25The Benjaminites rallied behind Abner, forming a single company; and they took up a position on the top of a hill. 26Abner then called out to Joab, “Must the sword devour forever? You know how bitterly it’s going to end! How long will you delay ordering your troops to stop the pursuit of their kinsmen?” 27And Joab replied, “As God lives, h-if you hadn’t spoken up, the troops would have given up the pursuit of their kinsmen only the next morning.”-h 28Joab then sounded the horn, and all the troops halted; they ceased their pursuit of Israel and stopped the fighting. 29Abner and his men marched through the Arabah all that night and, after crossing the Jordan, they marched b-through all of Bithron-b until they came to Mahanaim. 30After Joab gave up the pursuit of Abner, he assembled all the troops and found nineteen of David’s soldiers missing, besides Asahel. 31David’s soldiers, on the other hand, b-defeated the Benjaminites and the men under Abner and killed three hundred and sixty men.-b 32They bore Asahel away and buried him in his father’s tomb in Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched all night; day broke upon them in Hebron.
3 The war between the House of Saul and the House of David was long-drawn-out; but David kept growing stronger, while the House of Saul grew weaker.
2aSons were born to David in Hebron: His first-born was Amnon, by Ahinoam of Jezreel; 3his second was Chileab, by Abigail wife of Nabal the Carmelite; the third was Absalom son of Maacah, daughter of King Talmai of Geshur; 4the fourth was Adonijah son of Haggith; the fifth was Shephatiah son of Abital; 5and the sixth was Ithream, by David’s wife Eglah. These were born to David in Hebron.
6During the war between the House of Saul and the House of David, Abner supported the House of Saul. 7Now Saul had a concubine named Rizpah, daughter of Aiah; and [Ish-bosheth] said to Abner, “Why have you lain with my father’s concubine?” 8Abner was very upset by what Ishbosheth said, and he replied, “Am I a dog’s head b-from Judah?-b Here I have been loyally serving the House of your father Saul and his kinsfolk and friends, and I have not betrayed you into the hands of David; yet this day you reproach me over a woman! 9May God do thus and more to Abner if I do not do for David as the LORD swore to him—10to transfer the kingship from the House of Saul, and to establish the throne of David over Israel and Judah from Dan to Beer-sheba.” 11[Ish-bosheth] could say nothing more in reply to Abner, because he was afraid of him.
12Abner immediatelyb sent messengers to David, saying, b-“To whom shall the land belong?” and to say [further],-b “Make a pact with me, and I will help you and bring all Israel over to your side.” 13He replied, “Good; I will make a pact with you. But I make one demand upon you: Do not appear before me unless you bring Michal daughter of Saul when you come before me.” 14David also sent messengers to Ish-bosheth son of Saul, to say, “Give me my wife Michal, for whom I paid the bride-pricec of one hundred Philistine foreskins.”d 15So Ish-bosheth sent and had her taken away from [her] husband, Paltiel son of Laish. 16Her husband walked with her as far as Bahurim, weeping as he followed her; then Abner ordered him to turn back, and he went back.
17Abner had conferred with the elders of Israel, saying, “You have wanted David to be king over you all along. 18Now act! For the LORD has said concerning David: e-I will deliver-c My people Israel from the hands of the Philistines and all its other enemies through My servant David.” 19Abner also talked with the Benjaminites; then Abner went and informed David in Hebron of all the wishes of Israel and of the whole House of Benjamin.
20When Abner came to David in Hebron, accompanied by twenty men, David made a feast for Abner and the men with him. 21Abner said to David, “Now I will go and rally all Israel to Your Majesty. They will make a pact with you, and you can reign over all that your heart desires.” And David dismissed Abner, who went away unharmed.
22Just then David’s soldiers and Joab returned from a raid, bringing much plunder with them; Abner was no longer with David in Hebron, for he had been dismissed and had gone away unharmed. 23When Joab and the whole force with him arrived, Joab was told that Abner son of Ner had come to the king, had been dismissed by him, and had gone away unharmed. 24Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Here Abner came to you; why did you let him go? Now he has gotten away! 25Don’t you know that Abner son of Ner came only to deceive you, to learn your comings and goings and to find out all that you are planning?” 26Joab left David and sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern of Sirah; but David knew nothing about it. 27When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside within the gate to talk to him privately;b there he struck him in the belly. Thus [Abner] died for shedding the blood of Asahel, Joab’sf brother.
28Afterward, when David heard of it, he said, “Both I and my kingdom are forever innocent before the LORD of shedding the blood of Abner son of Ner. 29May [the guilt] fall upon the head of Joab and all his father’s house. May the house of Joab never be without someone suffering from a discharge or an eruption, or g-a male who handles the spindle,-g or one slain by the sword, or one lacking bread.”—30Now Joab and his brother Abishai had killed Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel during the battle at Gibeon.—31David then ordered Joab and all the troops with him to rend their clothes, gird on sackcloth, and make lament beforeh Abner; and King David himself walked behind the bier. 32And so they buried Abner at Hebron; the king wept aloud by Abner’s grave, and all the troops wept. 33And the king intoned this dirge over Abner,
“Should Abner have died the death of a churl?
34Your hands were not bound,
Your feet were not put in fetters;
But you fell as one falls
Before treacherous men!”
And all the troops continued to weep over him.
35All the troops came to urge David to eat something while it was still day; but David swore, “May God do thus to me and more if I eat bread or anything else before sundown.” 36All the troops b-took note of it-b and approved, b-just as all the troops approved everything else the king did.-b 37That day all the troops and all Israel knew that it was not by the king’s will that Abner son of Ner was killed. 38And the king said to his soldiers, “You well know that a prince, a great man in Israel, has fallen this day. 39And today I am weak, even though anointed king; those men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too savage for me. May the LORD requite the wicked for their wickedness!”
4 When [Ish-bosheth] son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, a-he lost heart-a and all Israel was alarmed. 2The son of Saul [had] two company commanders, one named Baanah and the other Rechab, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite—Benjaminites, since Beeroth too was considered part of Benjamin. 3The Beerothites had fled to Gittaim,b where they have sojourned to this day. (4Jonathan son of Saul had a son whose feet were crippled. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse picked him up and fled; but as she was fleeing in haste, he fell and was lamed. His name was Mephibosheth.c) 5Rechab and Baanah, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, started out, and they reached the home of Ish-bosheth at the heat of the day, when he was taking his midday rest. 6d-So they went inside the house, as though fetching wheat, and struck him in the belly.-d Rechab and his brother Baanah slipped by, 7and entered the house while he was asleep on his bed in his bedchamber; and they stabbed him to death. They cut off his head and took his head and made their way all night through the Arabah. 8They brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David in Hebron. “Here,” they said to the king, “is the head of your enemy, Ish-bosheth son of Saul, who sought your life. This day the LORD has avenged my lord the king upon Saul and his offspring.”
9But David answered Rechab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, “As the LORD lives, who has rescued me from every trouble: 10The man who told me in Ziklag that Saul was dead thought he was bringing good news. But instead of rewarding him for the news, I seized and killed him. 11How much more, then, when wicked men have killed a blameless man in bed in his own house! I will certainly avenge his blood on you, and I will rid the earth of you.” 12David gave orders to the young men, who killed them; they cut off their
