2 Samuel 2:1–25

David Anointed King Over Judah

2In the course of time, David inquired^p 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,”^q the Lord answered.

²So David went up there with his two wives,^r Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail,^s the widow of Nabal of Carmel. ³David also took the men who were with him,^t each with his family, and they settled in Hebron^u and its towns. ⁴Then the men of Judah came to Hebron,^v and there they anointed^w David king over the tribe of Judah.

When David was told that it was the men from Jabesh Gilead^x who had buried Saul, ⁵he sent messengers to them to say to them, “The Lord bless^y you for showing this kindness to Saul your master by burying him. ⁶May the Lord now show you kindness and faithfulness,^z and I too will show you the same favor because you have done this. ⁷Now then, be strong^a 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

3:2–5pp—1Ch 3:1–4

⁸Meanwhile, Abner^b son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ish-Bosheth^c son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim.^{d 9}He made him king over Gilead,^e Ashuri^f and Jezreel, and also over Ephraim, Benjamin and all Israel.^g

¹⁰Ish-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. ¹¹The length of time David was king in Hebron over Judah was seven years and six months.^h

¹²Abner son of Ner, together with the men of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, left Mahanaim and went to Gibeon.^{i 13}Joab^j 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.

¹⁴Then 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.

¹⁵So they stood up and were counted off—twelve men for Benjamin and Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, and twelve for David. ¹⁶Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his dagger^k into his opponent’s side, and they fell down together. So that place in Gibeon was called Helkath Hazzurim.^a

¹⁷The battle that day was very fierce, and Abner and the Israelites were defeated^l by David’s men.^m

¹⁸The three sons of Zeruiahⁿ were there: Joab,^o Abishai^p and Asahel.^q Now Asahel was as fleet-footed as a wild gazelle.^{r 19}He chased Abner, turning neither to the right nor to the left as he pursued him. ²⁰Abner looked behind him and asked, “Is that you, Asahel?”

“It is,” he answered.

²¹Then 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.

²²Again Abner warned Asahel, “Stop chasing me! Why should I strike you down? How could I look your brother Joab in the face?”^s

²³But Asahel refused to give up the pursuit; so Abner thrust the butt of his spear into Asahel’s stomach,^t 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.^u

²⁴But 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. ²⁵Then the men of Benjamin rallied behind Abner. They formed themselves into a group and took their stand on top of a hill.