Old/New Testament
3 That was the beginning of a long war between the followers of Saul and of David. David’s position now became stronger and stronger, while Saul’s dynasty became weaker and weaker.
2 Several sons were born to David while he was at Hebron. The oldest was Amnon, born to his wife Ahinoam. 3 His second son, Chileab, was born to Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. The third was Absalom, born to Maacah, the daughter of King Talmai of Geshur. 4 The fourth was Adonijah, who was born to Haggith. Then Shephatiah was born to Abital, and 5 Ithream was born to Eglah.
6 As the war went on, Abner became a very powerful political leader among the followers of Saul. 7 He took advantage of his position by sleeping with one of Saul’s concubines, a girl named Rizpah. But when Ish-bosheth accused Abner of this, 8 Abner was furious.
“Am I a Judean dog to be kicked around like this?” he shouted. “After all I have done for you and for your father by not betraying you to David, is this my reward—to find fault with me about some woman? 9-10 May God curse me if I don’t do everything I can to take away the entire kingdom from you, all the way from Dan to Beersheba, and give it to David, just as the Lord predicted.”
11 Ish-bosheth made no reply, for he was afraid of Abner.
12 Then Abner sent messengers to David to discuss a deal—to surrender the kingdom of Israel to him in exchange for becoming commander-in-chief of the combined armies of Israel and Judah.
13 “All right,” David replied, “but I will not negotiate with you unless you bring me my wife Michal, Saul’s daughter.” 14 David then sent this message to Ish-bosheth: “Give me back my wife Michal, for I bought her with the lives of one hundred Philistines.”
15 So Ish-bosheth took her away from her husband Palti.[a] 16 He followed along behind her as far as Behurim, weeping as he went. Then Abner told him, “Go on home now.” So he returned.
17 Meanwhile, Abner consulted with the leaders of Israel and reminded them that for a long time they had wanted David as their king.
18 “Now is the time!” he told them. “For the Lord has said, ‘It is David by whom I will save my people from the Philistines and from all their other enemies.’”
19 Abner also talked to the leaders of the tribe of Benjamin; then he went to Hebron and reported to David his progress with the people of Israel and Benjamin. 20 Twenty men accompanied him, and David entertained them with a feast.
21 As Abner left, he promised David, “When I get back I will call a convention of all the people of Israel, and they will elect you as their king, as you’ve so long desired.” So David let Abner return in safety.
22 But just after Abner left, Joab and some of David’s troops returned from a raid, bringing much loot with them. 23 When Joab was told that Abner had just been there visiting the king and had been sent away in peace, 24-25 he rushed to the king, demanding, “What have you done? What do you mean by letting him get away? You know perfectly well that he came to spy on us and that he plans to return and attack us!”
26 Then Joab sent messengers to catch up with Abner and tell him to come back. They found him at the well of Sirah and he returned with them; but David knew nothing about it. 27 When Abner arrived at Hebron, Joab took him aside at the city gate as if to speak with him privately; but then he pulled out a dagger and killed him in revenge for the death of his brother Asahel.
28 When David heard about it he declared, “I vow by the Lord that I and my people are innocent of this crime against Abner. 29 Joab and his family are the guilty ones. May each of his children be victims of cancer, or be lepers, or be sterile, or die of starvation, or be killed by the sword!”
30 So Joab and his brother, Abishai, killed Abner because of the death of their brother, Asahel, at the battle of Gibeon.
31 Then David said to Joab and to all those who were with him, “Go into deep mourning for Abner.” And King David accompanied the bier to the cemetery. 32 They buried Abner in Hebron. And the king and all the people wept at the graveside.
33-34 “Should Abner have died like a fool?” the king lamented.
“Your hands were not bound,
Your feet were not tied—
You were murdered—
The victim of a wicked plot.”
And all the people wept again for him. 35-36 David had refused to eat anything the day of the funeral, and now everyone begged him to take a bite of supper. But David vowed that he would eat nothing until sundown. This pleased his people, just as everything else he did pleased them! 37 Thus the whole nation, both Judah and Israel, understood from David’s actions that he was in no way responsible for Abner’s death.
38 And David said to his people, “A great leader and a great man has fallen today in Israel; 39 and even though I am God’s chosen king, I can do nothing with these two sons of Zeruiah. May the Lord repay wicked men for their wicked deeds.”
4 When King Ish-bosheth heard about Abner’s death at Hebron, he was paralyzed with fear, and his people too were badly frightened. 2-3 The command of the Israeli troops then fell to two brothers, Baanah and Rechab, who were captains of King Ish-bosheth’s raiding bands. They were the sons of Rimmon, who was from Beeroth in Benjamin. (People from Beeroth are counted as Benjaminites even though they fled to Gittaim,[b] where they now live.)
4 (There was a little lame grandson of King Saul’s named Mephibosheth, who was the son of Prince Jonathan. He was five years old at the time Saul and Jonathan were killed at the battle of Jezreel. When the news of the outcome of the battle reached the capital, the child’s nurse grabbed him and fled, but she fell and dropped him as she was running, and he became lame.)
5 Rechab and Baanah arrived at King Ish-bosheth’s home one noon as he was taking a nap. 6-7 They walked into the kitchen as though to get a sack of wheat, but then sneaked into his bedroom and murdered him and cut off his head. Taking his head with them, they fled across the desert that night and escaped. 8 They presented the head to David at Hebron.
“Look!” they exclaimed. “Here is the head of Ish-bosheth, the son of your enemy Saul who tried to kill you. Today the Lord has given you revenge upon Saul and upon his entire family!”
9 But David replied, “I swear by the Lord who saved me from my enemies, 10 that when someone told me, ‘Saul is dead,’ thinking he was bringing me good news, I killed him; that is how I rewarded him for his ‘glad tidings.’ 11 And how much more shall I do to wicked men who kill a good man in his own house and on his bed! Shall I not demand your lives?”
12 So David ordered his young men to kill them, and they did. They cut off their hands and feet and hanged their bodies beside the pool in Hebron. And they took Ish-bosheth’s head and buried it in Abner’s tomb in Hebron.
5 Representatives of all the tribes of Israel now came to David at Hebron and gave him their pledge of loyalty.
“We are your blood brothers,” they said. 2 “And even when Saul was our king you were our real leader. The Lord has said that you should be the shepherd and leader of his people.”
3 So David made a contract before the Lord with the leaders of Israel there at Hebron, and they crowned him king of Israel. 4-5 (He had already been the king of Judah for seven years, since the age of thirty. He then ruled thirty-three years in Jerusalem as king of both Israel and Judah; so he reigned for forty years altogether.)
6 David now led his troops to Jerusalem to fight against the Jebusites who lived there.
“You’ll never come in here,” they told him. “Even the blind and lame could keep you out!” For they thought they were safe. 7 But David and his troops defeated them and captured the stronghold of Zion, now called the City of David.
8 When the insulting message from the defenders of the city reached David, he told his troops, “Go up through the water tunnel into the city and destroy those ‘lame’ and ‘blind’ Jebusites. How I hate them.” (That is the origin of the saying, “Even the blind and the lame could conquer you!”)
9 So David made the stronghold of Zion (also called the City of David) his headquarters. Then, beginning at the old Millo section of the city, he built northward toward the present city center. 10 So David became greater and greater, for the Lord God of heaven was with him.
11 Then King Hiram of Tyre sent cedar lumber, carpenters, and masons to build a palace for David. 12 David now realized why the Lord had made him the king and blessed his kingdom so greatly—it was because God wanted to pour out his kindness on Israel, his chosen people.
13 After moving from Hebron to Jerusalem, David married additional wives and concubines, and had many sons and daughters. 14-16 These are his children who were born at Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, Elishama, Eliada, Eliphelet.
17 When the Philistines heard that David had been crowned king of Israel, they tried to capture him; but David was told that they were coming and went into the stronghold. 18 The Philistines arrived and spread out across the valley of Rephaim.
19 Then David asked the Lord, “Shall I go out and fight against them? Will you defeat them for me?”
And the Lord replied, “Yes, go ahead, for I will give them to you.”
20 So David went out and fought with them at Baal-perazim and defeated them. “The Lord did it!” he exclaimed. “He burst through my enemies like a raging flood.” So he named the place “Bursting.” 21 At that time David and his troops confiscated many idols that had been abandoned by the Philistines. 22 But the Philistines returned and again spread out across the valley of Rephaim.
23 When David asked the Lord what to do, he replied, “Don’t make a frontal attack. Go behind them and come out by the balsam trees. 24 When you hear a sound like marching feet in the tops of the balsam trees, attack! For it will signify that the Lord has prepared the way for you and will destroy them.”
25 So David did as the Lord had instructed him and destroyed the Philistines all the way from Geba to Gezer.
25 Great crowds were following him. He turned around and addressed them as follows: 26 “Anyone who wants to be my follower must love me far more than he does[a] his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, or sisters—yes, more than his own life—otherwise he cannot be my disciple. 27 And no one can be my disciple who does not carry his own cross and follow me.
28 “But don’t begin until you count the cost.[b] For who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates and then checking to see if he has enough money to pay the bills? 29 Otherwise he might complete only the foundation before running out of funds. And then how everyone would laugh!
30 “‘See that fellow there?’ they would mock. ‘He started that building and ran out of money before it was finished!’
31 “Or what king would ever dream of going to war without first sitting down with his counselors and discussing whether his army of 10,000 is strong enough to defeat the 20,000 men who are marching against him?
32 “If the decision is negative, then while the enemy troops are still far away, he will send a truce team to discuss terms of peace. 33 So no one can become my disciple unless he first sits down and counts his blessings—and then renounces them all for me.
34 “What good is salt that has lost its saltiness?[c] 35 Flavorless salt is fit for nothing—not even for fertilizer. It is worthless and must be thrown out. Listen well if you would understand my meaning.”
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.