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¹Now it came about after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, that David stayed two days in Ziklag.

²And on the third day, behold, a man came from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. And it happened when he came to David, he fell to the ground and prostrated himself.

³Then David said to him, “From where do you come?” And he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.”

⁴David said to him, “How did things go? Please tell me.” And he said, “The people have fled from the battle, and many of the people also have fallen and are dead; and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.”

⁵Then David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”

⁶The young man who told him said, “By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and behold, Saul was leaning on his spear. And behold, the chariots and the horsemen had overtaken him.

⁷When he looked behind himself, he saw me, and called to me. And I said, ‘Here I am.’

⁸Then he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ And I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’

⁹And he said to me, ‘Please stand next to me and finish me off, for agony has seized me because my life still lingers in me.’

¹⁰So I stood next to him and finished him off, because I knew that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown which was on his head and the band which was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”

¹¹Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so also did all the men who were with him.

¹²And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the people of the LORD and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

¹³Then David said to the young man who informed him, “Where are you from?” And he answered, “I am the son of a stranger, an Amalekite.”

¹⁴And David said to him, “How is it you were not afraid to reach out with your hand to destroy the LORD’S anointed?”

¹⁵Then David called one of the young men and said, “Come forward, put him to death.” So he struck him and he died.

¹⁶And David said to him, “Your blood is on your head, because your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have finished off the LORD’S anointed.’ ”

¹⁷Then David sang this song of mourning over Saul and his son Jonathan,

¹⁸and he told them to teach the sons of Judah the mourning song of the bow; behold, it is written in the Book of Jashar.

¹⁹“Your beauty, Israel, is slaughtered on your high places! How the mighty have fallen!

²⁰Tell it not in Gath, Proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, Or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice, The daughters of the uncircumcised will celebrate.

²¹Mountains of Gilboa, May there be no dew nor rain on you, or fields of offerings! For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, The shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.

²²From the blood of those slaughtered, from the fat of the mighty, The bow of Jonathan did not turn back, And the sword of Saul did not return unstained.

²³Saul and Jonathan, beloved and delightful in life, And in their deaths they were not separated; They were swifter than eagles, They were mightier than lions.

²⁴Daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, Who clothed you in scarlet, with jewelry, Who put gold jewelry on your apparel.

²⁵How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan is slaughtered on your high places.

²⁶I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; You have been a close friend to me. Your love for me was more wonderful Than the love of women.

²⁷How the mighty have fallen, And the weapons of war have perished!”

¹Then it came about afterward that 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.” So David said, “Where shall I go up?” And He said, “To Hebron.”

²So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite.

³And David brought up his men who were with him, each with his household; and they settled in the cities of Hebron.

⁴Then the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.”

⁵So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead, and said to them, “May you be blessed of the LORD because you have shown this kindness to Saul your lord, and have buried him.

⁶And now may the LORD show kindness and truth to you; and I also will show this goodness to you, because you have done this thing.

⁷Now then, let your hands be strong and be valiant, since Saul your lord is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”

⁸But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim.

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

¹⁰Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he was king for two years. The house of Judah, however, followed David.

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

¹²Now Abner the son of Ner, went from Mahanaim to Gibeon with the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul.

¹³And Joab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and met them by the pool of Gibeon; and they sat down, Abner’s men on the one side of the pool and Joab’s men on the other side of the pool.

¹⁴Then Abner said to Joab, “Now have the young men arise and hold a martial skills match in our presence.” And Joab said, “Have them arise!”

¹⁵So they got up and went over by count, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David.

¹⁶And each one of them seized his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent’s side; so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon.

¹⁷That day the battle was very severe, 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 as swift-footed as one of the gazelles that is in the field.

¹⁹Asahel pursued Abner and did not turn to the right or to the left from following Abner.

²⁰Then Abner looked behind himself and said, “Is that you, Asahel?” And he said, “It is I!”

²¹So Abner said to him, “Turn aside for your own good to your right or to your left, and take hold of one of the young men for yourself, and take for yourself his equipment.” But Asahel was unwilling to turn aside from following him.

²²Then Abner repeated again to Asahel, “Turn aside for your own good from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I show my face to your brother Joab?”

²³However, he refused to turn aside; so Abner struck him in the belly with the butt end of the spear, so that the spear came out at his back. And he fell there and died on the spot. And it happened that all who came thereafter 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 to the hill of Ammah, which is opposite Giah by way of the wilderness of Gibeon.

²⁵And the sons of Benjamin gathered together behind Abner and became one troop, and they stood on the top of a hill.

²⁶Then Abner called to Joab and said, “Should the sword devour forever? Do you not realize that it will be bitter in the end? So how long will you refrain from telling the people to turn back from pursuing their kinsmen?”

²⁷Joab said, “As God lives, if you had not spoken, then the people of Judah certainly would have withdrawn in the morning, each from pursuing his brother.”

²⁸So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the people halted and no longer pursued Israel, nor did they continue to fight anymore.

²⁹Abner and his men then went through the Arabah all that night; so they crossed the Jordan, walked all morning, and came to Mahanaim.

³⁰Then Joab returned from pursuing Abner; but he gathered all the people together, and nineteen of David’s servants were missing, besides Asahel.

³¹However, the servants of David had struck and killed many of Benjamin and Abner’s men; 360 men were dead.

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 until the day dawned at Hebron.

¹Now there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David; and David became steadily stronger, while the house of Saul became steadily weaker.

²Sons were born to David in Hebron: his firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam the Jezreelitess;

³and his second, Chileab, by Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur;

⁴and the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital;

⁵and the sixth, Ithream, by David’s wife Eglah. These sons were born to David in Hebron.

⁶Now it happened that while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner was strengthening himself in the house of Saul.

⁷And Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah; and Ish-bosheth said to Abner, “Why have you gone in to my father’s concubine?”

⁸Then Abner became very angry over Ish-bosheth’s question and said, “Am I a dog’s head that belongs to Judah? Today I show kindness to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers and to his friends, and have not let you fall into the hands of David; yet today you call me to account for wrongdoing with that woman?

⁹May God do so to me, and more so, if as the LORD has sworn to David, I do not accomplish this for him:

¹⁰to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to establish the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beersheba!”

¹¹And Ish-bosheth could no longer say a word in response to Abner, because he was afraid of him.

¹²Then Abner sent messengers to David at his place, saying, “Whose is the land? Make your covenant with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you to bring all Israel over to you.”

¹³And he said, “Good! I will make a covenant with you, only I require one thing of you, namely, that you shall not see my face unless you first bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see me.”

¹⁴So David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, saying, “Give me my wife Michal, to whom I was betrothed for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.”

¹⁵Ish-bosheth sent men and had her taken from her husband, from Paltiel the son of Laish.

¹⁶And her husband went with her, weeping as he went, following her as far as Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go, return.” So he returned.

¹⁷Now Abner had a consultation with the elders of Israel, saying, “In times past you were seeking for David to be king over you.

¹⁸Now then, do it! For the LORD has spoken regarding David, saying, ‘By the hand of My servant David I will save My people Israel from the hand of the Philistines, and from the hands of all their enemies.’ ”

¹⁹Abner also spoke to Benjamin; and in addition Abner went to speak to David in Hebron everything that seemed good to Israel and to the entire house of Benjamin.

²⁰Then Abner and twenty men with him came to David at Hebron. And David held a feast for Abner and the men who were with him.

²¹Abner said to David, “Let me set out and go and gather all Israel to my lord the king, so that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may be king over all that your soul desires.” So David let Abner go, and he went in peace.

²²And behold, the servants of David and Joab came from a raid and brought a large amount of plunder with them; but Abner was not with David in Hebron, since he had let him go, and he had gone in peace.

²³When Joab and all the army that was with him arrived, they informed Joab, saying, “Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has let him go on his way, and he has gone in peace.”

²⁴Then Joab came to the king and said, “What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you; why then have you let him go, so that he is already gone?

²⁵You know Abner the son of Ner, that he came to gain your confidence, and to learn of your going out and coming in and to find out everything that you are doing.”

²⁶When Joab left David’s presence, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the well of Sirah; but David did not know about it.

²⁷So when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the middle of the gate to speak with him privately, and there he struck him in the belly, so that he died on account of the blood of his brother Asahel.

²⁸Afterward, when David heard about this, he said, “I and my kingdom are innocent before the LORD forever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner.

²⁹May it turn upon the head of Joab and on all his father’s house; and may there not be eliminated from the house of Joab someone who suffers a discharge, or has leprosy, or holds the spindle, or falls by the sword, or lacks bread.”

³⁰So Joab and his brother Abishai killed Abner because he had put their brother Asahel to death in the battle at Gibeon.

³¹Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner.” And King David walked behind the bier.

³²And they buried Abner in Hebron; and the king raised his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept.

³³And the king sang a song of mourning for Abner and said, “Should Abner die as a fool dies?

³⁴Your hands were not bound, nor your feet put in bronze shackles; As one falls before the wicked, you have fallen.” And all the people wept over him again.

³⁵Then all the people came to provide food for David in his distress while it was still day; but David vowed, saying, “May God do so to me, and more so, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun goes down.”

³⁶Now all the people took note of David’s vow, and it pleased them, just as everything that the king did pleased all the people.

³⁷So all the people and all Israel understood on that day that it had not been the desire of the king to put Abner the son of Ner to death.

³⁸Then the king said to his servants, “Do you not know that a leader and a great man has fallen in Israel this day?

³⁹And I am weak today, though anointed king; and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too difficult for me. May the LORD repay the evildoer in proportion to his evil.”