^24 (A)‘Cursed is the one who attacks his neighbor secretly.’

“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

³¹ Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death.

^17 (A)‘Whoever kills any man shall surely be put to death.

⁹ Then Joab said to Amasa, “Are you in health, my brother?” ^(A)And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. ¹⁰ But Amasa did not notice the sword that was in Joab’s hand. And ^(B)he struck him with it ^(C)in the stomach, and his entrails poured out on the ground; and he did not strike him again. Thus he died.

Then Joab and Abishai his brother pursued Sheba the son of Bichri.

²⁸ Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, “Watch now, when Amnon’s ^(A)heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon!’ then kill him. Do not be afraid. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and ^[a]valiant.”

^9 (A)Why have you ^(B)despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? ^(C)You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. ¹⁰ Now therefore, ^(D)the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ ¹¹ Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will ^(E)take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. ¹² For you did it secretly, ^(F)but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’ ”

¹⁵ And he wrote in the letter, saying, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the ^[a]hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may ^(A)be struck down and die.” ¹⁶ So it was, while Joab besieged the city, that he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew there were valiant men. ¹⁷ Then the men of the city came out and fought with Joab. And some of the people of the servants of David fell; and Uriah the Hittite died also.

²⁷ Now when Abner had returned to Hebron, Joab ^(A)took him aside in the gate to speak with him privately, and there ^[a]stabbed him ^(B)in the stomach, so that he died for the blood of ^(C)Asahel his brother.

¹¹ “But ^(A)if anyone hates his neighbor, lies in wait for him, rises against him and strikes him mortally, so that he dies, and he flees to one of these cities, ¹² then the elders of his city shall send and bring him from there, and deliver him over to the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.