Parallel Bible results for "2 samuel 2"

2 Samuel 2

English Standard Version ESV

1 After this David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?" And the LORD said to him, "Go up." David said, "To which shall I go up?" And he said, "To Hebron."

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

3 And David brought up his men who were with him, everyone with his household, and they lived in the towns of Hebron.

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

5 David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, "May you be blessed by the LORD, because you showed this loyalty to Saul your lord and buried him.

6 Now may the LORD show steadfast love and faithfulness to you. And I will do good to you because you have done this thing.

7 Now therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant, for Saul your lord is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them."

8 But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, took Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim,

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

10 Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David.

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

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

13 And Joab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and met them at 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.

14 And Abner said to Joab, "Let the young men arise and compete before us." And Joab said, "Let them arise."

15 Then they arose and passed over by number, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.

16 And each caught 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 at Gibeon.

17 And the battle was very fierce that day. And Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David.

18 And the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was as swift of foot as a wild gazelle.

19 And Asahel pursued Abner, and as he went, he turned neither to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner.

20 Then Abner looked behind him and said, "Is it you, Asahel?" And he answered, "It is I."

21 Abner said to him, "Turn aside to your right hand or to your left, and seize one of the young men and take his spoil." But Asahel would not turn aside from following him.

22 And Abner said again to Asahel, "Turn aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I lift up my face to your brother Joab?"

23 But he refused to turn aside. Therefore Abner struck him in the stomach with the butt of his spear, so that the spear came out at his back. And he fell there and died where he was. And all who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died, stood still.

24 But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. And as the sun was going down they came to the hill of Ammah, which lies before Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon.

25 And the people of Benjamin gathered themselves together behind Abner and became one group and took their stand on the top of a hill.

26 Then Abner called to Joab, "Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that the end will be bitter? How long will it be before you tell your people to turn from the pursuit of their brothers?"

27 And Joab said, "As God lives, if you had not spoken, surely the men would not have given up the pursuit of their brothers until the morning."

28 So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the men stopped and pursued Israel no more, nor did they fight anymore.

29 And Abner and his men went all that night through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, and marching the whole morning, they came to Mahanaim.

30 Joab returned from the pursuit of Abner. And when he had gathered all the people together, there were missing from David's servants nineteen men besides Asahel.

31 But the servants of David had struck down of Benjamin 360 of Abner's men.

32 And they took up Asahel and buried him in the tomb of his father, which was at Bethlehem. And Joab and his men marched all night, and the day broke upon them at Hebron.

The Message Bible MSG

1 After all this, David prayed. He asked God, "Shall I move to one of the cities of Judah?" God said, "Yes, move." "And to which city?" "To Hebron."

2 So David moved to Hebron, along with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel.

3 David's men, along with their families, also went with him and made their home in and around Hebron.

4 The citizens of Judah came to Hebron, and then and there made David king over the clans of Judah.

5 David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead: "God bless you for this - for honoring your master, Saul, with a funeral.

6 God honor you and be true to you - and I'll do the same, matching your generous act of goodness.

7 Strengthen your resolve and do what must be done. Your master, Saul, is dead. The citizens of Judah have made me their king."

8 In the meantime, Abner son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, had taken Saul's son Ish-Bosheth to Mahanaim

9 and made him king over Gilead, over Asher, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin - king, as it turns out, over all Israel.

10 Ish-Bosheth, Saul's son, was forty years old when he was made king over Israel. He lasted only two years. But the people of Judah stuck with David.

11 David ruled the people of Judah from Hebron for seven and a half years.

12 One day Abner son of Ner set out from Mahanaim with the soldiers of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, headed for Gibeon.

13 Joab son of Zeruiah, with David's soldiers, also set out. They met at the Pool of Gibeon, Abner's group on one side, Joab's on the other.

14 Abner challenged Joab, "Put up your best fighters. Let's see them do their stuff." Joab said, "Good! Let them go at it!"

15 So they lined up for the fight, twelve Benjaminites from the side of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, and twelve soldiers from David's side.

16 The men from each side grabbed their opponents' heads and stabbed them with their daggers. They all fell dead - the whole bunch together. So, they called the place Slaughter Park. It's right there at Gibeon.

17 The fighting went from bad to worse throughout the day. Abner and the men of Israel were beaten to a pulp by David's men.

18 The three sons of Zeruiah were present: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel, as fast as a wild antelope

19 on the open plain, chased Abner, staying hard on his heels.

20 Abner turned and said, "Is that you, Asahel?" "It surely is," he said.

21 Abner said, "Let up on me. Pick on someone you have a chance of beating and be content with those spoils!" But Asahel wouldn't let up.

22 Abner tried again, "Turn back. Don't force me to kill you. How would I face your brother Joab?"

23 When he refused to quit, Abner struck him in the belly with the blunt end of his spear so hard that it came out his back. Asahel fell to the ground and died at once. Everyone who arrived at the spot where Asahel fell and died stood and gaped - Asahel dead!

24 But Joab and Abishai kept up the chase after Abner. As the sun began to set, they came to the hill of Ammah that faced Giah on the road to the backcountry of Gibeon.

25 The Benjaminites had taken their stand with Abner there, deployed strategically on a hill.

26 Abner called out to Joab, "Are we going to keep killing each other till doomsday? Don't you know that nothing but bitterness will come from this? How long before you call off your men from chasing their brothers?"

27 "As God lives," said Joab, "if you hadn't spoken up, we'd have kept up the chase until morning!"

28 Then he blew the ram's horn trumpet and the whole army of Judah stopped in its tracks. They quit chasing Israel and called off the fighting.

29 Abner and his soldiers marched all that night up the Arabah Valley. They crossed the Jordan and, after a long morning's march, arrived at Mahanaim.

30 After Joab returned from chasing Abner, he took a head count of the army. Nineteen of David's men (besides Asahel) were missing.

31 David's men had cut down three hundred and sixty of Abner's men, all Benjaminites - all dead.

32 They brought Asahel and buried him in the family tomb in Bethlehem. Joab and his men then marched all night, arriving in Hebron as the dawn broke.