¹²Abner sent messengers to David where he was,^l saying, “To whom does the land belong? Make your covenant with me!^m Look, my hand is with you to bring all of Israel over to you!” ¹³Heⁿ said, “Good. I will make a covenant with you.^o I am asking only one thing from you: You shall not see my face unless you bring Michal the daughter of Saul when you come to see me.”^p ¹⁴Then David sent messengers to Ish-Bosheth the son of Saul, saying, “Give me my wife Michal whom I betrothed to myself^q for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.” ¹⁵So Ish-Bosheth sent and took her from her husband, from Paltiel the son of Laish.^r ¹⁶But her husband went with her, weeping all along^s after her as far as Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go and return.” So he returned.

¹⁷The word of Abner came to^t the elders of Israel, saying, “For quite some time^u you were seeking David as king over you. ¹⁸So then, bring it about, because Yahweh had said to David, “Through the hand of David my servant I am about to save my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and from the hand of all their enemies.” ¹⁹Abner also spoke privately to Benjamin.^v Abner also went to speak to David^w in Hebron, all that was good in the eyes of Israel and in the eyes of all the house of Benjamin.

²⁰Then Abner came to David in Hebron and with him were twenty men. David had prepared a feast for Abner and for the men who were with him. ²¹And Abner said to David, “Let me get up and go and gather all of Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant^x with you so you can reign over all which your soul desires.” So David dismissed Abner, and he left in peace.

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Footnotes

lLiterally “under him”
mLiterally “cut your covenant with me”
nDavid
oLiterally “I will cut a covenant with you”
pLiterally “my face”
qHebrew “me”
rThe Hebrew Masoretic text (Kethib) reads “Lush”; Qere reads “Laish”
sLiterally “going and weeping”
tLiterally “was with”
uLiterally “Both yesterday and the day before”
vLiterally “in the ears of Benjamin”
wLiterally “to speak in the ears of David”
xLiterally “cut a covenant”