2 Samuel 2
1 Some time after that, David asked Yahweh, “Should I go back to [live in] one of the towns in Judah?” Yahweh replied, “Yes, go up there.” Then David asked, “To which town should I go?” Yahweh replied, “To Hebron.”
And it comes to pass afterward, that David inquires of YHWH, saying, “Do I go up into one of the cities of Judah?” And YHWH says to him, “Go up.” And David says, “To where do I go up?” And He says, “To Hebron.”
2 So David went up there, taking his two wives, Ahinoam who was from Jezreel [city], and Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel [city].
And David goes up there, and also his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail wife of Nabal the Carmelite;
3 He also took the men who had been with him, and their families. They all started to live in villages near Hebron.
and David has brought up his men who [are] with him—a man and his household—and they dwell in the cities of Hebron.
4 Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and [one of] them poured olive oil on David’s head [to show they were appointing him to be] [MTY] the king of the tribe [MTY] of Judah. When David found out that the people of Jabesh [town] in [the] Gilead [region] had buried Saul’s body,
And the men of Judah come, and anoint David there for king over the house of Judah; and they declare to David, saying, “The men of Jabesh-Gilead [are] they who buried Saul.”
5 he sent messengers to the men of Jabesh to tell them this: “I desire/hope that Yahweh will bless you for having shown, by burying the body of Saul your king, that you were loyal to him.
And David sends messengers to the men of Jabesh-Gilead and says to them, “Blessed [are] you of YHWH, in that you have done this kindness with your lord, with Saul, that you bury him.
6 Now I also desire/hope that Yahweh will faithfully love you and be loyal to you. And I will do good things for you because of what you have done [for Saul].
And now YHWH does kindness and truth with you, and I also do this good with you because you have done this thing;
7 Now, although Saul your king is dead, be strong and courageous, like the people of Judah, who have appointed me to be their king.”
and now your hands are strong, and be for sons of valor, for your lord Saul [is] dead, and the house of Judah has also anointed me for king over them.”
8 [While this was happening], Ner’s son Abner, the commander of Saul’s army, took Saul’s son Ishbosheth and went across [the Jordan River] to Mahanaim [town].
And Abner, son of Ner, head of the host which Saul has, has taken Ish-Bosheth, son of Saul, and causes him to pass over to Mahanaim,
9 There Abner proclaimed that Ishbosheth was now the king of [the] Gilead [region] and of the tribe of Asher and the region of Jezreel and the tribes of Ephraim and Benjamin. That meant that he was the king of all of the people of Israel.
and causes him to reign over Gilead, and over the Ashurite, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over Israel—all of it.
10 Ishbosheth was 40 years old when he started to rule over the people of Israel. He ruled them for two years. But the tribe of Judah (was loyal to David/wanted David to be their king),
Ish-Bosheth son of Saul [is] a son of forty years in his reigning over Israel, and he has reigned [for] two years; only the house of Judah has been after David.
11 and he ruled them for seven and a half years while he was living in Hebron.
And the number of the days that David has been king in Hebron, over the house of Judah, is seven years and six months.
12 [One day] Abner and the officials of Isbosheth went from Mahanaim [across the Jordan River] to Gibeon [city].
And Abner son of Ner goes out, and servants of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
13 Joab, whose mother was Zeruiah, and some of David’s officials [went from Hebron to Gibeon, and] met at the pool there. They all sat down, the one group on one side of the pool and the other group on the other side.
And Joab son of Zeruiah, and servants of David, have gone out, and they meet by the pool of Gibeon together, and sit down, these by the pool on this [side], and these by the pool on that [side].
14 Abner said to Joab, “Let’s tell some of our young men to fight each other!” Joab replied, “Okay!”
And Abner says to Joab, “Now let the youths rise and they play before us”; and Joab says, “Let them rise.”
15 So twelve men from the tribe of Benjamin fought for Ishbosheth, against twelve of David’s soldiers.
And they rise and pass over, in number twelve of Benjamin, even of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.
16 Each of them grabbed the head of the man against whom he was fighting, and thrust his sword into that man’s side. The result was that all 24 of them fell down dead. So that area in Gibeon is now called ‘Field of Swords’.
And they each lay hold on the head of his companion, and his sword [is] in the side of his companion, and they fall together, and [one] calls that place Helkath-Hazzurim, which [is] in Gibeon,
17 Then [the others started to fight]. It was a very fierce battle. Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by David’s soldiers.
and the battle is very hard on that day, and Abner is struck, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David.
18 Zeruiah’s three sons were there [on that day]: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel was able to run very fast; he could run as fast as a wild gazelle/antelope.
And there are three sons of Zeruiah there: Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel; and Asahel [is] light on his feet, as one of the roes which [are] in the field,
19 Asahel started to pursue Abner. He ran straight toward Abner, without stopping.
and Asahel pursues after Abner, and has not turned aside to go to the right or to the left, from after Abner.
20 Abner looked behind him, and said “Is that you, Asahel?” Asahel replied, “Yes!”
And Abner looks behind him and says, “Are you he—Asahel?” And he says, “I [am].”
21 Abner yelled at him, “Turn to one side or the other, [and pursue someone else]!” But Asahel would not stop pursuing Abner.
And Abner says to him, “Turn aside to your right hand or to your left, and seize one of the youths for yourself, and take his armor for yourself”; and Asahel has not been willing to turn aside from after him.
22 So Abner yelled at him again, “Stop (chasing after/pursuing) me! (Why should I kill you?/It would not be good for me to kill you!) [RHQ] If I did that, (how could I (face/be reconciled with) your brother Joab?/it would be very difficult for me to (face/be reconciled with) your brother Joab.) [RHQ]”
And Abner adds again, saying to Asahel, “Turn aside from after me, why do I strike you to the earth? And how do I lift up my face to your brother Joab?”
23 But Asahel refused to stop pursuing Abner. So Abner [suddenly turned and] thrust the butt end of his spear into Asahel’s stomach. Because he thrust it very strongly, that end of the spear [went though Asahel’s body and] came out at his back, and he fell to the ground, dead. All the other soldiers who came to the place where his body was lying stopped and stood there, [stunned].
And he refuses to turn aside, and Abner strikes him with the back part of the spear to the fifth [rib], and the spear comes out from behind him, and he falls there, and dies under it; and it comes to pass, everyone who has come to the place where Asahel has fallen and dies—they stand still.
24 But Joab and Abishai continued to pursue Abner. At sunset they came to Ammah Hill, which is east of Giah, along the road to the desert near Gibeon.
And Joab and Abishai pursue after Abner, and the sun has gone in, and they have come to the height of Ammah, which [is] on the front of Giah, the way of the wilderness of Gibeon.
25 The men from the tribe of Benjamin gathered around Abner in one group, and stood at the top of a hill.
And the sons of Benjamin gather themselves together after Abner, and become one troop, and stand on the top of a certain height,
26 Then Abner called out to Joab, saying “Are we going to continue to fight forever [RHQ]? Do you not realize that [if we continue fighting], the result will be very bad [RHQ]? We are all descendants of Jacob. [So we should stop fighting each other] (How long will it be until you tell your soldiers to stop pursuing us?/Tell your soldiers to stop pursuing us.)” [RHQ]
and Abner calls to Joab and says, “Does the sword consume forever? Have you not known that it is bitterness in the latter end? And until when do you not say to the people to turn back from after their brothers?”
27 Joab replied, “Just as surely as God lives, if you had not said that, my soldiers would have continued pursuing your men until tomorrow morning!”
And Joab says, “God lives! For unless you had spoken, surely then from the morning each of the people had gone up from after his brother.”
28 So Joab blew a trumpet [to signal that they should stop fighting]. So all his men did that. They did not pursue the soldiers of Israel any more, and they stopped fighting.
And Joab blows with a horn, and all the people stand still, and no longer pursue after Israel, nor have they added to fight anymore.
29 That night Abner and his soldiers went through the Jordan [River] Valley. They crossed the Jordan [River] and marched all the next morning, and they finally arrived at Mahanaim.
And Abner and his men have gone through the plain all that night, and pass over the Jordan, and go on [through] all Bithron, and come to Mahanaim.
30 Joab [and his soldiers] stopped pursuing Abner. And when he gathered all his soldiers together, he found out that in addition to Asahel, only 19 of them had been killed in the battle.
And Joab has turned back from after Abner, and gathers all the people, and there are lacking of the servants of David nineteen men, and Asahel;
31 But David’s soldiers had killed 360 of Abner’s men, all from the tribe of Benjamin.
and the servants of David have struck of Benjamin, even among the men of Abner, three hundred and sixty men—they died.
32 [Some of Joab’s soldiers] took Asahel’s body and buried it in the tomb where his father had been buried, in Bethlehem. Then they marched all during the night, and at dawn they arrived [back home] at Hebron.
And they lift up Asahel, and bury him in the burying-place of his father, which [is] in Beth-Lehem, and they go all the night—Joab and his men—and [dawn’s light] shines on them in Hebron.
