1And it happened after this that David inquired of Yahweh, saying, “Shall I go up into one of the cities of Judah?” And Yahweh said to him, “Go up.” And David said, “Where shall I go up?” And he said, “To Hebron.”
2So David went up there, and his two wives as well, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite.
3And the men who were with him David brought up, each man with his household, and they settled in the cities of Hebron.
4Then the men of Judah came and there anointed David as king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.”
5So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, “Blessed are you by Yahweh, because you have shown this loyal love to your lord, to Saul, and buried him.
6And now, may Yahweh show you loyal love and faithfulness; and I too will do you this good, because you have done this thing.
7And now, let your hands be strong, and be valiant men, for your lord Saul is dead; and also the house of Judah has anointed me as king over them.”
8But Abner son of Ner, commander of the army that belonged to Saul, had taken Ish-bosheth son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim,
9and he made him king over Gilead, and over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel.
10Ish-bosheth son of Saul was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David.
11And the number of the days that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
12Then Abner son of Ner and the servants of Ish-bosheth son of Saul went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
13And Joab son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out, and they met them at the pool of Gibeon, together; and these sat down on one side of the pool and those on the other side of the pool.
14And Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men rise up and hold a contest before us.” And Joab said, “Let them rise up.”
15So they rose up and crossed over by number: twelve for Benjamin and for Ish-bosheth son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David.
16And each seized his opponent by the head, with his sword in his opponent’s side, and they fell together. So that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon.
17And the battle was extremely fierce that day, and Abner and the men of Israel were struck down before the servants of David.
18Now the three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab and Abishai and Asahel; and Asahel was swift on his feet, like one of the gazelles that are in the field.
19And Asahel pursued Abner, and he did not turn aside to go to the right or to the left from behind Abner.
20Then Abner turned around behind him and said, “Is that you, Asahel?” And he said, “It is I.”
21And Abner said to him, “Turn aside to your right or to your left, and seize for yourself one of the young men and take for yourself his spoil.” But Asahel was not willing to turn aside from behind him.
22And Abner spoke once more to Asahel, “Turn aside from behind me; why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I lift up my face to Joab your brother?”
23But he refused to turn aside, so 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 on the spot. And it happened that everyone who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died stood still.
24But Joab and Abishai pursued after Abner; and the sun was going down when they came to the hill of Ammah, which faces Giah on the road to the wilderness of Gibeon.
25And the sons of Benjamin gathered together behind Abner, and they became one band, and they stood on the top of one hill.
26And Abner called out to Joab and said, “Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that it will be bitter in the end? How long before you tell the people to turn back from pursuing their brothers?”
27And Joab said, “As God lives, if you had not spoken, then surely from the morning the people would have gone up, each from pursuing his brother.”
28So Joab blew the ram’s horn, and all the people stood still and no longer pursued after Israel, and they fought no more.
29And Abner and his men marched through the Arabah all that night; and they crossed the Jordan and went through the whole Bithron and came to Mahanaim.
30And Joab returned from pursuing Abner and gathered all the people; and from the servants of David nineteen men were missing, besides Asahel.
31But David’s servants had struck down of Benjamin and among Abner’s men so that three hundred and sixty men died.
32They lifted up Asahel and buried him in the tomb of his father, which was at Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched all night, and daylight broke upon them at Hebron.
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