2 Samuel 2:12-32 - War Between Judah And Israel

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.

⁸ Strike the horn upon the hill, and the trumpet upon the height: make a loud noise at the house of vanity after thee, O Benjamin. ⁹ Ephraim shall be for desolation in the day of chastisement: in the tribes of Israel I made known the faithful thing. ¹⁰ The princes of Judah were as they removing the bound: upon them will I pour out my wrath as water. ¹¹ Ephraim was oppressed, he was broken in judgment because he was willing to go after the command. ¹² And I as a moth to Ephraim, and as rottenness to the house of Judah. ¹³ And Ephraim will see his disease and Judah his wound, and Ephraim will go to Assur, and he will send to king Jareb: and he will not be able to heal for you, and he will not remove from you the wound. ¹⁴ For I as the lion to Ephraim, and as the young lion to the house of Judah I, I will rend and go away; I will take away and none delivering. ¹⁵ I will go and turn back to my place, even till when they shall be guilty, and they sought my face: in straitness to them they will turn to me.