2 Samuel 2

1 After this David inquired of the Lord and said, “Shall I go up into one of the cities of Judah?” And the Lord said to him, “Go up.” And David said, “Where shall I go up?” And he said, “To Hebron.”

2 So David went up there to Hebron, he and both his wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite woman and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite, 3 and the men who were with him, each one with his household; and they settled in the cities of Hebron. 4 And the men of Judah came and anointed David there to be king over the house of Judah. And they brought David word: “The men of Jabesh of Gilead have buried Saul.”

5 And David sent messengers to the leaders of Jabesh of Gilead and said to them, “May you be blessed by the Lord, because you showed this mercy to your lord, to Saul the Lord’s anointed one, and buried him and Jonathan his son. [a] 6 And now may the Lord deal with you in mercy and truth. And I too will do you this good, because you have done this thing. 7 And now let your hands be strong, and be men of strength, for your lord Saul is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over themselves.”

8 But Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, took Jebosthe son of Saul and brought him over from the camp to Mahanaim, [c] 9 and made him king over Gilead, and over Thasiri, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel. [e]

10 Jebosthe son of Saul was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he reigned two years — but not over the house of Judah, who followed David. 11 And the days that David reigned in Hebron over the house of Judah were seven years and six months.

12 And Abner son of Ner went out, with the servants of Jebosthe son of Saul, from Mahanaim to Gibeon. 13 And Joab son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out from Hebron and met them at the spring of Gibeon, at the same place; and the one company sat down by the spring of Gibeon on this side, and the other by the spring on that side. [f]

14 And Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men get up and play in front of us.” And Joab said, “Let them get up.” 15 And they got up and went over by number: twelve of the servants of Benjamin, from Jebosthe son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.

16 And each man took hold of the head of the man next to him with his hand, and drove his sword into the side of the man next to him, and they fell together. And that place was called the Portion of the Treacherous Ones, which is in Gibeon. [g] 17 And the fighting that day was very hard, and Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David.

18 The three sons of Zeruiah were there — Joab and Abishai and Asahel; and Asahel was light on his feet, like a gazelle in the open field. 19 And Asahel chased after Abner, and he did not turn aside, to the right or to the left, from going after Abner.

20 And Abner looked behind him and said, “Is that you, Asahel?” And he said, “It is I.” 21 And Abner said to him, “Turn aside to your right or to your left, and take hold of one of the young men for yourself, and take his armor for yourself.” But Asahel would not turn aside from going after him.

22 And Abner spoke to Asahel once more and said, “Get away from me, so that I do not strike you to the ground. And how would I lift up my face to Joab? And where does this lead? Turn back to Joab your brother.” [h] 23 But he would not turn aside. And Abner struck him with the butt of the spear in the belly, and the spear came out behind him, and he fell there and died at his feet. And everyone who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died stood still.

24 And Joab and Abishai chased after Abner. And the sun was going down, and they came as far as the hill of Amman, which faces Gai, on the desert road to Gibeon. [i] 25 And the sons of Benjamin who followed Abner gathered themselves together and formed one body and stood on the top of a hill.

26 And Abner called to Joab and said, “Is the sword to devour forever? Do you not know that it will be bitter at the end? How long before you tell the people to turn back from going after our brothers?” [j] 27 And Joab said, “As the Lord lives, if you had not spoken, then from the morning on the people would each have gone up from following his brother.”

28 And Joab blew the trumpet, and all the people stopped, and they did not chase after Israel, and they did not go on fighting. 29 And Abner and his men went off to the west, all that night, and crossed the Jordan and went the whole length of the country beside it, and came to the camp. [k]

30 And Joab turned back from following Abner and gathered all the people; and nineteen men of David’s servants were missing, and Asahel. 31 And the servants of David had struck down three hundred and sixty men of the sons of Benjamin, of Abner’s men. 32 And they took up Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb in Bethlehem. And Joab and the men with him went all that night, and the day broke on them at Hebron.