| King James Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1And it came to pass after this, that David inquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the LORD said unto him, Go up. And David said, Whither shall I go up? And he said, Unto Hebron. | 1Some time later, David inquired of the LORD: "Should I go to one of the towns of Judah?" The LORD answered him, "Go." Then David asked, "Where should I go?"" To Hebron," the LORD replied. |
| 2So David went up thither, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail Nabal's wife the Carmelite. | 2So David went there with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail, the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. |
| 3And his men that were with him did David bring up, every man with his household: and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron. | 3In addition, David brought the men who were with him, each one with his household, and they settled in the towns near Hebron. |
| 4And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, That the men of Jabeshgilead were they that buried Saul. | 4Then the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. They told David: "It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul." |
| 5And David sent messengers unto the men of Jabeshgilead, and said unto them, Blessed be ye of the LORD, that ye have shewed this kindness unto your lord, even unto Saul, and have buried him. | 5David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, "The LORD bless you, because you have shown this kindness to Saul your lord when you buried him. |
| 6And now the LORD shew kindness and truth unto you: and I also will requite you this kindness, because ye have done this thing. | 6Now, may the LORD show kindness and faithfulness to you, and I will also show the same goodness to you because you have done this deed. |
| 7Therefore now let your hands be strengthened, and be ye valiant: for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah have anointed me king over them. | 7Therefore, be strong and courageous, for though Saul your lord is dead, the house of Judah has anointed me king over them." |
| 8But Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul's host, took Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim; | 8Abner son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, took Saul's son Ish-bosheth and moved him to Mahanaim. |
| 9And made him king over Gilead, and over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel. | 9He made him king over Gilead, Asher, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin--over all Israel. |
| 10Ishbosheth Saul's son was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David. | 10Saul's son Ish-bosheth was 40 years old when he began his reign over Israel; he ruled 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. | 11The length of time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months. |
| 12And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. | 12Abner son of Ner and soldiers of Ish-bosheth son of Saul marched out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. |
| 13And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out, and met together 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. | 13So Joab son of Zeruiah and David's soldiers marched out and met them by the pool of Gibeon. The two groups took up positions on opposite sides of the pool. |
| 14And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise, and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise. | 14Then Abner said to Joab, "Let's have the young men get up and compete in front of us."" Let them get up," Joab replied. |
| 15Then there arose and went over by number twelve of Benjamin, which pertained to Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. | 15So they got up and were counted off--12 for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth son of Saul, and 12 from David's soldiers. |
| 16And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow's side; so they fell down together: wherefore that place was called Helkathhazzurim, which is in Gibeon. | 16Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his sword into his opponent's side so that they all died together. So this place, which is in Gibeon, is named Field of Blades. |
| 17And there was a very sore battle that day; and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David. | 17The battle that day was extremely fierce, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by David's soldiers. |
| 18And there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe. | 18The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel was a fast runner, like one of the wild gazelles. |
| 19And Asahel pursued after Abner; and in going he turned not to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner. | 19He chased Abner and did not turn to the right or the left in his pursuit of him. |
| 20Then Abner looked behind him, and said, Art thou Asahel? And he answered, I am. | 20Abner glanced back and said, "Is that you, Asahel?"" Yes it is," Asahel replied. |
| 21And Abner said to him, Turn thee aside to thy right hand or to thy left, and lay thee hold on one of the young men, and take thee his armour. But Asahel would not turn aside from following of him. | 21Abner said to him, "Turn to your right or left, seize one of the young soldiers, and take whatever you can get from him." But Asahel would not stop chasing him. |
| 22And Abner said again to Asahel, Turn thee aside from following me: wherefore should I smite thee to the ground? how then should I hold up my face to Joab thy brother? | 22Once again, Abner warned Asahel, "Stop chasing me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How could I ever look your brother Joab in the face?" |
| 23Howbeit he refused to turn aside: wherefore Abner with the hinder end of the spear smote him under the fifth rib, that the spear came out behind him; and he fell down there, and died in the same place: and it came to pass, that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still. | 23But Asahel refused to turn away, so Abner hit him in the stomach with the end of his spear. The spear went through his body, and he fell and died right there. When all who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died, they stopped, |
| 24Joab also and Abishai pursued after Abner: and the sun went down when they were come to the hill of Ammah, that lieth before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon. | 24but Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. By sunset, they had gone as far as the hill of Ammah, which is opposite Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon. |
| 25And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together after Abner, and became one troop, and stood on the top of an hill. | 25The Benjaminites rallied to Abner; they formed a single unit and took their stand on top of a hill. |
| 26Then Abner called to Joab, and said, Shall the sword devour for ever? knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? how long shall it be then, ere thou bid the people return from following their brethren? | 26Then Abner called out to Joab: "Must the sword devour forever? Don't you realize this will only end in bitterness? How long before you tell the troops to stop pursuing their brothers?"" |
| 27And Joab said, As God liveth, unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone up every one from following his brother. | 27As God lives," Joab replied, "if you had not spoken up, the troops wouldn't have stopped pursuing their brothers until morning." |
| 28So Joab blew a trumpet, and all the people stood still, and pursued after Israel no more, neither fought they any more. | 28Then Joab blew the ram's horn, and all the troops stopped; they no longer pursued Israel or continued to fight. |
| 29And Abner and his men walked all that night through the plain, and passed over Jordan, and went through all Bithron, and they came to Mahanaim. | 29So Abner and his men marched through the Arabah all that night. They crossed the Jordan, marched all morning, and arrived at Mahanaim. |
| 30And Joab returned from following Abner: and when he had gathered all the people together, there lacked of David's servants nineteen men and Asahel. | 30When Joab had turned back from pursuing Abner, he gathered all the troops. In addition to Asahel, 19 of David's soldiers were missing, |
| 31But the servants of David had smitten of Benjamin, and of Abner's men, so that three hundred and threescore men died. | 31but they had killed 360 of the Benjaminites and Abner's men. |
| 32And they took up Asahel, and buried him in the sepulchre of his father, which was in Bethlehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at break of day. | 32Afterward, they carried Asahel to his father's tomb in Bethlehem and buried him. Then Joab and his men marched all night and reached Hebron at dawn. |
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