1 After these events, David inquired of the LORD {YHWH, Sovereign Guide}, “Should I go up into one of Judah’s cities?” The LORD said to him, “Go up.” David asked, “Where should I go up?” He answered, “To Hebron {Chevronah: City of Fellowship}.”
2 And David{david: Anointed Leader} went up there, and his two wives went with him: Ahinoam the Jezreelite{yizreelit: Native of Jezreel} and Abigail, the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
3 And David {David: anointed king} also brought up the men who were with him, each man with his household {beit: family unit}, and they lived in the towns of Hebron.
4 Then the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. David was told, “The men of Jabesh Gilead {Yavesh Gilad: eastern settlement} buried Saul {Shaul: first king of Israel}.”
5 David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead and said, “May you be blessed by the LORD {YHWH, Source of Blessing} because you have shown this kindness {chesed: covenant loyalty} to your lord Saul and have buried him.”
6 Now may the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Upholder} grant you kindness {chesed: steadfast love} and faithfulness, and I also will repay you with this goodness for what you have done in this matter.
7 Therefore now, let your hands be strong, and be sons of valor{chayil: martial prowess}, for your master Saul is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king{melekh: sovereign ruler} over them.
8 Then Abner {Avner: army leader} son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, took Ish-Bosheth son of Saul and brought him to Mahanaim {machanayim: dual camps}.
9 He made him king {malakh: installed as king} over Gilead, over the Ashurites {ha-ashuri: tribal territory}, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin, and over all Israel.
10 Ish-Bosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old {shanah: length of life} when he assumed the throne over Israel, and he reigned {malakh: exercised royal power} two years. But the house of Judah remained loyal to David.
11 The total time David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years {sheva: complete cycle} and six months {khodashim: lunar months}.
12 Abner son of Ner {Avner: commander-in-chief} and the servants of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul {Ish-Boshet: rival claimant} set out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
13 And Joab {Yoav: commander} son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and met them at the pool {berekhah: water reservoir} of Gibeon. They sat down, one group on one side of the pool and the other on the opposite side.
14 And Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men{hanearim: youthful champions} get up now and compete{yisakhaku: engage in contest} in front of us.” Joab said, “Let them get up.”
15 They rose and stepped forward {avaru: ceremonial advance} by number—twelve for Benjamin and Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David {David: Beloved Leader}.
16 Each man seized {vayachaziku: seized forcefully} his opponent by the head and drove his sword into his opponent’s side, so they fell together. Therefore that place was named the Field of the Sharp Rocks {chelkat hatzurim: stone-blade ground}, which is in Gibeon.
17 That day witnessed a fierce conflict {kashah: severe fighting}, and Abner and the men of Israel were struck down before the servants of David {David: anointed king}.
18 The three sons of Zeruiah were there—Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel was swift {kal: quick, nimble} on his feet, like one of the gazelles {tzvaim: fleet animal} in the open field.
19 Asahel {Asahel: God-Made One} pursued {vayirdof: intense pursuit} Abner and did not turn aside to the right or to the left in following him.
20 Abner {Avner: army commander} turned around and said, “Is that you {haʾattāh: identity confirmation}, Asahel?” He answered, “It is I.”
21 Abner said to him, “Turn aside to your right or to your left, seize for yourself one of the young men {neʿarīm: youthful fighters} and take his armor {chalitsato: military equipment}.” But Asahel was not willing to turn aside from following him.
22 And Abner {Avner: commander} said once more to Asahel, “Step aside from following me. Why should I strike you down to the ground {artsa: the earth}? How then could I lift up my face to Joab your brother?”
23 But Asahel refused to turn aside, so Abner {avner: commander} struck him with the rear part of the spear in the abdomen {chomesh: vital spot}, and the spear came out from his back, and he fell there and died in his place. Then everyone who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died stood still.
24 Joab and Abishai pursued Abner, and the sun {shemesh: celestial lamp} was going down. They came to the hill {givat: elevated vantage} of Ammah, which is opposite Giah on the road to the wilderness of Gibeon.
25 The sons of Benjamin assembled behind Abner, formed one band {agudah: united group}, and took their stand on the top of a hill {gib’ah: elevated place}.
26 And Abner called out to Joab and said, “Will the sword keep consuming forever? Do you not know it will become bitterness in the end {acheronah: ultimate result}? How long will you hold back from telling the people to stop pursuing their brothers {acheihem: fellow Israelites}?”
27 Joab said, “As God {Elohim: Divine Arbiter} lives, if you had not spoken {dibarta: decisive utterance}, then by the morning the people would have withdrawn, each man from pursuing his brother.”
28 Then Joab {Yoav: military commander} blew the horn {shofar: ram’s horn}, and all the people halted. They did not pursue Israel any longer, and they did not continue fighting.
29 And Abner and his men journeyed through the Arabah {baʿaravah: lowland plain} all that night, crossed the Jordan, went through all Bithron {Bithron: rugged region}, and arrived at Mahanaim.
30 Joab {Yoav: field commander} returned from pursuing Abner, gathered all the people, and found that nineteen men from David’s servants were missing, along with Asahel {Asahel: swift-footed}.
31 The servants of David struck down {hiku: forceful strike} three hundred and sixty men from Benjamin and from among Abner’s men, and they perished {metu: died in battle}.
32 They carried Asahel and buried him in his father’s grave at Bethlehem {beit lachem: house of bread}. Then Joab and his men marched through the night, and at dawn {vaye'or: first light} they came to Hebron.