David Anointed King of Judah 1 ULT And 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.” BSB BSB: Some time later, David inquired of the LORD, “Should I go up to one of the towns of Judah?” “Go up,” the LORD answered. Then David asked, “Where should I go?” “To Hebron,” replied the LORD.
2 ULT So David went up there, and also the two of his wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail, the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. BSB BSB: So David went there with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel.
3 ULT And his men who{ were} with him, David brought up, a man and his house. And they dwelled in the cities of Hebron. BSB BSB: David also took the men who were with him, each with his household, and they settled in the towns near Hebron.
4 ULT And the men of Judah came, and they anointed David there as king over the house of Judah. And they declared to David, saying,“{ It was} the men of Jabesh Gilead who buried Saul.” BSB BSB: Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.”
5 ULT And David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead, and he said to them,“Blessed{ are} you by Yahweh, that you have done this kindness with your master, with Saul, and have buried him. BSB BSB: So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead to tell them, “The LORD bless you, because you showed this kindness to Saul your lord when you buried him.
6 ULT And now, may Yahweh do kindness and faithfulness with you. And I myself will also do this good with you because you have done this thing. BSB BSB: Now may the LORD show you loving devotion and faithfulness, and I will also show you the same favor because you have done this.
7 ULT And now, may your hands be strong, and be sons of valor, for your master Saul has died, and also the house of Judah has anointed me as king over them.” BSB BSB: Now then, be strong and courageous, for though Saul your lord is dead, the house of Judah has anointed me as their king.”
Ish-bosheth Made King of Israel 8 ULT But Abner, the son of Ner, the commander of the army that{ was} to Saul, took Ish Bosheth, the son of Saul, and brought him over{ to} Mahanaim. BSB BSB: Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, took Saul’s son Ish-bosheth, moved him to Mahanaim,
9 ULT And he made him rule over Gilead and over the Ashurite and over Jezreel and over Ephraim and over Benjamin and over Israel, all of it. BSB BSB: and made him king over Gilead, Asher, Jezreel, Ephraim, and Benjamin—over all Israel.
10 ULT Ish Bosheth, the son of Saul,{ was} a son of 40 years when he became king over Israel, and he reigned two years. Nevertheless, the house of Judah were behind David. BSB BSB: Saul’s son Ish-bosheth was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned for two years. The house of Judah, however, followed David.
11 ULT And the number of the days that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months. BSB BSB: And the length of time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
The Battle of Gibeon 12 ULT Now Abner, the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish Bosheth, the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. BSB BSB: One day Abner son of Ner and the servants of Ish-bosheth son of Saul marched out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
13 ULT And Joab, the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David went out and encountered them together by the pool of Gibeon. And they sat down, these by the pool on this{ side} and these by the pool on that{ side}. BSB BSB: So Joab son of Zeruiah and the servants of David marched out and met them by the pool of Gibeon. And the two groups took up positions on opposite sides of the pool.
14 ULT Then Abner said to Joab,“May the young men now arise and play to our faces.” And Joab said,“May they arise.” BSB BSB: Then Abner said to Joab, “Let us have the young men get up and compete before us.” “Let them get up,” Joab replied.
15 ULT So they arose and crossed over, 12 by number to Benjamin and to Ish Bosheth, the son of Saul, and 12 from the servants of David. BSB BSB: So they got up and were counted off—twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth son of Saul, and twelve for David.
16 ULT And they seized, a man his fellow by the head, and his sword in the side of his fellow, and they fell together. So one called that place Helkath Hazzurim, which{ is} in Gibeon. BSB BSB: Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his sword into his opponent’s side, and they all fell together. So this place, which is in Gibeon, is called Helkath-hazzurim.
17 ULT And the battle was severe to extremity on that day. And Abner and the men of Israel were struck to the face of the servants of David. BSB BSB: The battle that day was intense, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by the servants of David.
18 ULT Now the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab and Abishai and Asahel. And Asahel{ was} light on his feet, like one of the gazelles that{ are} in the field. BSB BSB: The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was fleet of foot like a wild gazelle,
19 ULT And Asahel pursued after Abner, and he did not turn aside to go to the right or to the left from after Abner. BSB BSB: and he chased Abner, not turning to the right or to the left in his pursuit.
20 ULT And Abner turned behind him, and he said,“{ Is} this you, Asahel?” And he said,“{ It is} I.” BSB BSB: And Abner glanced back and said, “Is that you, Asahel?” “It is,” Asahel replied.
21 ULT And Abner said to him,“Turn aside for yourself 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 from behind him. BSB BSB: So Abner told him, “Turn to your right or to your left, seize one of the young men, and take his equipment for yourself.” But Asahel would not stop chasing him.
22 ULT And Abner continued still, saying to Asahel,“Turn aside for yourself from behind me. Why should I strike you to the ground? Then how would I lift my face to Joab your brother?” BSB BSB: Once again, Abner warned Asahel, “Stop chasing me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How could I show my face to your brother Joab?”
23 ULT But he refused to turn aside, so Abner struck him with the back end of the spear in the stomach, and the spear came out from his back. And he fell there, and he died under him. And it happened, every one coming to the place where Asahel fell there and died, that they stood. BSB BSB: But Asahel refused to turn away. So Abner thrust the butt of his spear into his stomach, and it came out his back, and he fell dead on the spot. And every man paused when he came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died.
24 ULT But Joab and Abishai pursued after Abner, and the sun was coming in, and they themselves came to the hill of Ammah, which{ is} on the face of Giah, the way of the wilderness of Gibeon. BSB BSB: But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. By sunset, they had gone as far as the hill of Ammah opposite Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon.
25 ULT Now the sons of Benjamin had gathered themselves behind Abner, and they had become one troop. And they stood on the head of one hill. BSB BSB: The Benjamites rallied to Abner, formed a single unit, and took their stand atop a hill.
26 ULT And Abner called to Joab and said,“Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that it will be bitter at the last? So until when will you not say to the people to turn from after their brothers?” BSB BSB: Then Abner called out to Joab: “Must the sword devour forever? Do you not realize that this will only end in bitterness? How long before you tell the troops to stop pursuing their brothers?”
27 ULT And Joab said,“The life of God, that if you had not spoken, that then from the morning the people would have taken itself up, a man from after his brother.” BSB BSB: “As surely as God lives,” Joab replied, “if you had not spoken up, the troops would have continued pursuing their brothers until morning.”
28 ULT Then Joab blew on the shofar, and all of the people stood, and they did not still pursue after Israel, and they did not still continue to fight. BSB BSB: So Joab blew the ram’s horn, and all the troops stopped; they no longer pursued Israel or continued to fight.
29 ULT And Abner and his men walked through the Arabah all of that night, and they crossed the Jordan, and they walked all of the morning, and they came{ to} Mahanaim. BSB BSB: And all that night Abner and his men marched through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, marched all morning, and arrived at Mahanaim.
30 ULT And Joab returned from after Abner, and he assembled all of the people. And 19 men and Asahel were missing from the servants of David. BSB BSB: When Joab returned from pursuing Abner, he gathered all the troops. In addition to Asahel, nineteen of David’s servants were missing,
31 ULT But the servants of David had struck from Benjamin and among the men of Abner 360 men, they had died. BSB BSB: but they had struck down 360 Benjamites who were with Abner.
32 ULT And they took up Asahel, and they buried him in the tomb of his father, which{ was in} Bethlehem. And Joab and his men walked all of the night, and it became light for them at Hebron. BSB BSB: And they took Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb in Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched all night and reached Hebron at daybreak.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.