¹Now after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, David remained in Ziklag two days.

And on the third day there came a man from Saul's camp with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. And when he came to David, he fell to the ground and paid him homage.

And David said to him, Where did you come from? And he said to him, From the camp of Israel I have escaped.

And David said to him, What has happened? Tell me. And he said that the people had fled from the battle and that also many of the people had fallen and died and that also Saul and Jonathan his son were dead.

And David said to the young man that told him these things, How do you know that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?

And the young man that told him these things said, By chance I happened to be upon Mount Gilboa; and just then Saul leaned on his spear, and just then the chariots and horsemen pursued closely after him.

And when he looked behind him, he saw me; and he called to me. And I said, Here I am.

And he said to me, Who are you? And I said to him, I am an Amalekite.

Then he said to me, Stand over me, and kill me; for anguish has seized me because my life is yet wholly within me.

So I stood over him and put him to death, for I knew that he would not live after his fall; and I took the crown that was upon his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I have brought them to my lord here.

Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, as did all the men who were with him.

And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son and for the people of Jehovah and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

And David said to the young man who told him these things, Where are you from? And he said, I am the son of an Amalekite stranger.

And David said to him,  ¹How is it that you were not afraid to stretch out your hand to destroy Jehovah's anointed?

Then David called one of the young men and said, Come near; fall on him. And he struck him, and he died.

And David said to him, You're blood be upon your head, for your mouth has testified against you, saying, I have killed Jehovah's anointed.

And David sang this dirge over Saul and over Jonathan his son;

And he commanded them to teach the children of Judah The Song of the Bow. It is now written in the book of Jashar:

The beauty of Israel lies slain upon your high places.
How the mighty have fallen!

Tell it not in Gath;
Bear not the news of it in the streets of Ashkelon;
Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,
Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.

O mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain upon you,
Nor fields of heave offerings.
For there the shield of the mighty was defiled,
The shield of Saul, no more anointed with oil.

From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty,
The bow of Jonathan has not turned back,
And the sword of Saul has not returned empty.

Saul and Jonathan were beloved and pleasant in their lives,
And in their death they were not divided.
They were swifter than eagles;
They were stronger than lions.

O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet with splendor,
Who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.

How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle!
Jonathan lies slain upon your high places.

I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; so very pleasant were you to me.
You're love to me was wonderful, beyond the love of women.

How the mighty have fallen,
And the weapons of war perished!

And after this David inquired of Jehovah, saying, Shall I go up into one of the cities of Judah? And Jehovah said to him, Go up. And David said, Where shall I go up? And He said, To Hebron.

So David went up there, as well as his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.

And David brought up his men who were with him, each man with his household; and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron.

And the men of Judah came, and there they  ¹anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, It is the men of Jabesh-gilead who have buried Saul.

And David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, Blessed are you of Jehovah, because you have shown this kindness to your master, to Saul, and buried him.

And now may Jehovah show kindness and faithfulness to you; and I also will  ¹repay you for this good, because you have done this thing.

And now may your hands be strong, and you be valiant; for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.

But Abner the son of Ner, the captain of Saul's army, took  ¹Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim.

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

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

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

And Abner the son of Ner and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul went forth from Mahanaim to Gibeon.

And Joab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went forth and met them at the pool of Gibeon. And they sat down, these on the one side of the pool and those on the other side of the pool.

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

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

And each seized his opponent by the head, and his sword went into his opponent's side; and they fell down together. And that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is at Gibeon.

And the battle was very severe that day, and Abner and the men of Israel were routed before the servants of David.

And there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab and Abishai and Asahel. Now Asahel was swift of foot, like one of the gazelles which are in the field.

And Asahel pursued after Abner; and as he went, he did not turn to the right hand or to the left from behind Abner.

Then Abner looked behind him and said, Is that you, Asahel? And he said, It is I.

And Abner said to him, Turn away to your right or to your left, and seize one of the young men, and take his armor for yourself. But Asahel would not turn away from following him.

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

But he refused to turn away, so Abner struck him in the stomach with the end of his spear; and the spear came out behind him. And he fell down there and died in that place. And everyone who came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still.

But Joab and Abishai pursued after Abner. And as the sun went down, they came to the hill of Ammah, which is before Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon.

And the children of Benjamin gathered together behind Abner and became one troop, and they stood on the top of a hill.

And Abner called out to Joab and said, Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that it will be bitter in the end? Then how long shall it be before you command the people to return from following their brothers?

And Joab said, As God lives, if you had not spoken, then surely the people would have gone up each one from following his brother in the morning only.

And Joab blew the trumpet, and all the people stood still; and they pursued after Israel no more, neither did they fight anymore.

And Abner and his men walked all that night through the Arabah. And they crossed over the Jordan and went through all the  ¹Bithron, and they came to Mahanaim.

And Joab returned from following Abner. And he gathered all the people together, and among David's servants there were nineteen men missing plus Asahel.

And the servants of David had struck down of Benjamin and among Abner's men three hundred and sixty men, who died.

And they took up Asahel and buried him in the tomb of his father, which was in Bethlehem. And Joab and his men walked all night, and the day dawned on them at Hebron.

Now there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David; but David became continually  ¹stronger, and the house of Saul became continually weaker.

And in Hebron  ¹sons were born to David. His firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess;

And his second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah, the daughter of Talmai the king of Geshur;

And the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital;

And the sixth, Ithream, of Eglah David's wife. These were born to David in Hebron.

And while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner made himself strong in the house of Saul.

Now Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. And  ¹Ish-bosheth said to Abner, Why did you go in to my father's concubine?

Then Abner became very angry about the words of Ish-bosheth; and he said, Am I a dog's head that belongs to Judah? Today I show kindness to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not delivered you into the hand of David; yet you charge me today with iniquity concerning this woman.

May God do so to Abner, and even more, if I do not do for David as Jehovah has sworn to him,

To transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beer-sheba!

And he could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him.

And Abner sent messengers to David where he was, saying, To whom shall the land belong? and saying, Make your covenant with me; and then my hand will be with you, to turn all Israel to you.

And  ¹David said, Fine, I will make a covenant with you; but I require one thing of you, namely, you shall not see my face, unless you first bring Michal, Saul's daughter, when you come to see my face.

Then David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth Saul's son, saying, Deliver my wife Michal to me, whom I espoused for a hundred Philistine foreskins.

And Ish-bosheth sent men and had her taken from her husband, from Paltiel the son of Laish.

And her husband went along with her to Bahurim, walking and weeping after her. But Abner said to him, Go; return. And he returned.

Now Abner had conferred with the elders of Israel, saying, For some time now you have been seeking for David to be king over you.

So do it now, for Jehovah has spoken of David, saying, By My servant David I will save My people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines and out of the hand of all their enemies.

And Abner also spoke in the ears of Benjamin; and Abner went also to speak in the ears of David in Hebron all that seemed good to Israel and that seemed good to the whole house of Benjamin.

So Abner came to David to Hebron, and twenty men with him. And David held a feast for Abner and for the men who were with him.

And Abner said to David, I will rise up and go and gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you and that you may reign over all that your soul desires. And David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.

And there came the servants of David and Joab from an attack, and they brought great spoil with them. But Abner was not with David in Hebron, for he had sent him away, and he had gone in peace.

And when Joab and all the army that was with him came, they told Joab, saying, Abner the son of Ner has come to the king; and he has sent him away, and he has gone in peace.

Then Joab went to the king and said, What have you done? Abner has just come to you. Why is it that you have sent him away and he has gone?

You know Abner the son of Ner, that he came to deceive you, to discover your going out and your coming in, and to know everything that you do.

And when Joab went out from David, he sent messengers after Abner, who brought him back from the well of Sirah, though David did not know about it.

And when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him privately. And there he struck him in the stomach, so that he died for the bloodshed of Asahel his brother.

Then afterward, when David heard of it, he said, I and my kingdom are innocent of the bloodshed of Abner the son of Ner before Jehovah forever.

May it fall on the head of Joab and on all his father's house; and may there not fail from the house of Joab one who has an issue or who is a leper or who leans on a staff or who falls by the sword or who lacks bread!

So Joab and Abishai his brother slew Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel at Gibeon in the battle.

And David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, Tear your clothes, and gird yourselves with sackcloth, and mourn over Abner. And King David followed the bier.

And they buried Abner in Hebron. And the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept.

And the king lamented for Abner and said,
Should Abner die
As a fool dies?

Your hands were not bound,
Nor were your feet put into fetters.
As a man falls before wicked men, you fell.
And all the people wept over him again.

And all the people came to make David eat food while it was still day; but David swore, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun goes down!

And all the people took note of it, and it pleased them; as everything that the king did pleased all the people.

And all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not of the king to put Abner the son of Ner to death.

And the king said to his servants, Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel?

And today I am weak, even though anointed king; and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too difficult for me. May Jehovah reward the evildoer according to his evil!