¹⁴ Then Abner said to Joab, “Let’s have some of the young men get up and fight hand to hand in front of us.”

“All right, let them do it,” Joab said.

¹⁷ The battle that day was very fierce, and Abner and the Israelites were defeated^(A) by David’s men.^(B)

²⁶ Abner called out to Joab, “Must the sword devour^(A) forever? Don’t you realize that this will end in bitterness? How long before you order your men to stop pursuing their fellow Israelites?”

²⁷ Joab answered, “As surely as God lives, if you had not spoken, the men would have continued pursuing them until morning.”