After this David inquired of the speech of the LORD, “Shall I go up to one of the cities of the House of Judah?” And the LORD said to him, “Go up.” David said, “To which shall I go up?” And He said, “To Hebron.”

So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam, who was of Jezreel, and Abigail, the widow of Nabal, who was from Carmel.

And David brought up his men who were with him, every one with the people of his house. And they dwelt in the towns of Hebron.

And the men of Judah came and there they anointed David to be king over the House of Judah. And they told David, “It was the men of Jabesh gilead who buried Saul.”

So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh gilead and said to them, “Blessed be you before the LORD, because you showed this loyalty to Saul your lord, and buried him!

Now may the LORD show goodness and truth to you! And I will do good to you, because you have done this thing.

And now, let your hands be strong and be heroic men, because Saul your lord is dead and also because those of the House of Judah have anointed me to be king over them.”

Now Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ish bosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim.

He had made him king over those of the House of Gilead, the House of Asher, the House of Jezreel, the House of Ephraim, and the House of Benjamin; in short over Israel in its entirety.

Ish bosheth son of Saul was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David.

And the number of years that David was king in Hebron over those of 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 out from Mahanaim to Gibeon,

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

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

Then they arose and passed over by number, twelve from the House of Benjamin and from Ish bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David.

And each caught his opponent by the head and, with his sword in the place of his opponent’s loins, they were killed together. And he called that place “Inheritance of the Killed Ones”, which is in Gibeon.

And the battle was extremely fierce that day. And Abner and the men of Israel were shattered before the servants of David.

And the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was as swift of foot as a gazelle which is in the field.

And Asahel pursued Abner, and he did not turn, to go either to the right hand or to the left from following Abner.

Then Abner turned to look behind him and said, “Is it you, Asahel?” And he said, “It is I.”

Abner said to him, “Turn aside to your right hand or to your left, and seize one of the young men, and take his belt.” But Asahel would not depart from following him.

And Abner said again to Asahel, “Depart from me, for your own sake! Why should I kill you and smite you to the ground? How then could I lift up my face and show it to your brother Joab?”

But he did not want to depart. Then Abner smote him in the place of his loins with the back of his spear, so that the spear came out at his back. And he fell there, and died on the place where he was. And all who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died, stood still.

But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. And as the sun was going down, they came to the hill of The Cubit, which lies before Giah, on the road to the wilderness of Gibeon.

And the sons of Benjamin gathered themselves together behind Abner, and became one company. They took their stand upon the top of one hill.

Then Abner called to Joab, “Shall the sword kill for ever? Do you not know that it will be bitterness in the end? How long are you not saying to your people to turn back from behind their brethren?”

And Joab said, “As the LORD is the existing One, if you had not spoken, the people would have given up only at about the time of the morning, each man in pursuit of his brother.

So Joab blew the trumpet and all the people stopped. They pursued Israel no more, nor did they fight any more.

And Abner and his men went all that night through the valley. They crossed the Jordan and they went all the bitron and they came to Mahanaim.

Joab returned from following Abner. And when he had gathered all the people together, there were missing of David’s servants nineteen men besides Asahel.

But the servants of David had killed among those of the House of Benjamin and among Abner’s men: three hundred and sixty men had died.

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