Abner Joins Forces with David

⁶ As the war between the house of Saul and the house of David went on, Abner became a powerful leader among those loyal to Saul. ⁷ One day Ishbosheth,^[a] Saul’s son, accused Abner of sleeping with one of his father’s concubines, a woman named Rizpah, daughter of Aiah.

⁸ Abner was furious. “Am I some Judean dog to be kicked around like this?” he shouted. “After all I have done for your father, Saul, and his family and friends by not handing you over to David, is this my reward—that you find fault with me about this woman? ⁹ May God strike me and even kill me if I don’t do everything I can to help David get what the Lord has promised him! ¹⁰ I’m going to take Saul’s kingdom and give it to David. I will establish the throne of David over Israel as well as Judah, all the way from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south.” ¹¹ Ishbosheth didn’t dare say another word because he was afraid of what Abner might do.

¹² Then Abner sent messengers to David, saying, “Doesn’t the entire land belong to you? Make a solemn pact with me, and I will help turn over all of Israel to you.”

¹³ “All right,” David replied, “but I will not negotiate with you unless you bring back my wife Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come.”

¹⁴ David then sent this message to Ishbosheth, Saul’s son: “Give me back my wife Michal, for I bought her with the lives^[b] of 100 Philistines.”

¹⁵ So Ishbosheth took Michal away from her husband, Palti^[c] son of Laish. ¹⁶ Palti followed along behind her as far as Bahurim, weeping as he went. Then Abner told him, “Go back home!” So Palti returned.

¹⁷ Meanwhile, Abner had consulted with the elders of Israel. “For some time now,” he told them, “you have wanted to make David your king. ¹⁸ Now is the time! For the Lord has said, ‘I have chosen David to save my people Israel from the hands of the Philistines and from all their other enemies.’” ¹⁹ Abner also spoke with the men of Benjamin. Then he went to Hebron to tell David that all the people of Israel and Benjamin had agreed to support him.

²⁰ When Abner and twenty of his men came to Hebron, David entertained them with a great feast. ²¹ Then Abner said to David, “Let me go and call an assembly of all Israel to support my lord the king. They will make a covenant with you to make you their king, and you will rule over everything your heart desires.” So David sent Abner safely on his way.

Joab Murders Abner

²² But just after David had sent Abner away in safety, Joab and some of David’s troops returned from a raid, bringing much plunder with them. ²³ When Joab arrived, he was told that Abner had just been there visiting the king and had been sent away in safety.

²⁴ Joab rushed to the king and demanded, “What have you done? What do you mean by letting Abner get away? ²⁵ You know perfectly well that he came to spy on you and find out everything you’re doing!”

²⁶ Joab then left David and sent messengers to catch up with Abner, asking him to return. They found him at the well of Sirah and brought him back, though David knew nothing about it. ²⁷ When Abner arrived back at Hebron, Joab took him aside at the gateway as if to speak with him privately. But then he stabbed Abner in the stomach and killed him in revenge for killing his brother Asahel.

²⁸ When David heard about it, he declared, “I vow by the Lord that I and my kingdom are forever innocent of this crime against Abner son of Ner. ²⁹ Joab and his family are the guilty ones. May the family of Joab be cursed in every generation with a man who has open sores or leprosy^[d] or who walks on crutches^[e] or dies by the sword or begs for food!”

³⁰ So Joab and his brother Abishai killed Abner because Abner had killed their brother Asahel at the battle of Gibeon.

David Mourns Abner’s Death

³¹ Then David said to Joab and all those who were with him, “Tear your clothes and put on burlap. Mourn for Abner.” And King David himself walked behind the procession to the grave. ³² They buried Abner in Hebron, and the king and all the people wept at his graveside. ³³ Then the king sang this funeral song for Abner:

All the people wept again for Abner. ³⁵ David had refused to eat anything on the day of the funeral, and now everyone begged him to eat. But David had made a vow, saying, “May God strike me and even kill me if I eat anything before sundown.”

³⁶ This pleased the people very much. In fact, everything the king did pleased them! ³⁷ So everyone in Judah and all Israel understood that David was not responsible for Abner’s murder.

³⁸ Then King David said to his officials, “Don’t you realize that a great commander has fallen today in Israel? ³⁹ And even though I am the anointed king, these two sons of Zeruiah—Joab and Abishai—are too strong for me to control. So may the Lord repay these evil men for their evil deeds.”

The Murder of Ishbosheth

4 When Ishbosheth,^[f] Saul’s son, heard about Abner’s death at Hebron, he lost all courage, and all Israel became paralyzed with fear. ² Now there were two brothers, Baanah and Recab, who were captains of Ishbosheth’s raiding parties. They were sons of Rimmon, a member of the tribe of Benjamin who lived in Beeroth. The town of Beeroth is now part of Benjamin’s territory ³ because the original people of Beeroth fled to Gittaim, where they still live as foreigners.

⁴ (Saul’s son Jonathan had a son named Mephibosheth,^[g] who was crippled as a child. He was five years old when the report came from Jezreel that Saul and Jonathan had been killed in battle. When the child’s nurse heard the news, she picked him up and fled. But as she hurried away, she dropped him, and he became crippled.)

⁵ One day Recab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon from Beeroth, went to Ishbosheth’s house around noon as he was taking his midday rest. ⁶ The doorkeeper, who had been sifting wheat, became drowsy and fell asleep. So Recab and Baanah slipped past her.^{[h] 7} They went into the house and found Ishbosheth sleeping on his bed. They struck and killed him and cut off his head. Then, taking his head with them, they fled across the Jordan Valley^[i] through the night. ⁸ When they arrived at Hebron, they presented Ishbosheth’s head to David. “Look!” they exclaimed to the king. “Here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of your enemy Saul who tried to kill you. Today the Lord has given my lord the king revenge on Saul and his entire family!”

⁹ But David said to Recab and Baanah, “The Lord, who saves me from all my enemies, is my witness. ¹⁰ Someone once told me, ‘Saul is dead,’ thinking he was bringing me good news. But I seized him and killed him at Ziklag. That’s the reward I gave him for his news! ¹¹ How much more should I reward evil men who have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed? Shouldn’t I hold you responsible for his blood and rid the earth of you?”

¹² So David ordered his young men to kill them, and they did. They cut off their hands and feet and hung their bodies beside the pool in Hebron. Then they took Ishbosheth’s head and buried it in Abner’s tomb in Hebron.

David Becomes King of All Israel

5 Then all the tribes of Israel went to David at Hebron and told him, “We are your own flesh and blood. ² In the past,^[j] when Saul was our king, you were the one who really led the forces of Israel. And the Lord told you, ‘You will be the shepherd of my people Israel. You will be Israel’s leader.’”

³ So there at Hebron, King David made a covenant before the Lord with all the elders of Israel. And they anointed him king of Israel.

⁴ David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in all. ⁵ He had reigned over Judah from Hebron for seven years and six months, and from Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah for thirty-three years.

David Becomes King of All Israel

11 Then all Israel gathered before David at Hebron and told him, “We are your own flesh and blood. ² In the past,^[a] even when Saul was king, you were the one who really led the forces of Israel. And the Lord your God told you, ‘You will be the shepherd of my people Israel. You will be the leader of my people Israel.’”

³ So there at Hebron, David made a covenant before the Lord with all the elders of Israel. And they anointed him king of Israel, just as the Lord had promised through Samuel.

²³ These are the numbers of armed warriors who joined David at Hebron. They were all eager to see David become king instead of Saul, just as the Lord had promised.

²⁴ From the tribe of Judah, there were 6,800 warriors armed with shields and spears.

²⁵ From the tribe of Simeon, there were 7,100 brave warriors.

²⁶ From the tribe of Levi, there were 4,600 warriors. ²⁷ This included Jehoiada, leader of the family of Aaron, who had 3,700 under his command. ²⁸ This also included Zadok, a brave young warrior, with 22 members of his family who were all officers.

²⁹ From the tribe of Benjamin, Saul’s relatives, there were 3,000 warriors. Most of the men from Benjamin had remained loyal to Saul until this time.

³⁰ From the tribe of Ephraim, there were 20,800 brave warriors, each highly respected in his own clan.

³¹ From the half-tribe of Manasseh west of the Jordan, 18,000 men were designated by name to help David become king.

³² From the tribe of Issachar, there were 200 leaders of the tribe with their relatives. All these men understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take.

³³ From the tribe of Zebulun, there were 50,000 skilled warriors. They were fully armed and prepared for battle and completely loyal to David.

³⁴ From the tribe of Naphtali, there were 1,000 officers and 37,000 warriors armed with shields and spears.

³⁵ From the tribe of Dan, there were 28,600 warriors, all prepared for battle.

³⁶ From the tribe of Asher, there were 40,000 trained warriors, all prepared for battle.

³⁷ From the east side of the Jordan River—where the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh lived—there were 120,000 troops armed with every kind of weapon.

³⁸ All these men came in battle array to Hebron with the single purpose of making David the king over all Israel. In fact, everyone in Israel agreed that David should be their king. ³⁹ They feasted and drank with David for three days, for preparations had been made by their relatives for their arrival. ⁴⁰ And people from as far away as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen. Vast supplies of flour, fig cakes, clusters of raisins, wine, olive oil, cattle, sheep, and goats were brought to the celebration. There was great joy throughout the land of Israel.

David Captures Jerusalem

⁶ David then led his men to Jerusalem to fight against the Jebusites, the original inhabitants of the land who were living there. The Jebusites taunted David, saying, “You’ll never get in here! Even the blind and lame could keep you out!” For the Jebusites thought they were safe. ⁷ But David captured the fortress of Zion, which is now called the City of David.

⁸ On the day of the attack, David said to his troops, “I hate those ‘lame’ and ‘blind’ Jebusites.^[a] Whoever attacks them should strike by going into the city through the water tunnel.^[b]” That is the origin of the saying, “The blind and the lame may not enter the house.”^[c]

⁹ So David made the fortress his home, and he called it the City of David. He extended the city, starting at the supporting terraces^[d] and working inward. ¹⁰ And David became more and more powerful, because the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies was with him.

¹¹ Then King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers to David, along with cedar timber and carpenters and stonemasons, and they built David a palace. ¹² And David realized that the Lord had confirmed him as king over Israel and had blessed his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.

¹³ After moving from Hebron to Jerusalem, David married more concubines and wives, and they had more sons and daughters. ¹⁴ These are the names of David’s sons who were born in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, ¹⁵ Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, ¹⁶ Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.

David Captures Jerusalem

⁴ Then David and all Israel went to Jerusalem (or Jebus, as it used to be called), where the Jebusites, the original inhabitants of the land, were living. ⁵ The people of Jebus taunted David, saying, “You’ll never get in here!” But David captured the fortress of Zion, which is now called the City of David.

⁶ David had said to his troops, “Whoever is first to attack the Jebusites will become the commander of my armies!” And Joab, the son of David’s sister Zeruiah, was first to attack, so he became the commander of David’s armies.

⁷ David made the fortress his home, and that is why it is called the City of David. ⁸ He extended the city from the supporting terraces^[a] to the surrounding area, while Joab rebuilt the rest of Jerusalem. ⁹ And David became more and more powerful, because the Lord of Heaven’s Armies was with him.