2 Samuel 2:5-19
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 2
5So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead, and said to them, 'May you be blessed of the Lord because you have shown this kindness to Saul your lord, and have buried him. 6And now may the Lord show kindness and truth to you; and I also will show this goodness to you, because you have done this thing. 7Now then, let your hands be strong and be valiant, since Saul your lord is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.'
8But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim.
9And he made him king over Gilead, over the Ashurites, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, even over all Israel.
10Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he was king for two years. The house of Judah, however, followed David.
11And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
12Now Abner the son of Ner, went from Mahanaim to Gibeon with the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul.
13And Joab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and met them by the pool of Gibeon; and they sat down, Abner’s men on the one side of the pool and Joab’s men on the other side of the pool.
14Then Abner said to Joab, 'Now have the young men arise and hold a martial skills match in our presence.' And Joab said, 'Have them arise!'
15So they got up and went over by count, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David.
16And each one of them seized his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent’s side; so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon.
17That day the battle was very severe, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by the servants of David.
King James Version
Chapter 2
5And David sent messengers unto the men of Jabeshgilead, and said unto them, Blessed be ye of the Lord, that ye have shewed this kindness unto your lord, even unto Saul, and have buried him. 6And now the Lord shew kindness and truth unto you: and I also will requite you this kindness, because ye have done this thing. 7Therefore now let your hands be strengthened, and be ye valiant: for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah have anointed me king over them. 8But Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul's host, took Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim; 9And made him king over Gilead, and over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel. 10Ishbosheth Saul's son was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David. 11And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
12And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
13And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out, and met together by the pool of Gibeon: and they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool.
14And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise, and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.
15Then there arose and went over by number twelve of Benjamin, which pertained to Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.
16And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow's side; so they fell down together: wherefore that place was called Helkathhazzurim, which is in Gibeon.
17And there was a very sore battle that day; and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David.
18And there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe.
19And Asahel pursued after Abner; and in going he turned not to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 2
5David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, "The Lord bless you, because you have shown this kindness to Saul your lord when you buried him. 6Now, may the Lord show kindness and faithfulness to you, and I will also show the same goodness to you because you have done this deed. 7Therefore, be strong and valiant, for though Saul your lord is dead, the house of Judah has anointed me king over them."
8Abner son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, took Saul’s son Ish-bosheth and moved him to Mahanaim.
9He made him king over Gilead, Asher, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin—over all Israel.
10Saul’s son Ish-bosheth was forty years old when he became king over Israel; he reigned for two years. The house of Judah, however, followed David.
11The length of time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
12Abner son of Ner and soldiers of Ish-bosheth son of Saul marched out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
13So Joab son of Zeruiah and David’s soldiers marched out and met them by the pool of Gibeon. The two groups took up positions on opposite sides of the pool.
15So they got up and were counted off—twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth son of Saul, and twelve from David’s soldiers.
16Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his sword into his opponent’s side so that they all died together. So this place, which is in Gibeon, is named Field of Blades.
17The battle that day was extremely fierce, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by David’s soldiers.
18The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel was a fast runner, like one of the wild gazelles.
19He chased Abner and did not turn to the right or the left in his pursuit of him.
New Living Translation
Chapter 2
5he sent them this message: 'May the Lord bless you for being so loyal to your master Saul and giving him a decent burial. 6May the Lord be loyal to you in return and reward you with his unfailing love! And I, too, will reward you for what you have done. 7Now that Saul is dead, I ask you to be my strong and loyal subjects like the people of Judah, who have anointed me as their new king.'
8But Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, had already gone to Mahanaim with Saul’s son Ishbosheth.
9There he proclaimed Ishbosheth king over Gilead, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, the land of the Ashurites, and all the rest of Israel.
10Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he became king, and he ruled from Mahanaim for two years. Meanwhile, the people of Judah remained loyal to David.
11David made Hebron his capital, and he ruled as king of Judah for seven and a half years.
12One day Abner led Ishbosheth’s troops from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
13About the same time, Joab son of Zeruiah led David’s troops out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. The two groups sat down there, facing each other from opposite sides of the pool.
14Then Abner suggested to Joab, 'Let’s have a few of our warriors fight hand to hand here in front of us.' 'All right,' Joab agreed.
15So twelve men were chosen to fight from each side — twelve men of Benjamin representing Ishbosheth son of Saul, and twelve representing David.
16Each one grabbed his opponent by the hair and thrust his sword into the other’s side so that all of them died. So this place at Gibeon has been known ever since as the Field of Swords.
English Standard Version
Chapter 2
5David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, "May you be blessed by the Lord, because you showed this loyalty to Saul your lord and buried him. 6Now may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you. And I will do good to you because you have done this thing. 7Now therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant, for Saul your lord is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them."
8But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul 's army, took Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim,
9and he made him king over Gilead and the Ashurites and Jezreel and Ephraim and Benjamin and all Israel.
10Ish-bosheth, Saul 's son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David.
11And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
12Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
13And Joab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. And they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool.
14And Abner said to Joab, "Let the young men arise and compete before us." And Joab said, "Let them arise."
15Then they arose and passed over by number, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.
16And each caught his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent 's side, so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is at Gibeon.
17And the battle was very fierce that day. And Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David.
New International Version
Chapter 2
5he sent messengers to them to say to them, "The Lord bless you for showing this kindness to Saul your master by burying him. 6May the Lord now show you kindness and faithfulness, and I too will show you the same favor because you have done this. 7Now then, be strong and brave, for Saul your master is dead, and the people of Judah have anointed me king over them."
8Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ish-Bosheth son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim.
9He made him king over Gilead, Ashuri and Jezreel, and also over Ephraim, Benjamin and all Israel.
10Ish-Bosheth son of Saul was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he reigned two years. The tribe of Judah, however, remained loyal to David.
11The length of time David was king in Hebron over Judah was seven years and six months.
12Abner son of Ner, together with the men of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, left Mahanaim and went to Gibeon.
13Joab son of Zeruiah and David’s men went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. One group sat down on one side of the pool and one group on the other side.
New King James Version
Chapter 2
5So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead, and said to them, “You are blessed of the Lord, for you have shown this kindness to your lord, to Saul, and have buried him. 6And now may the Lord show kindness and truth to you. I also will repay you this kindness, because you have done this thing. 7Now therefore, let your hands be strengthened, and be valiant; for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”
8But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, took Ishbosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim;
9and he made him king over Gilead, over the Ashurites, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin, and over all Israel.
10Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. Only the house of Judah followed David.
11And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
12Now Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
13And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out and met them by the pool of Gibeon. So they sat down, one on one side of the pool and the other on the other side of the pool.
15So they arose and went over by number, twelve from Benjamin, followers of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David.
16And each one grasped his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent’s side; so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called the Field of Sharp Swords, which is in Gibeon.
17So there was a very fierce battle that day, and Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David.
