[1] After this David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I go up into any of the
cities of Judah?" And the LORD said to him, "Go up." David said, "To which
shall I go up?" And he said, "To Hebron." [2] So David went up there, and
his two wives also, Ahin'o-am of Jezreel, and Ab'igail the widow of Nabal
of Carmel. [3] And David brought up his men who were with him, every one
with his household; and they dwelt in the towns of Hebron. [4] And the men
of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.
When they told David, "It was the men of Ja'besh-gil'ead who buried Saul,"
[5] David sent messengers to the men of Ja'besh-gil'ead, and said to them,
"May you be blessed by the LORD, because you showed this loyalty to Saul
your lord, and buried him! [6] Now may the LORD show steadfast love and
faithfulness to you! And I will do good to you because you have done this
thing. [7] Now therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant; for Saul
your lord is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them."
[8] Now Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, had taken
Ish-bo'sheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahana'im; [9] and he
made him king over Gilead and the Ash'urites and Jezreel and E'phraim and
Benjamin and all Israel. [10] Ish-bo'sheth, Saul's son, was forty years old
when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the house
of Judah followed David. [11] And the time that David was king in Hebron
over the house of Judah was seven years and six months. [12] Abner the son
of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bo'sheth the son of Saul, went out from
Mahana'im to Gibeon. [13] And Jo'ab the son of Zeru'iah, and the servants
of David, went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon; and they sat down,
the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the
pool. [14] And Abner said to Jo'ab, "Let the young men arise and play
before us." And Jo'ab said, "Let them arise." [15] Then they arose and
passed over by number, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bo'sheth the son of
Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. [16] And each caught his
opponent by the head, and thrust his sword in his opponent's side; so they
fell down together. Therefore that place was called Hel'kath-hazzu'rim,
which is at Gibeon. [17] And the battle was very fierce that day; and Abner
and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David. [18] And
the three sons of Zeru'iah were there, Jo'ab, Abi'shai, and As'ahel. Now
As'ahel was as swift of foot as a wild gazelle; [19] and As'ahel pursued
Abner, and as he went he turned neither to the right hand nor to the left
from following Abner. [20] Then Abner looked behind him and said, "Is it
you, As'ahel?" And he answered, "It is I." [21] Abner said to him, "Turn
aside to your right hand or to your left, and seize one of the young men,
and take his spoil." But As'ahel would not turn aside from following him.
[22] And Abner said again to As'ahel, "Turn aside from following me; why
should I smite you to the ground? How then could I lift up my face to your
brother Jo'ab?" [23] But he refused to turn aside; therefore Abner smote
him in the belly with the butt of his spear, so that the spear came out at
his back; and he fell there, and died where he was. And all who came to the
place where As'ahel had fallen and died, stood still. [24] But Jo'ab and
Abi'shai pursued Abner; and as the sun was going down they came to the hill
of Ammah, which lies before Gi'ah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon.
[25] And the Benjaminites gathered themselves together behind Abner, and
became one band, and took their stand on the top of a hill. [26] Then Abner
called to Jo'ab, "Shall the sword devour for ever? Do you not know that the
end will be bitter? How long will it be before you bid your people turn
from the pursuit of their brethren?" [27] And Jo'ab said, "As God lives, if
you had not spoken, surely the men would have given up the pursuit of their
brethren in the morning." [28] So Jo'ab blew the trumpet; and all the men
stopped, and pursued Israel no more, nor did they fight any more. [29] And
Abner and his men went all that night through the Arabah; they crossed the
Jordan, and marching the whole forenoon they came to Mahana'im. [30] Jo'ab
returned from the pursuit of Abner; and when he had gathered all the people
together, there were missing of David's servants nineteen men besides
As'ahel. [31] But the servants of David had slain of Benjamin three hundred
and sixty of Abner's men. [32] And they took up As'ahel, and buried him in
the tomb of his father, which was at Bethlehem. And Jo'ab and his men
marched all night, and the day broke upon them at Hebron.
