1 And it will be after this, and David will ask in Jehovah, saying, Shall I go up into one of the cities of Judah? and Jehovah will say to him, Go up. And David will say, Whither shall I go up? and he will say, To Hebron.
2 And David will go up there, and also his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail, wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
3 And his men which were with him David brought up with him each, and his house: and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron.
4 And the men of Judah will come and will anoint there David for king over the house of Judah. And they will announce to David, saying, The men of Jabesh-Gilead that buried Saul
5 And David will send messengers to the men of Jabesh-Gilead, and he will say to them, Blessed ye to Jehovah, who did this mercy with your lord, with Saul, and ye will bury him.
6 And now Jehovah will do with you mercy and truth: and I also will do you this good, because ye did this word.
7 And now your hands shall be strengthened, and be ye for sons of strength: for Saul your lord died, and also the house of Judah anointed me for king over them.
8 And Abner, son of Ner, the chief of the army which was to Saul, took a man of shame, son a Saul, and he will cause him to pass over to Mahanaim;
9 And he will make him king to Gilead, and to the Ashurite and to Jezreel, and over Ephraim and over Benjamin and over all Israel.
10 The son of forty years, the man of shame, son of Saul, in his reigning over Israel; and two years he reigned: but the house of Judah was after David
11 And the number of days which David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah, will be seven years and six months.
12 And Abner son of Ner, will go forth. and the servants of the man of shame, son of Saul, from the two camps to the hill
13 And Joab son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, will go forth and meet them at the pool of Gibeon together: and these will sit by the pool from hence, and those by the pool from thence.
14 And Abner will say to Joab, Now shall the boys arise and play before us. And Joab will say, They shall arise.
15 And they will rise and pass over by number, twelve to Benjamin, and to the man of shame, son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David.
16 And they will seize each upon the head of his neighbor, and his sword in the side of his neighbor, and they will fall together: and he will call, that place Helkath-Hazurim, which is in Gibeon.
17 And the war will be hard even exceedingly, in that day; and Abner will be smitten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David.
18 And there will be there three sons of Zeruiah, Joab and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was swift in his feet as one of the roes which are in the field.
19 And Asahel will pursue after Abner; and he turned not to the right or to the left from after Abner.
20 And Abner will look behind him and say, This thou Asahel? And he will say, I.
21 And Abner will say to him,. Turn to thyself to the right or to the left, and take hold for thyself from the boys and take to thee his spoils. And Asahel would not turn aside from after him.
22 And Abner will add yet to say to Asahel, Turn aside for thyself from after me: wherefore shall I strike thee to the earth? and how shall I lift up my face to Joab thy brother?
23 And he will refuse to turn aside: and Abner will strike him with the extremity of the spear in the belly, and the spear will come forth from behind him, and he will fall there and die in his place: and it will be, all coming to the place where Asahel fell there and he will die, and they will stand.
24 And Joab and Abishai will pursue after Abner: and the sun went down and they came even to the hill of terror, which was by the face of Giah, the way of the desert of Gibeon.
25 And the sons of Benjamin will gather together after Abner, and they will be for one band, and they will stand upon the head of one hill.
26 And Abner will call to Joab and say, Shall the sword consume forever? knewest thou not that it will be bitter at the last? and how long wilt thou not say to the people to turn back from after their brethren?
27 And Joab will say, God lives if thou spakest not, for then from the morning the people went up, each from after his brother.
28 And Joab will strike upon the trumpet, and all the people will stand, and no more pursue after Israel, and they will no more add to fight.
29 And Abner and his men went in the sterile region all that night, and they will pass over Jordan and will go to all Bithron, and will come to the two camps.
30 And Joab turned back from after Abner: and he will gather all the people together and they will review from the servants of David nineteen men and Asahel.
31 And the servants of David struck from Benjamin and upon the men of Abner, three hundred and sixty men died.
32 And they will lift up Asahel and bury him in the grave of his father, which was in the House of Bread. And Joab and his men will go all night and it will shine to them in Hebron.