saul and his son Jonathan. 18 David ordered everyone in Judah to learn the Song of the Bow.[c] (In fact, it is written in the scroll from Jashar.)
19 Oh, no, Israel! Your prince[d] lies dead on your heights.[e]
Look how the mighty warriors have fallen!
20 Don’t talk about it in Gath;
don’t bring news of it to Ashkelon’s streets,
or else the Philistines’ daughters will rejoice;
the daughters of the uncircumcised will celebrate.
21 You hills of Gilboa!
Let there be no dew or rain on you,
and no fields yielding grain offerings.[f]
Because it was there that the mighty warrior’s[g] shield was defiled—
the shield of Saul!—never again anointed with oil.
22 Jonathan’s bow never wavered from the blood of the slain,
from the gore of the warriors.
Never did Saul’s sword return empty.
23 Saul and Jonathan! So well loved, so dearly cherished!
In their lives and in their deaths they were never separated.
They were faster than eagles,
stronger than lions!
24 Daughters of Israel, weep over Saul!
He dressed you in crimson with jewels;
he decorated your clothes with gold jewelry.
25 Look how the mighty warriors have fallen in the midst of battle!
Jonathan lies dead on your heights.
26 I grieve for you, my brother Jonathan!
You were so dear to me!
Your love was more amazing to me[h] than the love of women.
27 Look how the mighty warriors have fallen!
Look how the weapons of war have been destroyed!
David made king in Hebron
2 Some time later, David questioned the Lord, “Should I go to one of the towns in Judah?”
“Yes, go,” the Lord told him.
“Which one should I go to?” David asked.
“To Hebron,” the Lord replied.
2 So David went there, along with his two wives: Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, Nabal’s widow, from Carmel. 3 David also took the soldiers who were with him, each with his family, and they lived in the towns around Hebron. 4 Then the people of Judah came to Hebron and anointed David king over the house of Judah.
When David was informed that it was the people of Jabesh-gilead who had buried Saul, 5 he sent messengers to the people of Jabesh-gilead. “The Lord bless you,” he said to them, “for doing this loyal deed for your master Saul by burying him. 6 May the Lord now show you loyal love and faithfulness. I myself will also reward you because you did this. 7 So now take courage and be brave—yes, your master Saul is dead, but the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”
Israel’s King Ishbosheth
8 Meanwhile, Abner, Ner’s son, the commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ishbosheth,[i] Saul’s son, and brought him over to Mahanaim. 9 There he made him king over Gilead, the Geshurites,[j] Jezreel, Ephraim, and Benjamin—over all Israel. 10 Saul’s son Ishbosheth was 40 years old when he became king over Israel, and he ruled for two years. The house of Judah, however, followed David. 11 The amount of time David ruled in Hebron over the house of Judah totaled seven and a half years.
Conflict between Judah and Israel
12 Abner, Ner’s son, along with the soldiers of Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, left Mahanaim to go to Gibeon. 13 Joab, Zeruiah’s son, and David’s soldiers also came out and confronted them at the pool of Gibeon. One group sat on one side of the pool; the other sat on the opposite side of the pool. 14 Abner said to Joab, “Let’s have the young men fight in a contest[k] before us.”
“All right,” Joab said, “let’s do it.” 15 So the men came forward and were counted as they passed by: twelve for Benjamin and Ishbosheth, Saul’s son; and twelve of David’s soldiers. 16 Each man grabbed his opponent by the head and stuck[l] his sword into his opponent’s side so that they both fell dead together. That’s why that place is called The Field of Daggers,[m] which is located in Gibeon. 17 A fierce battle took place that day, and Abner and the Israelite troops were defeated by David’s soldiers.
18 Now Zeruiah’s three sons were present at the battle: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel was as fast as a gazelle in an open field. 19 Asahel went after Abner, staying completely focused in his pursuit of Abner.
20 Abner looked behind him and said, “Is that you, Asahel?”
“Yes, it’s me,” Asahel answered.
21 “Break off your pursuit!” Abner told him. “Fight one of the young warriors and take his gear for yourself!” But Asahel wouldn’t stop chasing him.
22 So Abner repeated himself to Asahel: “Stop chasing me. Why should I kill you? How could I look your brother Joab in the face?” 23 But Asahel wouldn’t turn back, so Abner hit him in the stomach with the back end of his spear. But the spear went through Asahel’s back. He fell down and died right there.
Everyone who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died just stood there, 24 but Joab and Abishai went after Abner. The sun was setting when they came to the hill of Ammah, which faces Giah on the road to the Gibeon wilderness. 25 The Benjaminites rallied behind Abner, forming a single unit. Then they took their positions on the top of a hill. 26 Abner yelled down to Joab, “Must the sword keep killing forever? Don’t you realize that this will end bitterly? How long before you order the troops to stop chasing their brothers?”
27 “As surely as God lives,” Joab replied, “if you hadn’t just said that, the soldiers would have continued after their brothers until morning.” 28 Joab blew the trumpet,[n] and all the soldiers stopped. They didn’t pursue Israel anymore, nor did they continue to fight.
29 Abner and his men then marched all night through the wilderness, crossing the Jordan River and marching all morning[o] until they got to Mahanaim. 30 Joab, meanwhile, returned from pursuing Abner and assembled the troops. Nineteen of David’s soldiers were counted missing in addition to Asahel. 31 But David’s soldiers had defeated the Benjaminites, killing three hundred sixty of Abner’s soldiers. 32 They took Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb in Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched all night. When daylight came, they were in Hebron.
3 The war between Saul’s house and David’s house was long and drawn out. David kept getting stronger, while Saul’s house kept getting weaker.
David’s family
2 David’s sons were born in Hebron. His oldest son was Amnon, by Ahinoam from Jezreel; 3 the second was Chileab, by Abigail, Nabal’s widow from Carmel; the third was Absalom, by[p] Maacah, who was the daughter of Geshur’s King Talmai; 4 the fourth was Adonijah, by Haggith; the fifth was Shephatiah, by Abital; 5 and the sixth was Ithream, by David’s wife Eglah. These are David’s sons that were born in Hebron.
Joab kills Abner
6 Throughout the war between Saul’s house and David’s house, Abner was gaining power in Saul’s house. 7 Now Saul had a secondary wife named Rizpah, Aiah’s daughter. Ishbosheth[q] said to Abner, “Why have you had sex with my father’s secondary wife?”
8 Abner got very angry over what Ishbosheth had said.
“Am I some sort of dog’s head?”[r] Abner asked. “I’ve been nothing but loyal to the house of your father Saul and to his brothers and his friends. I haven’t handed you over to David, but today you accuse me of doing something wrong with this woman. 9 May God deal harshly with me, Abner, and worse still if I don’t do for David exactly what the Lord swore to him— 10 removing the kingdom from Saul’s house and securing David’s throne over Israel and over Judah, from Dan all the way to Beer-sheba!”
11 Ishbosheth couldn’t say a single word in reply to Abner because he was afraid of him.
12 Abner sent messengers to represent him to David and to say, “Who will own the land?[s] Make a covenant with me, then I’ll help bring all Israel over to your side.”
13 “Good!” David replied. “I will make a covenant with you, but on one condition: don’t show yourself in my presence unless you bring Saul’s daughter Michal when you come to see me.”
14 Then David sent messengers to Saul’s son Ishbosheth. “Give me my wife Michal,” he demanded. “I became engaged to her at the cost of one hundred Philistine foreskins.”
15 Ishbosheth then sent for Michal and took her from her husband Paltiel, Laish’s son. 16 Her husband went with her all the way to Bahurim, crying as he followed her.
“Go home!” Abner told him. So he went home.
17 Abner then sent word to Israel’s elders. “You’ve wanted David to be your king for some time now,” he said. 18 “It’s time to act because the Lord has said about David: I will rescue my people Israel from the power of the Philistines and all their enemies through my servant David.”
19 Abner also spoke directly to the Benjaminites. He then went to inform David in person at Hebron regarding everything that all Israel and the house of Benjamin were willing to do.
20 When Abner, along with twenty others, reached David at Hebron, David threw a celebration for Abner and his men. 21 Then Abner said to David, “Please let me get going so I can assemble all Israel for my master the king. Then they can make a covenant with you, and you will rule over everything your heart[t] desires.” At that, David sent Abner off in peace.
22 Right then, David’s soldiers and Joab returned from a raid, bringing a great deal of loot with them. Abner was no longer with David in Hebron because David had sent him off in peace. 23 When Joab and all the troops with him returned, Joab was told that Abner, Ner’s son, had come to the king and that David had sent him off in peace.
24 Joab went to the king and asked, “What have you done? Abner came to you here! Why did you send him off? Now he’s gotten away! 25 Don’t you know the evil ways of Abner, Ner’s son?[u] He came to trick you, to find out where you come and go, and to learn everything you do!”
26 Joab left David and sent messengers after Abner. They brought him back from the well at Sirah, but David didn’t know anything of this. 27 When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside next to[v] the gate to speak with him in private. But instead Joab stabbed Abner in the stomach, and he died for shedding the blood of Asahel, Joab’s brother.
28 When David heard about this later, he said, “I and my kingdom are forever innocent before the Lord concerning the shedding of the blood of Abner, Ner’s son. 29 May it fall upon the head of Joab and his entire family tree! May Joab’s family never be without someone with a discharge or a skin disease,[w] someone who uses a crutch,[x] someone who dies by the sword, or someone who is hungry!”
30 So that is how Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner, because he killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.
31 Then David ordered Joab and all the troops who were with him, “Tear your clothes and put on funeral clothes! Mourn for Abner!” King David himself walked behind the body. 32 They buried Abner in Hebron. The king wept loudly at Abner’s grave. All the troops cried too. 33 Then the king sang this funeral song[y] for Abner:
“Should Abner have died like a fool dies?
34 Your hands weren’t bound,
your feet weren’t chained,
but you have fallen
like someone falls before the wicked.”
Then the troops cried over Abner again.
35 Then all the soldiers came to urge David to eat something while it was still day, but David swore, “May God deal harshly with me and worse still if I eat bread or anything else before the sun goes down.” 36 All the troops took notice of this and were pleased by it. Indeed, everything that the king did pleased them. 37 So on that day all the troops and all Israel knew that it wasn’t the king’s idea to kill Abner, Ner’s son.
38 The king told his soldiers, “Don’t you know that a prince and a great man in Israel has fallen today? 39 And today, though I am the anointed king, I am weak. These men, Zeruiah’s sons, are too strong for me.[z] May the Lord repay the one who does evil according to the evil they did!”
Ishbosheth murdered
4 When Ishbosheth,[aa] Saul’s son, heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost his courage,[ab] and all Israel was alarmed. 2 Saul’s son had two men who led the raiding parties—one was named Baanah and the other Rechab. Both were sons of Rimmon, a Benjaminite from Beeroth. (Beeroth was considered part of Benjamin. 3 The people of Beeroth had fled to Gittaim and even now live there as immigrants.)
4 Now Saul’s son Jonathan had a boy whose feet were crippled. He was only 5 years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and so his nurse snatched him up and fled. But as she hurried to get away, he fell and was injured. His name was Mephibosheth.[ac]
5 Rechab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon from Beeroth, set out and reached Ishbosheth’s house at the heat of the day, right when he was lying down, taking an afternoon rest. 6 They went straight into his house, as if getting wheat,[ad] and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rechab and his brother Baanah escaped. 7 They had entered the house while Ishbosheth was lying on the bed in his bedroom. After they stabbed him and killed him, they cut off his head, took it, and traveled all night through the wilderness.
8 They brought Ishbosheth’s head to David at Hebron. “Here is the head of Ishbosheth,” they told the king, “the son of Saul your enemy, who wanted you dead. Today the Lord has avenged our master[ae] the king on Saul and his descendants.”
9 David answered Rechab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon from Beeroth, “As surely as the Lord lives, who has rescued me[af] from all kinds of trouble,” he told them, 10 “when someone told me Saul was dead back in Ziklag, thinking he was bringing good news, I grabbed him and killed him. That was the reward I gave him for his news! 11 What do you think I’ll do when evil people kill a righteous person in his own house on his own bed? Why shouldn’t I demand his blood from your hands and rid the earth of you both?”
12 So David gave the order to his servants, and they killed Rechab and Baanah, cutting off their hands and feet and hanging them up by the pool at Hebron. But they took Ishbosheth’s head and buried it in the grave of Abner at Hebron.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 1:9 Syr, Tg; Heb uncertain
- 2 Samuel 1:17 Or lament
- 2 Samuel 1:18 Heb lacks Song.
- 2 Samuel 1:19 Or gazelle or splendor or splendid one
- 2 Samuel 1:19 Correction
- 2 Samuel 1:21 Heb uncertain, perhaps bountiful fields; alternatively, with LXXL, fields of death, or with correction and no springs from the deep
- 2 Samuel 1:21 Or warriors’ (plural)
- 2 Samuel 1:26 Or your love (or care; cf 1 Sam 18:1, 3; 20:17) for me was more amazing
- 2 Samuel 2:8 Ishbosheth means man of shame; shame (Heb bosheth) may be a deliberate alteration from Baal (cf Esh-baal, man of Baal in 1 Chron 8:33; 9:39; see also 2 Sam 4:4); one manuscript of LXXL reads Ishbaal.
- 2 Samuel 2:9 Syr, Vulg; MT Ashurites or Assyrians; cf Tg, LXXL, Judg 1:32 Asherites
- 2 Samuel 2:14 Or come forward and play or compete
- 2 Samuel 2:16 Heb lacks stuck.
- 2 Samuel 2:16 Heb Helkath-hazzurim
- 2 Samuel 2:28 Heb shofar
- 2 Samuel 2:29 Heb uncertain
- 2 Samuel 3:3 Or son of; also twice in 3:4
- 2 Samuel 3:7 Or he, supplied from 3:8; see note at 2:8 on Ishbosheth.
- 2 Samuel 3:8 LXX; MT adds that belongs to Judah.
- 2 Samuel 3:12 Heb uncertain; LXX lacks Who will own the land?
- 2 Samuel 3:21 Or soul
- 2 Samuel 3:25 LXX; MT You know Abner, Ner’s son.
- 2 Samuel 3:27 LXX; MT to the middle of
- 2 Samuel 3:29 Traditionally leprosy, a term used for several different skin diseases
- 2 Samuel 3:29 Or who holds a spindle
- 2 Samuel 3:33 Or lament
- 2 Samuel 3:39 Or more ruthless than me; DSS (4QSama) lacks this clause.
- 2 Samuel 4:1 Heb lacks Ishbosheth; LXX, DSS (4QSama) Mephibosheth; cf 4:4 and the note at 2 Sam 2:8.
- 2 Samuel 4:1 Or his hands grew weak
- 2 Samuel 4:4 Called Merib-baal in 1 Chron 8:34; 9:40. See the note at 2 Sam 2:8.
- 2 Samuel 4:6 Heb uncertain
- 2 Samuel 4:8 Or my master
- 2 Samuel 4:9 Or my life or my soul
2 Samuel 1-4
New International Version
2 Samuel 1-4
New International Version
David Hears of Saul’s Death(A)
1 After the death(B) of Saul, David returned from striking down(C) the Amalekites(D) and stayed in Ziklag two days. 2 On the third day a man(E) arrived from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head.(F) When he came to David, he fell(G) to the ground to pay him honor.(H)
3 “Where have you come from?” David asked him.
He answered, “I have escaped from the Israelite camp.”
4 “What happened?” David asked. “Tell me.”
“The men fled from the battle,” he replied. “Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.”
5 Then David said to the young man who brought him the report, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”
6 “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,(I)” the young man said, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and their drivers in hot pursuit. 7 When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, and I said, ‘What can I do?’
8 “He asked me, ‘Who are you?’
“‘An Amalekite,(J)’ I answered.
9 “Then he said to me, ‘Stand here by me and kill me!(K) I’m in the throes of death, but I’m still alive.’
10 “So I stood beside him and killed him, because I knew that after he had fallen he could not survive. And I took the crown(L) that was on his head and the band on his arm and have brought them here to my lord.”
11 Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore(M) them. 12 They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the Lord and for the nation of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
13 David said to the young man who brought him the report, “Where are you from?”
“I am the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite,(N)” he answered.
14 David asked him, “Why weren’t you afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?(O)”
15 Then David called one of his men and said, “Go, strike him down!”(P) So he struck him down, and he died.(Q) 16 For David had said to him, “Your blood be on your own head.(R) Your own mouth testified against you when you said, ‘I killed the Lord’s anointed.’”
David’s Lament for Saul and Jonathan
17 David took up this lament(S) concerning Saul and his son Jonathan,(T) 18 and he ordered that the people of Judah be taught this lament of the bow (it is written in the Book of Jashar):(U)
20 “Tell it not in Gath,(X)
proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon,(Y)
lest the daughters of the Philistines(Z) be glad,
lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice.(AA)
21 “Mountains of Gilboa,(AB)
may you have neither dew(AC) nor rain,(AD)
may no showers fall on your terraced fields.[b](AE)
For there the shield of the mighty was despised,
the shield of Saul—no longer rubbed with oil.(AF)
22 “From the blood(AG) of the slain,
from the flesh of the mighty,
the bow(AH) of Jonathan did not turn back,
the sword of Saul did not return unsatisfied.
23 Saul and Jonathan—
in life they were loved and admired,
and in death they were not parted.
They were swifter than eagles,(AI)
they were stronger than lions.(AJ)
24 “Daughters of Israel,
weep for Saul,
who clothed you in scarlet and finery,
who adorned your garments with ornaments of gold.(AK)
25 “How the mighty have fallen in battle!
Jonathan lies slain on your heights.
26 I grieve(AL) for you, Jonathan(AM) my brother;(AN)
you were very dear to me.
Your love for me was wonderful,(AO)
more wonderful than that of women.
27 “How the mighty have fallen!
The weapons of war have perished!”(AP)
David Anointed King Over Judah
2 In the course of time, David inquired(AQ) of the Lord. “Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?” he asked.
The Lord said, “Go up.”
David asked, “Where shall I go?”
“To Hebron,”(AR) the Lord answered.
2 So David went up there with his two wives,(AS) Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail,(AT) the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 3 David also took the men who were with him,(AU) each with his family, and they settled in Hebron(AV) and its towns. 4 Then the men of Judah came to Hebron,(AW) and there they anointed(AX) David king over the tribe of Judah.
When David was told that it was the men from Jabesh Gilead(AY) who had buried Saul, 5 he sent messengers to them to say to them, “The Lord bless(AZ) you for showing this kindness to Saul your master by burying him. 6 May the Lord now show you kindness and faithfulness,(BA) and I too will show you the same favor because you have done this. 7 Now then, be strong(BB) and brave, for Saul your master is dead, and the people of Judah have anointed me king over them.”
War Between the Houses of David and Saul(BC)
8 Meanwhile, Abner(BD) son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ish-Bosheth(BE) son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim.(BF) 9 He made him king over Gilead,(BG) Ashuri(BH) and Jezreel, and also over Ephraim, Benjamin and all Israel.(BI)
10 Ish-Bosheth son of Saul was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he reigned two years. The tribe of Judah, however, remained loyal to David. 11 The length of time David was king in Hebron over Judah was seven years and six months.(BJ)
12 Abner son of Ner, together with the men of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, left Mahanaim and went to Gibeon.(BK) 13 Joab(BL) son of Zeruiah and David’s men went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. One group sat down on one side of the pool and one group on the other side.
14 Then Abner said to Joab, “Let’s have some of the young men get up and fight hand to hand in front of us.”
“All right, let them do it,” Joab said.
15 So they stood up and were counted off—twelve men for Benjamin and Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, and twelve for David. 16 Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his dagger(BM) into his opponent’s side, and they fell down together. So that place in Gibeon was called Helkath Hazzurim.[c]
17 The battle that day was very fierce, and Abner and the Israelites were defeated(BN) by David’s men.(BO)
18 The three sons of Zeruiah(BP) were there: Joab,(BQ) Abishai(BR) and Asahel.(BS) Now Asahel was as fleet-footed as a wild gazelle.(BT) 19 He chased Abner, turning neither to the right nor to the left as he pursued him. 20 Abner looked behind him and asked, “Is that you, Asahel?”
“It is,” he answered.
21 Then Abner said to him, “Turn aside to the right or to the left; take on one of the young men and strip him of his weapons.” But Asahel would not stop chasing him.
22 Again Abner warned Asahel, “Stop chasing me! Why should I strike you down? How could I look your brother Joab in the face?”(BU)
23 But Asahel refused to give up the pursuit; so Abner thrust the butt of his spear into Asahel’s stomach,(BV) and the spear came out through his back. He fell there and died on the spot. And every man stopped when he came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died.(BW)
24 But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner, and as the sun was setting, they came to the hill of Ammah, near Giah on the way to the wasteland of Gibeon. 25 Then the men of Benjamin rallied behind Abner. They formed themselves into a group and took their stand on top of a hill.
26 Abner called out to Joab, “Must the sword devour(BX) forever? Don’t you realize that this will end in bitterness? How long before you order your men to stop pursuing their fellow Israelites?”
27 Joab answered, “As surely as God lives, if you had not spoken, the men would have continued pursuing them until morning.”
28 So Joab(BY) blew the trumpet,(BZ) and all the troops came to a halt; they no longer pursued Israel, nor did they fight anymore.
29 All that night Abner and his men marched through the Arabah.(CA) They crossed the Jordan, continued through the morning hours[d] and came to Mahanaim.(CB)
30 Then Joab stopped pursuing Abner and assembled the whole army. Besides Asahel, nineteen of David’s men were found missing. 31 But David’s men had killed three hundred and sixty Benjamites who were with Abner. 32 They took Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb(CC) at Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched all night and arrived at Hebron by daybreak.
3 The war between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted a long time.(CD) David grew stronger and stronger,(CE) while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.(CF)
2 Sons were born to David in Hebron:
His firstborn was Amnon(CG) the son of Ahinoam(CH) of Jezreel;
3 his second, Kileab the son of Abigail(CI) the widow of Nabal of Carmel;
the third, Absalom(CJ) the son of Maakah daughter of Talmai king of Geshur;(CK)
4 the fourth, Adonijah(CL) the son of Haggith;
the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital;
5 and the sixth, Ithream the son of David’s wife Eglah.
These were born to David in Hebron.
Abner Goes Over to David
6 During the war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner(CM) had been strengthening his own position in the house of Saul. 7 Now Saul had had a concubine(CN) named Rizpah(CO) daughter of Aiah. And Ish-Bosheth said to Abner, “Why did you sleep with my father’s concubine?”
8 Abner was very angry because of what Ish-Bosheth said. So he answered, “Am I a dog’s head(CP)—on Judah’s side? This very day I am loyal to the house of your father Saul and to his family and friends. I haven’t handed you over to David. Yet now you accuse me of an offense involving this woman! 9 May God deal with Abner, be it ever so severely, if I do not do for David what the Lord promised(CQ) him on oath 10 and transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and establish David’s throne over Israel and Judah from Dan to Beersheba.”(CR) 11 Ish-Bosheth did not dare to say another word to Abner, because he was afraid of him.
12 Then Abner sent messengers on his behalf to say to David, “Whose land is it? Make an agreement with me, and I will help you bring all Israel over to you.”
13 “Good,” said David. “I will make an agreement with you. But I demand one thing of you: Do not come into my presence unless you bring Michal daughter of Saul when you come to see me.”(CS) 14 Then David sent messengers to Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, demanding, “Give me my wife Michal,(CT) whom I betrothed to myself for the price of a hundred Philistine foreskins.”
15 So Ish-Bosheth gave orders and had her taken away from her husband(CU) Paltiel(CV) son of Laish. 16 Her husband, however, went with her, weeping behind her all the way to Bahurim.(CW) Then Abner said to him, “Go back home!” So he went back.
17 Abner conferred with the elders(CX) of Israel and said, “For some time you have wanted to make David your king. 18 Now do it! For the Lord promised David, ‘By my servant David I will rescue my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines(CY) and from the hand of all their enemies.(CZ)’”
19 Abner also spoke to the Benjamites in person. Then he went to Hebron to tell David everything that Israel and the whole tribe of Benjamin(DA) wanted to do. 20 When Abner, who had twenty men with him, came to David at Hebron, David prepared a feast(DB) for him and his men. 21 Then Abner said to David, “Let me go at once and assemble all Israel for my lord the king, so that they may make a covenant(DC) with you, and that you may rule over all that your heart desires.”(DD) So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.
Joab Murders Abner
22 Just then David’s men and Joab returned from a raid and brought with them a great deal of plunder. But Abner was no longer with David in Hebron, because David had sent him away, and he had gone in peace. 23 When Joab and all the soldiers with him arrived, he was told that Abner son of Ner had come to the king and that the king had sent him away and that he had gone in peace.
24 So Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Look, Abner came to you. Why did you let him go? Now he is gone! 25 You know Abner son of Ner; he came to deceive you and observe your movements and find out everything you are doing.”
26 Joab then left David and sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern at Sirah. But David did not know it. 27 Now when Abner(DE) returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into an inner chamber, as if to speak with him privately. And there, to avenge the blood of his brother Asahel, Joab stabbed him(DF) in the stomach, and he died.(DG)
28 Later, when David heard about this, he said, “I and my kingdom are forever innocent(DH) before the Lord concerning the blood of Abner son of Ner. 29 May his blood(DI) fall on the head of Joab and on his whole family!(DJ) May Joab’s family never be without someone who has a running sore(DK) or leprosy[e] or who leans on a crutch or who falls by the sword or who lacks food.”
30 (Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.)
31 Then David said to Joab and all the people with him, “Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth(DL) and walk in mourning(DM) in front of Abner.” King David himself walked behind the bier. 32 They buried Abner in Hebron, and the king wept(DN) aloud at Abner’s tomb. All the people wept also.
33 The king sang this lament(DO) for Abner:
“Should Abner have died as the lawless die?
34 Your hands were not bound,
your feet were not fettered.(DP)
You fell as one falls before the wicked.”
And all the people wept over him again.
35 Then they all came and urged David to eat something while it was still day; but David took an oath, saying, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely,(DQ) if I taste bread(DR) or anything else before the sun sets!”
36 All the people took note and were pleased; indeed, everything the king did pleased them. 37 So on that day all the people there and all Israel knew that the king had no part(DS) in the murder of Abner son of Ner.
38 Then the king said to his men, “Do you not realize that a commander and a great man has fallen(DT) in Israel this day? 39 And today, though I am the anointed king, I am weak, and these sons of Zeruiah(DU) are too strong(DV) for me.(DW) May the Lord repay(DX) the evildoer according to his evil deeds!”
Ish-Bosheth Murdered
4 When Ish-Bosheth son of Saul heard that Abner(DY) had died in Hebron, he lost courage, and all Israel became alarmed. 2 Now Saul’s son had two men who were leaders of raiding bands. One was named Baanah and the other Rekab; they were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite from the tribe of Benjamin—Beeroth(DZ) is considered part of Benjamin, 3 because the people of Beeroth fled to Gittaim(EA) and have resided there as foreigners to this day.
4 (Jonathan(EB) son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news(EC) about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became disabled.(ED) His name was Mephibosheth.)(EE)
5 Now Rekab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, set out for the house of Ish-Bosheth,(EF) and they arrived there in the heat of the day while he was taking his noonday rest.(EG) 6 They went into the inner part of the house as if to get some wheat, and they stabbed(EH) him in the stomach. Then Rekab and his brother Baanah slipped away.
7 They had gone into the house while he was lying on the bed in his bedroom. After they stabbed and killed him, they cut off his head. Taking it with them, they traveled all night by way of the Arabah.(EI) 8 They brought the head(EJ) of Ish-Bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, “Here is the head of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul,(EK) your enemy, who tried to kill you. This day the Lord has avenged(EL) my lord the king against Saul and his offspring.”
9 David answered Rekab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered(EM) me out of every trouble, 10 when someone told me, ‘Saul is dead,’ and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and put him to death in Ziklag.(EN) That was the reward I gave him for his news! 11 How much more—when wicked men have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed—should I not now demand his blood(EO) from your hand and rid the earth of you!”
12 So David gave an order to his men, and they killed them.(EP) They cut off their hands and feet and hung the bodies by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-Bosheth and buried it in Abner’s tomb at Hebron.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 1:19 Gazelle here symbolizes a human dignitary.
- 2 Samuel 1:21 Or / nor fields that yield grain for offerings
- 2 Samuel 2:16 Helkath Hazzurim means field of daggers or field of hostilities.
- 2 Samuel 2:29 See Septuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
- 2 Samuel 3:29 The Hebrew for leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
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