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2 Samuel 2:1-32 — David Anointed King Over Judah; War with Israel

2Sam.2.1-32

¹After this, David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go up to one of the cities of Judah?” And the LORD said to him, “Go up.” Then David said, “Where shall I go?” And he said, “To Hebron.” ²So David went up there with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. ³David also brought up the men who were with him, each man with his household, and they settled in the towns of Hebron. ⁴Then the men of Judah came there and anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, “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 the LORD, because you showed this kindness to your lord, to Saul, and buried him.” ⁶And now may the LORD show you steadfast love and faithfulness. I also will deal kindly with you because you have done this thing. ⁷Now therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant, for your lord Saul is dead, and the house of Judah also has anointed me king over them. ⁸But Abner son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ish-bosheth son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim. ⁹and made him king over Gilead, the Ashurites , Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and all Israel. ¹⁰Ish-bosheth son of Saul was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David. ¹¹And the time 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. ¹³Joab son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and met them by the pool of Gibeon. And they sat down, one group on one side of the pool and the other group on the other side. ¹⁴Then Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men arise and compete before us.” And Joab said, “Let them arise.” ¹⁵So they arose and crossed over by number, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David. ¹⁶Then each man seized his opponent by the head and thrust his sword into his opponent’s side, so they fell together. Therefore that place in Gibeon was called Helkath-hazzurim . ¹⁷And the battle was very fierce that day, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by the servants of David. ¹⁸Now the three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. And Asahel was swift on his feet like one of the gazelles in the field. ¹⁹Asahel pursued Abner, and as he went he did not turn to the right or to the left from following Abner. ²⁰Then Abner turned behind him and said, “Is that you, Asahel?” And he answered, “I am.” ²¹And Abner said to him, “Turn aside to your right or to your left, seize one of the young men, and take his spoil for yourself.” But Asahel would not turn away from following him. ²²So Abner said again to Asahel, “Turn aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? Then how could I face your brother Joab?” ²³But he refused to turn aside. So Abner struck him in the belly with the butt end of the spear, and the spear came out behind him; and he fell there and died on the spot. And everyone who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died stood still. ²⁴But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. And when the sun was going down, they came as far as the hill of Ammah, which lies opposite Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon. ²⁵Then the Benjaminites gathered themselves behind Abner, became one band, and took their stand on the top of a hill. ²⁶Then Abner called to Joab and said, “Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that the end will be bitter? How long will it be before you tell the troops to turn back from pursuing their brothers?” ²⁷And Joab said, “As God lives, if you had not spoken, then the troops would not have stopped pursuing their brothers until morning.” ²⁸So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the troops stopped and no longer pursued Israel or fought any more. ²⁹And Abner and his men went through the Arabah all that night, crossed the Jordan, went through all Bithron, and came to Mahanaim. ³⁰Then Joab returned from pursuing Abner and gathered all the troops. From David’s servants, nineteen men were missing besides Asahel. ³¹But the servants of David had struck down from Benjamin and among Abner’s men three hundred and sixty men who died. ³²And they carried Asahel away and buried him in his father’s tomb, which was in Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men traveled all night, and daybreak came upon them at Hebron.

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4/11/2026

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