2 Samuel 2

It happened after this, that Dawud inquired of Allah, saying, Shall I go up into one of the cities of Judah? Allah said to him, Go up. Dawud said, Where shall I go up? He said, To Hebron. ²So Dawud went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. ³Dawud also brought the men who were with him, every man with his household: and they lived in the cities of Hebron. ⁴The men of Judah came, and there they anointed Dawud king over the house of Judah. They told Dawud, saying, The men of Jabesh Gilead were those who buried Talut. ⁵Dawud sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead, and said to them, Allah bless you, that you have shown this kindness to your lord, even to Talut, and have buried him. ⁶Now Allah show loving kindness and truth to you: and I also will reward this kindness, because you have done this thing. ⁷Now therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant; for Talut your lord is dead, and also the house of Judah have anointed me king over them. ⁸Now Abner Ibn Ner, captain of Talut's army, had taken Ish-bosheth Ibn Talut, 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 Binyamin, and over all Israel. ¹⁰Ish-bosheth Ibn Talut was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed Dawud. ¹¹The time that Dawud was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months. ¹²Abner Ibn Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth Ibn Talut, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. ¹³Joab Ibn Zeruiah, and the servants of Dawud, went out, and met them 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. ¹⁴Abner said to Joab, Let the young men arise and compete before us. Joab said, Let them arise. ¹⁵Then they arose and went over by number: twelve for Binyamin, and for Ish-bosheth Ibn Talut, and twelve of the servants of Dawud. ¹⁶Each one caught his opponent by the head, and thrust his sword in his opponent's side; so they fell down together: therefore that place was called The Field of Sharp Swords, which is in Gibeon. ¹⁷The battle was very severe that day: and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of Dawud. ¹⁸The three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild gazelle. ¹⁹Asahel pursued Abner; and in going he didn't turn to the right hand nor to the left from pursuing Abner. ²⁰Then Abner looked behind him, and said, Is that you, Asahel? He answered, It is I. ²¹Abner said to him, Turn aside to your right hand or to your left, and lay hold on one of the young men, and take his armour. But Asahel would not turn aside from pursuing him. ²²Abner said again to Asahel, Turn aside from pursuing me: why should I strike you to the ground? How then would I hold up my face to Joab your brother? ²³However Asahel refused to turn aside: therefore Abner struck him in the body with the back end of the spear, so that the spear came out behind him; and Asahel fell down there, and died in the same place: and everyone who came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still. ²⁴But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner: and the sun went down by the time they came to the hill of Ammah, that lies before Giah by the road of the wilderness of Gibeon. ²⁵The children of Binyamin gathered themselves together behind Abner, and became one band, and stood on the top of a hill. ²⁶Then Abner called to Joab, and said, "Shall the sword devour forever? Don't you know that it will be bitterness in the latter end? How long shall it be before you tell the people to return from following their brothers?" ²⁷Joab said, As God lives, if you had not spoken, surely the people would not have stopped chasing their brothers until morning. ²⁸So Joab blew the trumpet; and all the people stood still, and pursued Israel no more, neither fought any more. ²⁹Abner and his men traveled all that night through the Arabah; and they passed over the Jordan, and went through all Bithron, and came to Mahanaim. ³⁰Joab returned from following Abner: and when he had gathered all the people together, of Dawud's servants nineteen men and Asahel were gone from their number. ³¹But the servants of Dawud had struck of Binyamin and Abner's men, so that three hundred sixty men died. ³²They took up Asahel, and buried him in the tomb of his father, which was in Bethlehem. Joab and his men went all night, and the day broke on them at Hebron.