2 Samuel

And it came to pass after this, that David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the LORD said unto him, Go up. And David said, Whither shall I go up? And he said, Unto Hebron.

1After this, David asked God a question. He said, "Should I go up to one of the towns of Judah?" God said, "Go up." David asked, "Which one?" God said, "Hebron."

2So David went up thither, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail Nabal’s wife the Carmelite.

2So David went to Hebron. His two wives went too. They were Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, who had been married to Nabal from Carmel.

3And his men that were with him did David bring up, every man with his household: and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron.

3David also brought the men who were with him. Each man brought his family. They all made their homes in the towns near Hebron.

4And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, That the men of Jabeshgilead were they that buried Saul.

4The men of Judah came to Hebron. There they poured oil on David's head to make him their king. Then they told David, "The men of Jabesh-gilead were the ones who buried Saul."

NotePouring oil on someone's head was how people showed that God had chosen this person to be king. The word for it is "anointed."

5And David sent messengers unto the men of Jabeshgilead, and said unto them, Blessed be ye of the LORD, that ye have shewed this kindness unto your lord, even unto Saul, and have buried him.

5So David sent men with a message to the people of Jabesh-gilead. He said, "May God bless you. You were kind to Saul, your king, when you buried him."

6And now the LORD shew kindness and truth unto you: and I also will requite you this kindness, because ye have done this thing.

6"Now may God be kind and true to you. And I will be good to you too, because you did this."

7Therefore now let your hands be strengthened, and be ye valiant: for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah have anointed me king over them.

7"So be strong and brave. Saul, your king, is dead. But the people of Judah have made me their king."

8But Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul’s host, took Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim;

8Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner was the leader of Saul's army. He took Saul's son Ish-bosheth to a town called Mahanaim.

9And made him king over Gilead, and over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel.

9There he made Ish-bosheth king. He ruled over Gilead, Asher, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and all the rest of Israel.

10Ishbosheth Saul’s son was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David.

10Ish-bosheth was forty years old when he started to rule Israel. He ruled for two years. But the people of Judah followed David instead.

11And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

11David was king in Hebron over Judah for seven years and six months.

12And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.

12One day Abner son of Ner marched out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. Ish-bosheth's men went with him.

13And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out, and met together by the pool of Gibeon: and they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool.

13Joab son of Zeruiah and David's men marched out too. The two groups met at the pool of Gibeon. They sat down on opposite sides of the water.

14And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise, and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.

14Abner said to Joab, "Let the young men get up and fight in front of us." Joab said, "Let them get up."

Note"Play" here does not mean a game. Abner is asking for a real fight between picked men, with real swords.

15Then there arose and went over by number twelve of Benjamin, which pertained to Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.

15So they were counted off. Twelve men came for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth. Twelve men came for David.

16And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow’s side; so they fell down together: wherefore that place was called Helkathhazzurim, which is in Gibeon.

16Each man grabbed the other man's head. Each one pushed his sword into the other man's side. They all fell down dead together. So that place in Gibeon got the name Helkath-hazzurim.

NoteHelkath-hazzurim means something like "field of sharp knives." The place was named after what happened there.

17And there was a very sore battle that day; and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David.

17There was a hard battle that day. Abner and the men of Israel lost to David's men.

18And there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe.

18The three sons of Zeruiah were there. They were Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel could run as fast as a wild deer.

19And Asahel pursued after Abner; and in going he turned not to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner.

19Asahel chased after Abner. He did not turn left or right. He just kept after Abner.

20Then Abner looked behind him, and said, Art thou Asahel? And he answered, I am.

20Abner looked behind him and said, "Is that you, Asahel?" Asahel said, "Yes, it is."

21And Abner said to him, Turn thee aside to thy right hand or to thy left, and lay thee hold on one of the young men, and take thee his armour. But Asahel would not turn aside from following of him.

21Abner said, "Turn to your right or your left. Go after one of the young men and take his weapons." But Asahel would not stop chasing him.

22And Abner said again to Asahel, Turn thee aside from following me: wherefore should I smite thee to the ground? how then should I hold up my face to Joab thy brother?

22Abner said again, "Stop chasing me. Why should I strike you down? Then how could I look your brother Joab in the face?"

23Howbeit he refused to turn aside: wherefore Abner with the hinder end of the spear smote him under the fifth rib, that the spear came out behind him; and he fell down there, and died in the same place: and it came to pass, that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still.

23But Asahel would not turn away. So Abner shoved the back end of his spear into Asahel's stomach. It came out his back. He fell and died right there. Every man who came to that spot stopped and stood still.

NoteThe KJV says Abner hit him "under the fifth rib." That is an old way of saying he hit him in the belly.

24Joab also and Abishai pursued after Abner: and the sun went down when they were come to the hill of Ammah, that lieth before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon.

24But Joab and Abishai kept chasing Abner. The sun was going down when they reached the hill of Ammah. It is near Giah, on the road to the dry land of Gibeon.

25And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together after Abner, and became one troop, and stood on the top of an hill.

25The men of Benjamin gathered around Abner. They formed one group. They stood together on top of a hill.

26Then Abner called to Joab, and said, Shall the sword devour for ever? knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? how long shall it be then, ere thou bid the people return from following their brethren?

26Then Abner called out to Joab. He said, "Must we keep killing each other forever? Don't you know this will end in sadness? How long until you tell your men to stop chasing their own brothers?"

27And Joab said, As God liveth, unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone up every one from following his brother.

27Joab answered, "As surely as God lives, if you had not spoken, my men would have kept chasing their brothers until morning."

28So Joab blew a trumpet, and all the people stood still, and pursued after Israel no more, neither fought they any more.

28So Joab blew a horn. All the men stopped. They did not chase Israel anymore, and they did not fight anymore.

29And Abner and his men walked all that night through the plain, and passed over Jordan, and went through all Bithron, and they came to Mahanaim.

29Abner and his men walked all that night through the flat land. They crossed the Jordan River. They kept going and came to Mahanaim.

30And Joab returned from following Abner: and when he had gathered all the people together, there lacked of David’s servants nineteen men and Asahel.

30Joab came back from chasing Abner. He gathered all his men together. Besides Asahel, nineteen of David's men were missing.

31But the servants of David had smitten of Benjamin, and of Abner’s men, so that three hundred and threescore men died.

31But David's men had killed three hundred and sixty of Abner's men from Benjamin.

32And they took up Asahel, and buried him in the sepulchre of his father, which was in Bethlehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at break of day.

32They carried Asahel away and buried him in his father's grave in Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men walked all night. They reached Hebron as the sun came up.