2 Samuel 2:23-29
New American Standard Bible
24But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner, and when the sun was going down, they came to the hill of Ammah, which is opposite Giah by way of the wilderness of Gibeon.
25And the sons of Benjamin gathered together behind Abner and became one troop, and they stood on the top of a hill.
26Then Abner called to Joab and said, 'Should the sword devour forever? Do you not realize that it will be bitter in the end? So how long will you refrain from telling the people to turn back from pursuing their kinsmen?'
27Joab said, 'As God lives, if you had not spoken, then the people of Judah certainly would have withdrawn in the morning, each from pursuing his brother.'
28So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the people halted and no longer pursued Israel, nor did they continue to fight anymore.
29Abner and his men then went through the Arabah all that night; so they crossed the Jordan, walked all morning, and came to Mahanaim.
King James Version
24Joab also and Abishai pursued after Abner: and the sun went down when they were come to the hill of Ammah, that lieth before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon.
25And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together after Abner, and became one troop, and stood on the top of an hill.
26Then Abner called to Joab, and said, Shall the sword devour for ever? knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? how long shall it be then, ere thou bid the people return from following their brethren?
27And Joab said, As God liveth, unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone up every one from following his brother.
28So Joab blew a trumpet, and all the people stood still, and pursued after Israel no more, neither fought they any more.
29And Abner and his men walked all that night through the plain, and passed over Jordan, and went through all Bithron, and they came to Mahanaim.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 2
23But Asahel refused to turn away, so Abner hit him in the stomach with the butt of his spear. The spear went through his body, and he fell and died right there. As they all came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died, they stopped, 24but Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. By sunset, they had gone as far as the hill of Ammah, which is opposite Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon.
25The Benjaminites rallied to Abner; they formed a unit and took their stand on top of a hill.
26Then Abner called out to Joab: "Must the sword devour forever? Don’t you realize this will only end in bitterness? How long before you tell the troops to stop pursuing their brothers?"
27"As God lives," Joab replied, "if you had not spoken up, the troops wouldn’t have stopped pursuing their brothers until morning."
28Then Joab blew the ram’s horn, and all the troops stopped; they no longer pursued Israel or continued to fight.
29So Abner and his men marched through the Arabah all that night. They crossed the Jordan, marched all morning, and arrived at Mahanaim.
New Living Translation
24When Joab and Abishai found out what had happened, they set out after Abner. The sun was just going down as they arrived at the hill of Ammah near Giah, along the road to the wilderness of Gibeon.
25Abner’s troops from the tribe of Benjamin regrouped there at the top of the hill to take a stand.
English Standard Version
24But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. And as the sun was going down they came to the hill of Ammah, which lies before Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon.
25And the people of Benjamin gathered themselves together behind Abner and became one group and took their stand on the top of a hill.
26Then Abner called to Joab, "Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that the end will be bitter? How long will it be before you tell your people to turn from the pursuit of their brothers?"
27And Joab said, "As God lives, if you had not spoken, surely the men would not have given up the pursuit of their brothers until the morning."
28So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the men stopped and pursued Israel no more, nor did they fight anymore.
New International Version
New King James Version
24Joab and Abishai also pursued Abner. And the sun was going down when they came to the hill of Ammah, which is before Giah by the road to the Wilderness of Gibeon.
25Now the children of Benjamin gathered together behind Abner and became a unit, and took their stand on top of a hill.
26Then Abner called to Joab and said, “Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that it will be bitter in the latter end? How long will it be then until you tell the people to return from pursuing their brethren?”
27And Joab said, “ As God lives, unless you had spoken, surely then by morning all the people would have given up pursuing their brethren.”
28So Joab blew a trumpet; and all the people stood still and did not pursue Israel anymore, nor did they fight anymore.
29Then Abner and his men went on all that night through the plain, crossed over the Jordan, and went through all Bithron; and they came to Mahanaim.